The Babe Ruth Story is a 1948 American biographical film about professional baseball player Babe Ruth (1895–1948), who achieved fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees . However, most of the film, except for the basic details of Ruth's life and career achievements, was fictionalized. Directed by Roy Del Ruth , the film stars William Bendix (New York Yankee batboy in the 1920s) as the ballplayer and Claire Trevor as his wife Claire Merritt Hodgson . The film initially received positive reviews, however, modern-day critics faulted the film's heavy-handedness and direction, and it is said by many to be one of the worst films ever made .
37-618: In 1906, at the Baltimore Waterfront, 11-year-old George Herman Ruth Jr. is taken away from his abusive father by Brother Matthias and goes to St. Mary's. When George is 18, his incredible baseball talent gets him hired to play for the Baltimore Orioles , and during the interview, he gets his "Babe" nickname. Babe becomes a successful baseball player and is soon sold off to play for the Boston Red Sox . After
74-446: A bad game, Babe wonders what went wrong at a bar, until Claire Hodgson tells him that when he pitches his curveball he sticks out his tongue. He continues his success, landing a new $ 10,000 contract. He finds Claire, but she gives him the cold shoulder. During one game, Denny, a sick paralyzed child, and his father watch Babe Ruth play. When Babe says "Hiya, keed" to the boy, the child is miraculously cured and stands up. Babe soon becomes
111-458: A fight with one of the gamblers who tried to make him throw the game and gets arrested. Soon, he decides to play Santa Claus at a children's hospital, where he runs into Claire again, visiting her nephew. She tells him that his actions affect the children of America, and Babe decides to keep that in mind. Miller Huggins , the same man who suspended Babe, fights to bring him back to the Yankees as
148-410: A film that will sustain audience interest," with a performance by Bendix that had "a lot of heart." Harrison's Reports called it "a highly successful picture, from the box-office as well as the entertainment point of view," adding that Bendix "handles his part with skill and restraint," and that "few people will come out of the theatre with dry eyes." BoxOffice also ran a positive review, praising
185-507: A more colorful American figure than the Babe for motion picture documentation and it would be difficult to do a worse job with him than has been done here." The Monthly Film Bulletin of Britain wrote: "This film illustrates the American habit of canonizing baseball players, for apparently Babe Ruth did not only perform remarkable feats on the field, but could also perform miracles by curing
222-489: A player for the New York Yankees . During one game, he accidentally hurts a dog and decides to take the dog and the dog's young owner to the hospital. After Babe argues with the doctors that a dog is the same as a human, the dog is treated, but because Babe left a game to do this, he gets suspended from the Yankees. A depressed Babe Ruth finds himself at a bar, and amidst the crowd giving off negative vibes, he starts
259-428: Is hard to accept the presentation of a great, mawkish, noble-spirited buffoon which William Bendix gives in this picture as a reasonable facsimile of the Babe." Crowther also found it "a little incongruous to see a picture about a baseball star containing no more than a minimum of action on a playing field—and most of that studio action which is patently phony and absurd." John McCarten of The New Yorker also panned
296-711: The Baltimore Orioles , in addition to the three Major League Baseball teams that have used the name (the first of which played in the American Association in 1882 to 1891, then joined the National League from 1892 to 1899, the second being the American League charter franchise which played for two seasons in 1901 and 1902, and the modern AL team since April 1954.) "Orioles" is a traditional name for baseball clubs in Baltimore, after
333-901: The Chicago Cubs , inaccurately. The production was shot on location, primarily at Wrigley Field in Chicago . Other locations included St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys in Baltimore , Fenway Park in Boston , Yankee Stadium in New York City , Forbes Field in Pittsburgh , and Comiskey Park in Chicago. The film was rushed to release following news of Ruth's declining health and makes no mention whatsoever of Ruth's first wife, Helen. Despite his condition, Ruth briefly visited
370-612: The Salt Lake City Trappers won 29 in 1987 ). The Orioles won the League by 20 games over the second place team, and had a home record of 70 wins and 18 losses. Despite their impressive record, however, they lost the " Little World Series " to the American Association's champion Louisville Colonels , 4 games to 1. The Orioles actually led the fourth game, 12–4, but a riot broke out among the Louisville home crowd in
407-402: The state bird of Maryland , with the colors of black and orange/gold/yellow. It was used by major league teams representing the city from 1882 through 1899 in the old American Association and the original National League two decades after its founding in 1876, and by a charter team franchise member of the new American League from 1901 through 1902. The original American League franchise
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#1732771892897444-483: The Braves and is fired from anything related to baseball. Later, Babe complains of neck pain and soon learns that he is dying of throat cancer. The news of this leads fans to send letters telling Babe that they care. The doctors decide to try a treatment on Babe with a chance that he'll survive. As Babe is taken to surgery, the narrator gives words of encouragement to baseball fans, crediting Babe Ruth for America's love of
