A project at work got me thinking about…baseball musicals. I decided to hijack my Netflix queue and send Damn Yankees and Take Me Out to the Ball Game to the top. I enjoyed them just as much as I did as a kid, if not more — it still doesn’t take much for me to suspend my disbelief. Neither movie is perfect; sometimes the plot drags a little or there’s a ridiculous song that does nothing to further the story, but overall, such fun and such catchy songs. (Why, for example, do I remember the words to “‘Twas the hat me dear old father wore…” after at least 15 years?!) Note: I would like to have provided excerpts from Take Me Out to the Ball Game, but nothing seems to be on YouTube.
So, what do I like about both movies?
Strong female characters. In Take Me Out to the Ball Game, there’s the female team manager (Esther Williams) who’s as good at baseball as she is at breaking hearts, and the determined, spunky baseball fan (Betty Garrett, playing almost the same character as she does in On the Town, another Kelly-Sinatra musical). Garrett manages to sling Frank Sinatra over her shoulders at least 3 times during the movie! Meanwhile, Damn Yankees offers the sharp, investigative journalist (Rae Allen) and the sexy, self-willed Lola (Gwen Verdon).
Wonderful all-male numbers. Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra have fun guffawing with the boys on “Yes, Indeedy” in which they describe all the girls they kissed while touring with their vaudeville act. Even better, however, is “O’Brien to Ryan to Goldberg.” I like Golberg’s (aka Jules Munshin) deep voice and he holds his own to Sinatra and Kelly (Munshin, incidentally, is also in On the Town). In Damn Yankees, there’s “You Got to Have Heart.” Don’t watch the excerpt below unless you want to sing the song for the rest of the day. And the whole baseball team gets to do some fancy Fosse footwork on “Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, MO.”
And particulars:
In Take Me Out to the Ball Game, I enjoyed the exploration of Americana: baseball, vaudeville, and lists of American things, as in “Strictly U.S.A.”
In Damn Yankees, I loved the explosive Fosse choreography. How refreshing not to see the usual tap dancing (as much as I love it, it doesn’t permit a wide range of expression). I am in awe of Gwen Verdon — it took me a while to warm up to her, because I didn’t like her character’s first song (“A Little Brains, A Little Talent”), but now I recognize her as a brilliant triple threat. I think Lola’s change through the movie is convincing and ultimately very affecting. And even though it’s a very, very silly song that has nothing to do with plot, I loved watching the mambo number with Fosse and Verdon dancing. They are so well paired it is no wonder they married.
Perhaps now we’ll all have some new songs to sing at the baseball game, instead of the usual fare (I’m thinking of “Thank God I’m a Country Boy”, which I hear at Camden Yards. Every time.).
Lanahj 