The Babe Ruth Story (1948, William Bendix, Claire Trevor, Charles Bickford, William Frawley, Robert Ellis, Sam Levene) – Classic Movie Review 11,605

Director Roy Del Ruth’s 1948 baseball film biography The Babe Ruth Story stars William Bendix as the famed New York Yankees slugger Babe Ruth, aka ‘The Sultan of Swat’, Claire Trevor as his wife Claire, Sam Levene and Charles Bickford.

It is bad, with clunky script and direction, and has attracted unfortunate attention as one of the worst sports films ever, one the worst movies ever made, and one of the worst biopics ever. At least for this it is remembered and celebrated.

The story of all-time great ace baseball player George Herman ‘Babe’ Ruth (1895-1948) is told as though he is an American national guru, icon and institution (which of course he is) in this mawkish, myth-making, rather than myth-exploring biopic.

Roy Del Ruth Productions chose Bendix after Warner Bros refused to lend first choice Jack Carson. The potentially well-cast star Bendix is apparently portraying himself rather than characterising the baseballer in his prime from 1914 to 1935, but Bendix is likeable and it is an entertaining turn anyway.

The Babe Ruth Story is interesting, but it is none too persuasively written and handled, okay it is badly written and handled, perhaps because it was rushed into release while Ruth was still alive. Indeed, it has been called the Plan 9 from Outer Space of baseball biopics. The piece de resistance is the film’s final scene. Babe Ruth delivers his promise to a young cancer patient to hit a home run and then the child is cured of cancer.

The screenplay by Bob Considine and George Callahan is based on the 1948 book The Babe Ruth Story by Babe Ruth as told to Bob Considine. It mixes fact with fiction and makes no mention of his first wife Helen.

It is surely an influence on Kevin Costner’s Field of Dreams.

It was released three weeks before Babe Ruth died.

The cast are William Bendix as Babe Ruth, Claire Trevor as Claire Hodgson Ruth, Charles Bickford as Brother Matthias, William Frawley as Jack Dunn, Robert Ellis as Babe Ruth as a Boy, Sam Levene as Phil Conrad, Matt Briggs as Col Jacob Ruppert, Fred Lightner as Miller Huggins, Mark Koenig as Himself, Mel Allen as Himself, H.V. Kaltenborn as Himself, Frankie Darro as Newsboy (uncredited), Ralph Dunn as Babe Ruth’s Father (uncredited), Frank Ferguson as Danny’s Father (uncredited), Tommy Ivo as Danny (uncredited) and Harry Tenbrook as Taxicab Driver (uncredited).

Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,605

Link to Derek Winnert’s home page for more reviews: http://derekwinnert.com/