481-683: The Eastern League pennant in 1908 . This E.L./I.L. Orioles team played at the old American League Park (a.k.a. Oriole Park) at the southwest corner of Greenmount Avenue and 29th Street in the Waverly neighborhood of northeast Baltimore. The 1914 season featured the professional debut of local son, George Herman "Babe" Ruth , but competition from the Baltimore Terrapins of the new Federal League challenge for major league status, with their more modern steel-beamed ballpark across
518-454: The League on July 4 of that year, when their home wooden and steel beamed stadium, Oriole Park (formerly Terrapin Park of 1914), burned down. Even after relocating several blocks northwest to the old 1922 football bowl of Municipal Stadium on 33rd Street Boulevard (also known as "Baltimore Stadium"), the team seemed to have a hard time recovering from that loss, playing lackluster ball through
555-478: The Prairie , Emergency! , Bewitched , The Andy Griffith Show , The Beverly Hillbillies , Leave It to Beaver ; Kung Fu and Hart to Hart . Paul Bryar also appeared in the first season of Barnaby Jones; episode titled, "To Denise, with Love and Murder"(04/22/1973). He had a recurring role as Sheriff Harve Anders in the short-lived series The Long, Hot Summer between 1965 and 1966. His last role
592-519: The boy. During the game, Babe does exactly that, and the boy hears the news and starts to get better. Babe retires from the Yankees at the age of 41, and takes a management position with the Boston Braves , even though they want him to play in the games despite his age. During one game, Babe gets stressed out and can't continue playing, and retires from baseball after that game. Sadly, this means he goes off contract by retiring during his time with
629-423: The chance to play substantial supporting roles. Bryar appeared in three movies directed by Alfred Hitchcock , including Vertigo (1958), where he had an uncredited role as the friendly Police Captain who accompanies James Stewart to the coroner's inquest. The other Hitchcock films were Notorious (1946) and The Wrong Man (1956). He also appeared in a 1955 episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents . Byrar
666-700: The earlier Orioles team in 1914), this time as the Richmond Virginians from 1954 to 1964, later relocating as today's Toledo Mud Hens franchise in northwest Ohio since 1965. The Orioles won the Governors' Cup , the championship of the International League 2 times, and played in the Little World Series 5 times. Paul Bryar Paul Bryar (born Gabriel Paul Barrere ; February 21, 1910 – August 30, 1985)
703-480: The film "stands as possibly the worst movie ever made". The film has been called one of the worst sports films ever by Newsday and The A.V. Club , and called one of the worst biopics by Moviefone and Spike . Michael Sauter included it in his book The Worst Movies of All Time , and Leonard Maltin called it "perfectly dreadful". Baltimore Orioles (minor league) The city of Baltimore, Maryland , has been home to two Minor League Baseball teams called
740-471: The film for its "great warmth and its constant down-to-earth humanness" with "much to appeal to every taste and age," and calling Bendix's portrayal of Ruth "flawless." Shirley Povich of The Washington Post called Bendix "a believable Babe Ruth who, saddled with some of the worst lines and situations ever handed an actor, waded smartly through the mess and gave the screen its best baseball picture ... Hollywood didn't have to take all that license with it, but
777-557: The film, calling it "soggy with bathos " and writing that Bendix "handles a bat as if it were as hard to manipulate as a barrel stave. Even with a putty nose, Mr. Bendix resembles Mr. Ruth not at all, and he certainly does the hitter an injustice by representing him as a kind of Neanderthal fellow." Otis Guernsey Jr. of the New York Herald Tribune wrote that the movie "has been sentimentalized out of all possibility of stimulating film biography. It would be hard to find
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#1732771892897814-537: The first team to win that many games and went on a championship spree, seldom seen in major or minor league baseball ever since. Featuring another future Hall-of-Fame pitcher in Lefty Grove , the Orioles improved on that in 1920 by winning 110 games, including the last 25 of the season. In 1921 , the Orioles won 27 straight games (a record for consecutive victories by a minor league team that would stand until
851-563: The game before the main card player, Macon (Donnelly Rhodes), threatens the Sundance Kid (Robert Redford) in the opening scene of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). Many have mistakenly assumed that it was Bryar's character who threatened the Sundance Kid. From the 1950s until the early 1980s, Bryar appeared in about 150 television shows. He was seen in The Twilight Zone , Bonanza , Batman , Little House on
888-696: The league championship again, only to lose the "Junior World Series" to the Columbus Red Birds of Ohio, four games to one. In 2001, the Orioles teams of 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, and 1924 were recognized as being among the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time . After the 1953 season, the St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore and took the name of the Baltimore Orioles. The last minor league/International League Orioles team (of 1916–1953) re-located to Richmond (coincidentally just as had
