A 1948 biographical drama film directed by Roy Del Ruth (no relation) which follows the life of Babe Ruth (William Bendix) as he rises as a baseball star.
The supporting cast includes Claire Trevor, Charles Bickford, Sam Levene, William Frawley, Gertrude Niesen, and Matt Briggs.
The film went into production as Ruth's health was declining, and was released on July 26, 1948, three weeks before his death.
Tropes for the film:
- Adaptational Dumbass: 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 doesn't even clue in that somebody else was talking to him and assumes it was his male friend's voice changing. When he's first offered a $600-per-season baseball contract 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.
- All Part of the Show: Babe at one point pursues Claire and finds himself on stage during a live performance. The audience is quick to notice legendary player Babe Ruth onstage and as such, Ruth attempts to dance along with the on-stage dancers but is out of sync for almost the entire time.
- Ambiguously Absent Parent: Averted; While Babe Ruth's father is shown as a well-off bartender and owner, Babe Ruth's mother is never shown, but it's established that she's recently passed away during Babe's first scene.
- Artistic License – Geography: 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 and never in his life resided anywhere near Indiana.
- Artistic License – History:
- Ruth's first wife Helen Woodford is never mentioned in the film.
- 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.
- When Babe Ruth is on his deathbed, his life-long mentor Brother Mathias comes to visit him one last time. Unfortunately in real life, Mathias didn't live long enough to see Ruth on his deathbed as he had already passed away in 1944.
- Babe hitting a ball for Johnny Sylvester as well as his legendary "called shot" are both lumped into the same event at the 1932 World Series when in actuality, the famous "home run for Johnny" occured at the 1926 World Series six years earlier.
- Miller Huggins is shown dying shortly after the Yankees won the 1927 World Championships when he actually died two years later in September of 1929.
- Artistic License – Sports: The entire scene with Babe Ruth accidentally nailing a dog with a linedrive would never have happened; the umpire would have seen the dog on the playing field, declared it "spectator interference" and stopped the game until the dog was off the field and, presumably, the young boy had been given a stern lecture about keeping his dog under control. That is, if the boy would even have been allowed to bring his dog into the stadium in the first place.
- As Himself: Baseball player Mark Koenig, sportscaster Mel Allen, and radio commentator H.V. Kaltenborn make appearances.
- Asian Storeowner: Babe is first seen hiding behind his father's bar from a heavily-stereotyped Chinese storeowner who angrily rants to Babe's father in Chinese about a broken window before Mr. Ruth slams a mug of beer in front of the guy to shut him up.
- Berserk Button: 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.
- Broad Strokes: 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.
- Bullying a Dragon: When Babe signs on to the Yankees, he frequently takes jabs at team manager Miller Huggins' height, makes fun of him in front of the public and ruffles his hair. When Babe bails out of a game to take an injured dog to a hospital, Huggins suspends Ruth and lays the biggest fine a ball player has ever gotten, mockingly telling him "laugh THAT off" before walking away.
- Character Title: The Babe Ruth Story.
- Department of Redundancy Department: 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."
- Don't Explain the Joke: When Claire first suggests he can't strike players with a curveball anymore because he's telegraphing them, 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.
- The Film of the Book: Based on Bob Considine and Babe Ruth's novel of the same name.
- Foregone Conclusion: 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 lost his battle with throat cancer and thusly the experimental treatments Babe agrees to ultimately failed.
- Gilligan Cut: After Babe is taken back to the boarding school, the story cuts to Christmas Day 1913, with Babe absent from the choir. Father Matthias asks the head priest where he is, only for the priest to wonder the same thing. Cue a baseball smashing through a nearby window.
- Historical Hero Upgrade: Taken to ludicrous extremes. Ruth is depicted 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 Kindhearted Simpleton 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.
- Idiot Ball:
- 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 is exhausted and his arm is fast asleep and numb.
- 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... except for the fact he'd only be suing the team owner, manager, and certain officials, not the entire damn sport of baseball.
- Jerkass: The nameless bar patron in the prologue who trips an 11-year-child for no reason other than to get a laugh.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
- 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 concede that St. Mary's is a better place for young George than his rowdy saloon.
- 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.
- Karma Houdini: MLB officials fire Babe Ruth completely, cheating him out of the contract-promised desk job he had always dreamed of, 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.
- Laser-Guided Karma: 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.
- Late to the Realization: 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 Huggins is dead until he sees a doctor pulling his bedsheets over his face.
- Littlest Cancer Patient: Loosely based on the famous anecdote of Babe Ruth hitting a home run in the 1932 World Series for osteomyelitis patient Johnny Sylvester.
- A Minor Kidroduction: 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.
- Mistaken for Prank Call: While preparing for the 1932 World Series, Babe Ruth is informed that the place he has been staying at has been subject to several harassing phone calls from fans of the Chicago Cubs, the rivaling team. Babe is incensed by this and when the phone rings and the voice on the other end inquires if they are talking to Babe Ruth, he assumes it's another crank caller and gruffly states' "Yeah, this is George Herman 'Babe' Ruth in person, what do you wanna make of it?!", before the caller identifies himself as the father of a ill child who's a big fan of his.
- Overshadowed by Controversy: In-universe example; the narrator mentions that Babe had a stellar 1919-20 season with the Boston Red Sox, though adds that the baseball-going public was more focused on the heinous 1919 Black Sox World Series scandal.
- Punctuated! 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.
- "Ray of Hope" Ending: As Babe Ruth was still alive by the time the movie chronologically catches up and thus there was still a chance he may beat 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.
- Spinning Newspaper: Most major events in Babe Ruth's career are shown via newspaper headlines such as his time with the Orioles, being sold to the Red Sox and later the Yankees, as well as Babe setting record after record.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Babe accidentally nails a dog with a linedrive and immediately rushes the animal to the nearest hospital, forcing the doctors to act as veterinarians. Once it's taken care of, Babe is informed by an irate official that he's been suspended from playing for bailing out in the middle of a game and leaving his teammates high and dry.
- Tagline: "Here at last! The Babe's own true story!".
- Time-Shifted Actor: Robert Ellis plays Ruth at 11-years-old.
- Time Skip: Used liberally throughout the film;
- After Babe wakes up with a dead arm on his first day as a member of the Orioles, we're immediately treated to a Spinning Newspaper announcing that Babe just won his twelfth game with the team.
- After the train car scene with Huggins where he appeared quite fatigued, it transitions to Huggins 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 its ugly head so fast it's a wonder it didn't snap its 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.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: After Babe is taken back to the boarding school, his bartending father, George Herman Ruth Sr., is never seen or mentioned again. This likely has to do with Ruth Sr. being accidentally killed in a fight in 1918.
