History Film / TheBabeRuthStory

** Ruth's famous "Babe" nickname is given to him when Jack Dunne refers to him as a "babe" in front of Brother Mathias who puts together "Babe Ruth". In actuality, Babe Ruth didn't get his nickname until he had been sold to the Yankees, with it stemming from Ruth being known by his later-former Oriole teammates as "Dunn's $10'000 Babe" after he was sold to the Boston Red Sox.

* BroadStrokes: While Babe Ruth was suspended indefinitely and was slapped with a $5'000 fine (a quarter of a year's salary), it was not because he bailed out of a game to tend to an injured dog, but because Miller Huggins, the team manager, finally had enough of Babe's crap; constantly making fun of him, taking new players out clubbing which had them showing up for practice hungover, and frequently showing up late.

** After the train car scene with Huggins where he appeared quite fatigued, it transitions to Huggins [[spoiler: dead in his hospital bed]] just before Babe marches in to announce that he and Claire just got back from their honeymoon.

* LateToTheRealization: When Babe visits Huggins after his honeymoon, he starts eagerly gushing about his and Claire's marriage and honeymoon, even showing Huggins the vast bouquet of flowers and hastily sending a nurse out for some water, completely missing Huggins' lack of response or motion and doesn't clue in that [[spoiler: Huggins is dead]] until he sees a doctor pulling his bedsheets over his face.

* ForegoneConclusion: Even though Babe Ruth was still alive when the film premiered, any viewer watching the film since its original release will know that Babe Ruth [[spoiler: lost his battle with throat cancer and thusly the experimental treatments Babe agrees to ultimately failed]].

* AMinorKidroduction: The film starts in the present of 1948 with a bunch of kids on a field trip to a sports museum before flashing back to 1906 Baltimore where we're introduced to 11-year-old George Hermann Ruth.

* BerserkButton: When Ruth is at a low point, two gangsters approach hm and attempt to convince him to throw his next game in exchange for a percentage of the profits. Cue Ruth standing right up, grabbing one of them by the collar and landing a haymaker on his face hard enough to send the man stumbling backwards across the room. He may tolerate unfair officials, but don't even ''think'' of trying to get Babe involved with corruption.

* ForegoneConclusion: Even though Babe Ruth was still alive when the film premiered, any viewer watching the film since it's original release will know that Babe Ruth [[spoiler: lost his battle with throat cancer and thusly the experimental treatments Babe agrees to ultimately failed]].

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Taken to ludicrous extremes, which depicts its subject in such a ridiculously positive light it almost comes off as a parody. In addition to the movie (not unexpectedly) glossing over most of Ruth's vices such as his drinking and womanizing, it also portrays him as a KindheartedSimpleton and a literal miracle worker, with moments like him ''curing a paralyzed boy by saying "hi" to him'' and curing another kid of cancer by hitting a home run.

** George's father clearly cares more about running his bar and keeping his patrons happy than he does his own son, even putting the 11-year-old to work and repeatedly threatening to send him back to St. Mary's. One of these threats occurs just as Brother Mathias was walking in and after much discussion between the three, while George Sr. ultimately decides to put his work ahead of his son, he does conceed that St. Mary's is a better place for young George than his rowdy saloon.

* LateToTheRealization: When Babe visits Huggins after his honeymoon, he starts eagerly gushing about his and Claire's marriage and honeymoon, even showing Huggins the vast boquet of flowers and hastily sending a nurse out for some water, completely missing Huggins' lack of response or motion and doesn't clue in that [[spoiler: Huggins is dead]] until he sees a doctor pulling his bedsheets over his face.