925-408: The nice thing is that the story of Ruth is too powerful for even Hollywood to mess up more than a trifle." Negative reviews cited the film's moments of heavy-handedness, lack of good baseball action scenes, and dubious portrayal of Ruth as a childlike, kind-hearted oaf. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote that it had "much more the tone of low-grade fiction than it has of biography ... it
962-503: The rest of the season and losing their last game, only to strangely "back into the championship" when the second place team, the Newark Bears , also lost their recent games. The Orioles, under manager Alphonse "Tommy" Thomas , went on to win the " Junior World Series " that year, four games to two, against Louisville . Six years later, with the shackles of war-time baseball cast off, in 1950, under manager Nick Cullop , Baltimore won
999-472: The rival Monogram Pictures agreed to it. Sports writer Bob Considine was subsequently hired to co-write both an autobiography and biopic screenplay with Ruth. Ruth originally wanted to appear as himself, but his declining health made this impossible. Producers subsequently considered Orson Welles , Jack Carson , Dennis Morgan , and Paul Douglas for the role. Upon learning that Carson would not be released from Warner Bros. , Ruth chose Bendix. The casting
1036-474: The set of the production in Los Angeles and travelled there again to attend the premiere. However, his condition worsened during the screening, and he died three weeks later. Some contemporary reviews were positive, with Bendix drawing accolades from a number of critics for his performance. Variety called the film "interesting, if semi-fictional," writing that it combined "warmth, tears and chuckles into
1073-579: The sick and the crippled. This power is demonstrated four times in the film, each in an increasingly embarrassing manner, and William Bendix portrays Babe Ruth as a half-witted giant without any redeeming pathos." More recent assessments have been overwhelmingly negative. The Providence Journal writes that it "turns up on nearly every list of the worst movies ever made, with good reason". In an interview with Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe , Ted Williams called The Babe Ruth Story "the worst movie I ever saw", while The Washington Times stated that
1110-427: The sport. During the 1940s, numerous film producers attempted to adapt Ruth's life into a biopic. Mark Hellinger tried to purchase Sandy Mock and Hal Levy's script King of Swat in 1941. Ruth himself later offered to sell the film rights to his life to Republic Pictures in exchange for $ 150,000 and a percentage of the film's gross. Although studio head Hal B. Wallis rejected this deal after months of negotiations,
1147-641: The street, forced Dunn to sell Ruth (to the Boston Red Sox ) later in the 1914 season and many of his other players, and eventually temporarily relocate the team to Richmond, Virginia , as the Richmond Climbers , for the 1915 and 1916 seasons. After the Federal League's demise, Dunn returned with an Orioles team in 1916. This team, later in the 1919 I.L. Baseball Season won the International League pennant with 100 victories,
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1184-490: The team has had a bad season. Babe is soon brought back, and the team wins the World Series thanks to him. With this, he and Claire get married. Soon after, Huggins dies from pyaemia . During Game 3 of the 1932 World Series , Babe gets a call from the father of a dying child and promises the father that when he goes up to bat, he will call the third shot and the ball will land at a certain spot; all of this will be for
1221-470: The top of the 9th inning, and the game was forfeited to Baltimore, 9–0. The I.L. Orioles continued to roll over International League opposition for several more seasons straight through to the 1925 Baseball Season . The team entered the Governors' Cup playoffs in the International circuit in 1936, 1937, and 1940, but did not win another pennant until the "war year" of 1944 . The team was leading
1258-505: Was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly half a century, he appeared in numerous films and television series. Bryar appeared in nearly 220 films between 1938 and 1983, although most of his roles were small in size. He made his film debut in the Harold Lloyd comedy Professor Beware . Some B-movies during the 1940s and 1950s like Jungle Siren , Lady from Chungking , Parole, Inc. and The Bob Mathias Story gave him
1295-439: Was criticized because Bendix did not resemble Ruth, although the producers claimed that this was because they wanted to hire a professional actor rather than a stand-in. Charlie Root , Nana Bryant , Barton Yarborough , Wally Scott , and Paul Bryar were also originally intended to be in the film. Root claimed that he declined because the film portrayed Ruth's called shot at the 1932 World Series, which he himself had pitched with
1332-519: Was replaced by a team in New York City in 1903 and eventually became known as the New York Yankees . In 1903 , an Oriole minor league team joined the Eastern League (renamed the International League in 1911 , and not to be confused with the present day 'Double AA' level, minor league Eastern League ). This Orioles team stayed mediocre for the first few years of its existence, but after the arrival of Jack Dunn (1872–1928), as manager, it won
1369-526: Was typecast as a policeman in numerous other films, including Rebel Without a Cause (1955) and some Bowery Boys films. Bryar also played bartenders, district attorneys, sheriffs, photographers and guards. He appeared in Charles Laughton 's film classic The Night of the Hunter (1955) as a hangman and family father who feels depressed about his work. Bryar also played Card Player #1 who quits
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