Cheap Take Me Out to the Ball Game (DVD) (Frank Sinatra, Esther Williams, Gene Kelly) (Busby Berkeley) Price

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Customer Reviews of Take Me Out to the Ball Game

When Baseball Was A Game!
Since I am only 26, I have only known the sport of baseball as a business, which it continues to be. "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" harks back to a time when people played baseball for the love of the game. The film may be sentimental, but it is a joy to see Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra sing and dance while playing baseball! Kelly makes the movie what it is, especially with the number "It's The Hat My Dear Old Father Wore". To me that is the showstopper of the movie. Sinatra on the other hand looks bored in some scenes, like this movie was below him. Esther Williams and Betty Garrett, two underrated actressed, also round out the cast.

The DVD version features two great deleted numbers. One was the charming song "Baby Doll", which Gene Kelly sings to Esther Williams. The other song is the Rodgers and Hammerstein number "Boys And Girls Like You And Me", which Sinatra sings to Betty Garrett. The movie loses one star, because of Sinatra's role and the only average musical score. The DVD version adds a lot to the film, and it actually makes me want to dust off my old glove and pitch a few...

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Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra are back together again!
Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra are back after starring "Anchors Aweigh", and they're better than ever! Gene Kelly is Eddie O'Brien and Frank Sinatra is Dennis Ryan, two baseball players for the champion team the Wolves, in the off-season they're vaudeville stars. As the baseball season begins to start, the Wolves are horrified to hear that there's a new owner for the team, K.C. Higgins, who's going to 'actively take part in the training'! But as it turns out, the mysterious K.C. Higgins's first name is Katherine (Esther Williams), meaning she's a woman! Womanizer Eddie soon becomes frustrated when the beautiful Katherine doesn't fall for any of his charms, and sparks fly as the two soon become enemies. On the other hand, Dennis begins to fall in love with her but does she return his love? Also starring are Jules Munshin as Nat Goldberg, Eddie and Dennis's best baseball buddy, Betty Garrett as Shirly Delwyn who has her eye on Dennis, and Edward Arnold as Joe Lorgan who is a baseball gambler.

"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is certainly one of MGM's musical comedy gems. With all the elements of a good musical, including a great cast, terrific music, fantastic dances, sweet romance, and lots of laughs, this musical is a must-see for musical/comedy fans. The plot is not complicated and in the tradition of MGM musical comedies, the story is fast-paced making the 93 minutes just fly by with snappy dialogue, foot-tapping musical numbers, some good plot twists, and great interactions between the characters.

Though Frank Sinatra and Esther Williams are listed first in the credits, this movie is mostly Gene Kelly's. Besides stealing the film with his charm, energy, and his tap dancing powers, who can't help but fall in love with him? A womanizer in the beginning of the film, it is fun to see him in the end fall in love with the 'right girl for him'. Frank Sinatra is of course his sweet self and the scenes between him and Betty Garrett are laugh-out-loud funny! It's surprising to know that he can't really dance since he does pretty well alongside Kelly though it is obvious that Kelly is the more experienced. Jules Munshin is perfectly cast as the third member of the 'O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg' play, it wouldn't have been too bad to have more of him. And of course, Esther Williams, called at the time "America's Mermaid", is just simply stunning. Though not necessarily a 'swimming movie', Esther of course gets a chance to show off a bathing suit at the hotel swimming pool. It's not everyday a bathing beauty can sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" while swimming!

Now here's a list of the great musical numbers in the movie:
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" - Here's the famous musical number where Kelly and Sinatra give their vaudeville performance. Later on as I mentioned before, Esther Williams sings this number while swimming.
"Yes, Indeedy" - Kelly and Sinatra sing to the Wolves about their love lives during the off-season.
"O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg" - One of the best numbers in the movie, Kelly, Sinatra, and Munshin are simply HILARIOUS! Especially the part Munshin tells about how he started off his career in baseball.
"The Right Girl for Me" - What would this film be without Frank Sinatra crooning a beautiful love song?
"It's Fate, Baby" - Betty Garrett will do ANYTHING to convince Sinatra that the two of them are meant to be. Another of the greatest numbers in the movie.

"Strictly U.S.A." - A clam bake, hot dogs, lemonade... it's strictly U.S.A!
"Upon St. Patrick's Day" - The BEST number, the reason is because this is all Gene Kelly's! Singing in an Irish brogue, he later on puts his feet to work, giving us one of the best tap dancing numbers ever done. There's this one part where he will simply stun you as he kicks one of his legs up while his one foot on the ground continues to tap dance! It's no wonder Gene Kelly is one of the best tap dancers there was or probably ever will be.

Here are some other Gene Kelly movies I highly recommend:
*ANCHORS AWEIGH* (1945) - The first teaming up of Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra, also starring is Kathryn Grayson. Not one of the best musical comedies, but it's well worth it to watch Kelly dance "The Worry Song" with the cartoon mouse, Jerry!
*ON THE TOWN* (1949) - Once again, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Jules Munshin, and Betty Garrett are joined once again to star in this delightful film about three sailors going 'on the town'. Also starring the terrific Anne Miller (in my opinion the best woman tap dancer ever) and the beautiful Vera Ellen.
*COVER GIRL* (1944) - One of Kelly's earlier film, he stars along with Rita Hayworth and Phil Silvers in a movie with a great story.
*SINGIN' IN THE RAIN* (1952) - Who can forget this film, named one of the best musicals ever, starring Kelly alongside Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor? If you haven't seen this, I assure you that you're definitely missing out on a classic!

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A Musical Baseball Film That's Not About Baseball
TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME is a typical MGM musical. Its story is silly at best and almost always implausible, yet somehow as if through some magical action, it works and the viewer believes that what is on the screen could actually happen. This is due to the fact that MGM seems to always have quality in mind. Add to the fact that the actors and actresses had more than looks and appeal, and you almost automatically have a wonderful film.

The plot is rather simple. Eddie O'Brien (played by Gene Kelly) and Dennis Ryan (played by Frank Sinatra) are baseball players by profession, but at heart they are Vaudeville entertainers. Trouble begins when they return to playing ball and learn the team is under new ownership. The owner's name is K.C. Higgins. When Higgins (played by Esther Williams) turns out to be a woman, a battle of the sexes begins. Ryan is set up to fall in love with Higgins, but meets Shirley Delwin, a girl who is both pretty and knows baseball. The two are smitten and Ryan wonders how he will break the news to Higgins. This turns out not to be a problem since Higgins naturally falls in love with Kelly, and in the end, all end up together and happily ever after. Of course the real treasure of this film is not the plot but the wonderful song and dance numbers. Sinatra croons away and Kelly wows the audience with his dance techniques. Of course Esther Williams has a swimming number. The movie ends with the four stars singing and dancing to "Simply America." Its major purpose was probably to promote patriotism and seems set in the 1940's rather than the early 1900's, and in the number Sinatra and Kelly sing of the virtues of great female performers such as Judy Garland and Kathryn Grayson while Williams and Garrett respond by singing the praises of Bing Crosby and Fred Astair. The DVD includes edited portions of the film which are interesting to see.

All in all, the film is both nostalgic and entertaining in MGM's trademark manner.