** After Babe wakes up with a dead arm on his first day as a member of the Orioles, we're immediately treated to a SpinningNewspaper announcing that Babe just won his ''twelveth'' game with the team.
** After the traincar scene with Huggins where he appeared quite fatigued, it transitions to Huggins [[spoiler: dead in his hospital bed]] just before Babe marches in to announce that he and Claire just got back from their honeymoon.
** Babe's throat cancer turns it's ugly head so fast it's a wonder it didn't snap it's neck; we see Babe stumbling into an elevator while rubbing his neck and then it abruptly cuts to him in a hospital bed barely able to move or even speak.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: The film states that Johnny Sylvester lived in Gary, Indiana when Babe Ruth visited him and later hit a homer for him. Johnny actually lived in Essex, New Jersey in 1926.

** Babe hitting a ball for Johnny Sylvester as well as his legendary "called shot" are both lumped into the same event at the 1926 World Series when in actuality, the famous "called shot" occured at the 1932 World Series six years later.

* DontExplainTheJoke: When Claire first auggest he can't strike players with a curve anymore because he's telegraphing his curbeballs, Babe Ruth dismisses this notion with "Telegraph every curveball... what do you think I am, a Western Union boy?", before remarking to his friend that that's a pretty good joke and then completely removes the humour by explaining it.

* LateToTheRealization: When Babe visits Huggins after his honeymoon, he starts eagerly gushing about his and Claire's honeymoon, even showing Huggins the vast boquet of flowers and hastily sending a nurse out for some water, completely missing Huggins' lack of response or motion and doesn't clue in that [[spoiler: Huggins is dead]] until he sees two nurses pulling his bedsheets over his face.
* LittlestCancerPatient: Loosely based on the famous anecdote of Babe Ruth hitting a home run in the 1926 World Series for osteomyelitis patient Johnny Sylvester.

** after the traincar scene with Huggins where he appeared quite fatigued, it transitions to Huggins [[spoiler: dead in his hospital bed]] just before Babe marches in to announce that he and Claire just got back from their honeymoon.

* LaserGuidedKarma: After getting in trouble for breaking a store window, George is put to work gathering empty mugs when a patron deliberately trips . .?. and makes him fall and drop everything, breaking some mugs. George remarks to the laughing patron that he oughta knock his block off before grabbing the man's beer and throwing it in his face.

* PuncuatedForEmphasis: Huggins slams his fist onto the Yankees owner's desk with every word while telling him "Don't blame Babe Ruth" after the Yankees finish the season in 7th place.

* DepartmentOfRundancyDepartment: When Babe Ruth quits as a player for the Boston Braves, Phil Conrad remarks, "I saw that guy when he broke in... and I saw him when he bowed out", before immediately saying, "I saw him come and I saw him go."

* Puncuated!For!Emphasis!: Huggins slams his fist onto the Yankees owner's desk with every word while telling him "Don't blame Babe Ruth" after the Yankees finish the season in 7th place.

* LaserGuidedKarma: After getting in trouble for breaking a store window, George is put to work gathering empty mugs when a patron deliberately trips him and makes him fall and drop everything, breaking some mugs. George remarks to the laughing patron that he oughta knock his block off before grabbing the man's beer and throwing it in his face.

* PuncuatedForEmphasis: Huggins slams his fist onto the Yankees owner's desk with every word while telling him "Don't blame Babe Ruth" after the Yankees finish the season in 7th place.

* ForegoneConclusion: Even though Babe Ruth was still alive when the film premiered, any viewer watching the film since it's original release will know that Babe Ruth [spoiler: lost his battle with throat cancer and thusly the experimental treatments Babe agrees to ultimately failed].

** Ruth's Baltimore Oriole teammates; when Babe first signs on to the Orioles, his teammates prank him by saying all pitchers sleep with their throwing arm suspended in a net. Babe is not able to sleep and by morning, he os exhausted and his arm is fast asleep and numb.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: After suspending Babe Ruth, the Yankees enter a slump which results in the team finishing in seventh place, something which the owner of the team is none too happy about. During a meeting with team manager Huggins, the owner starts to point fingers at Babe Ruth, noting his suspension put a valuable player out of action. Huggins, who had gladly and brutally delivered Ruth the message of his suspension, remarks that Ruth saved baseball after the 1919 Black Sox scandal, then admits that the team did have a bad season, but sternly remarks not to blame Babe Ruth before exiting the room... only to see Babe waiting in a chair outside. Babe thanks Huggins for going to bat for him, but Huggins brushes him off and tells him to shut up. After the team wins the 1927 World Series, Huggins acts much warmer to Babe and admits that Babe is the best ball player to ever enter the game, though he is noticably tired and fatigued, preferring to remain in his solitary train booth rather than join the wild raucous party outside.
* KarmaHoudini: MLB officials fire Babe Ruth completely, cheating him out of a contract-promised desk job, and only get away with it scot-free by way of Ruth deciding not to sue, even though he was well within his rights to and would have won easily.
* LateToTheRealization: When Babe visits Huggins after his honeymoon, he starts eagerly gushing about his and Claire's honeymoon, even showing Huggins the vast boquet of flowers and hastily sending a nurse out for some water, completely missing Huggins' lack of response or motion and doesn't clue in that [spoiler: Huggins is dead] until he sees two nurses pulling his bedsheets over his face.

** after the traincar scene with Huggins where he appeared quite fatigued, it transitions to Huggins [spoiler: dead in his hospital bed] just before Babe marches in to announce that he and Claire just got back from their honeymoon.

* AmbiguouslyAbsentParent: Averted; While Babe Ruth's father is shown as a well-off bartender and owner, Babe Ruth's mother is never dhown, but it's established that she's recently passed away during Babe's first scene.

** Ruth's famous "Babe" nickname is given to him when Jack Dunne refers to him as a "babe" in front of Brother Mathias who puts together "Babe Ruth". In actuality, Babe Ruth didn't get his nickname until he had been sold to the Yankees, with it stemming from Ruth being known by his later-former Oriole teammates as "Dunn's $10'000 Babe."

** Miller Huggins is shown dying shortly after the 1927 World Series when he actually died two years later in September of 1929.

* OvershadowedByControversy: In-universe example; the narrator mentions that Babe had a stellar 1919-20 season, though adds that the baseball-going public was more focused on the heinous 1919 Black Sox World Series scandal.

* ForgoneConclusion: Even though Babe Ruth was still alive when the film premiered, any viewer watching the film since it's original release will know that Babe Ruth [spoiler: lost his battle with throat cancer and thusly the experimental treatments Babe agrees to ultimately failed].

* AmbiguouslyAbsentParent: While Babe Ruth's father is shown as a well-off bartender and owner, Babe Ruth's mother is never seen or referred to.

** Ruth's famous "Babe" nickname is given to him when Jack Dunne refers to him as a "babe" in front of a priest who puts together "Babe Ruth", instead of it stemming from Ruth being known by his later-former Oriole teammates as "Dunn's $10'000 Babe."

** Ruth's Baltimore Oriole teammates; when Babe first signs on to the Orioles, his teammates prank him by saying all pitchers sleep with their throwing arm suspended in a net. When Babe wakes up in the morning, his arm is fast asleep and he's not able to play, resulting in the prank costing the team the game.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: After Babe is taken back to the boarding school, his bartending father, George Herman Ruth Sr., is never seen or mentioned again.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Taken to ludicrous extremes, which depicts its subject in such a ridiculously positive light it almost comes off as a parody. in addition to the movie (not unexpectedly) glossing over most of Ruth's vices such as his drinking and womanizing, it also portrays him as a KindheartedSimpleton and a literal miracle worker, with moments like him ''curing a paralyzed boy by saying "hi" to him'' and curing another kid of cancer by hitting a home run.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/42139_2_large.jpg]]

A 1948 biographical drama film directed by Roy Del Ruth (no relation), which follows the life of Creator/BabeRuth (William Bendix) as he rises as a baseball star.

The movie also stars Claire Trevor, Charles Bickford, Creator/WilliamFrawley, Sam Levene, and Matt Briggs.

It was released on July 26, 1948. The film went into production as Ruth's health was declining, and was released three weeks before Ruth died.

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!Tropes for the film:

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A 1948 Biographical Historical Drama directed by Roy Del Ruth (no relations) that follows the life of Creator/BabeRuth (William Bendix) as he rises as a baseball star.

* AdaptationalDumbass: While Ruth himself becoming a major baseball player required a lot of smarts and atheltic ability, Bendix's portrayal of Ruth can best be described as a man with the mind of a child, coming close to leaning on mental deficiency in some scenes; for example, one scene in particular has him discussing his pitching problems with another man, and when a woman speaks up from the next booth, he assumes it was his male friend talking in a changed voice. When he's first offered a $1'000 baseball contract has in 1913, his response is a bewildered "There ain't that much money in the world!" A reasonable response from an 8-year-old... not from someone who's 18.

* AMinorKidtroduction: The film starts in the present of 1948 with a bunch of kids on a field trip to a sports museum before flashing back to 1906 Baltimore where we're introduced to 11-year-old George Hermann Ruth.
* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Ruth's first wife Helen Woodford is never mentioned in the film.

* BerserkButton: When Ruth is a low point, two gangsters approach hm and attempt to convince him to throw his next game in exchange for a percentage of the profits. Cue Ruth standing right up, grabbing one of them by the collar and landing a haymaker on his face hard enough to send the man stumbling backwards across the room. He may tolerate unfair officials, but don't even ''think'' of trying to get Babe involved with corruption.

** Ruth's baltimore Oriole teammates; when Babe first signs on to the Oriols, his teammates prank him by saying all pitchers sleep with their throwing arm suspended in a net. When Babe wakes up in the morning, his arm is fast asleep and he's not able to play, resulting in the prank costing the team the game.
** When Ruth is no longer physically able to play, he is fired from the league completely, despite his contract also promising a cushy desk job. One of his now-former teammates points out that Babe is perfectly within his rights to sue, only for Babe to refuse, stating it'd be suing baseball which would be like suing Christianity.
* KarmaHoudini: MLB officials fire Babe Ruth completely, cheating him out of a contract-promised desk job, and get away with it scot-free by Ruth deciding not to sue, even though he was well within his rights to and would have won easily.

* RayOfHopeEnding: As Babe Ruth was still alive by the time the movie chronologically catches up and thus there was still a chance he have beaten his cancer, the film ends with Ruth undergoing experimental treatments for his throat cancer. Unfortunately, in real life the treatments were not successful and Ruth died shortly afterwards.

* RayOfHopeEnding: The film ends with Ruth undergoing experimental treatments for his throat cancer. Unfortunately, in real life the treatments were not successful and Ruth died shortly afterwards.

A 1948 Biographical Historical Drama directed by Roy Del Ruth that follows the life of Creator/BabeRuth (William Bendix) as he rises as a baseball star.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Taken to ludicrous extremes, which depicts its subject in such a ridiculously positive light it almost comes off as a parody. in addition to the movie (not unexpectedly) glossing over most of Ruth's vices, it also portrays him as a literal miracle worker, with moments like him ''curing a paralyzed boy by saying "hi" to him'' and curing another kid of cancer by hitting a home run.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Taken to ludicrous extremes, which depicts its subject in such a ridiculously positive light it almost comes off as a parody. in addition to the movie (not unexpectedly) glossing over most of Ruth's vices, it also portrays him as a literal miracle worker, with moments like him ''curing a paralyzed boy by saying "hi" to him''.

A 1948 Biographical Historical Drama directed by Creator/RoyDelRuth that follows the life of Creator/BabeRuth (Creator/WilliamBendix) as he rises as a baseball star.

The movie also stars Creator/ClaireTrevor, Creator/CharlesBickford, Creator/WilliamFrawley, Creator/SamLevene, and Creator/MattBriggs.

It was released on July 26, 1948.

* TimeShiftedActor: Creator/RobertEllis plays Ruth at 11-years-old.