WatchMojo recently put together a list of the 10 best biopics, considering sports movies based on real-life people and teams. The list, which does not include documentaries, puts together a decent list that is a good start for prompting a discussion.
There are some good choices on the list, even including some nice surprises like Hurricane (1999), Chariots of Fire (1981), Remember the Titans (2000), 42 (2013), and Cinderella Man (2005). I doubt everyone will agree with the complete list, but everyone will agree with some of the films. Check it out.
It is difficult to argue with WatchMojo’s number one pick. But no Miracle (2004), Eight Men Out (1988), Brian’s Song (1971), Rudy (1993), Pride of the Yankees (1942), or We Are Marshall (2006)? What sports biopics would you add to the list? Leave your two cents in the comments.
The great baseball player George Herman “Babe” Ruth, Jr. passed away on August 16, 1948 at the age of 53. Ruth, who was born in Baltimore on February 6, 1895, died from cancer, which had been diagnosed two years before his death.
Ruth’s Funeral
After Ruth’s death, his body lay in state at the entrance of Yankee Stadium (“The House That Ruth Built“) for two days. During that time, fans lined up to pay their last respects.
This video shows people lined up outside Yankee Stadium to Ruth one last time. It also includes scenes from Babe Ruth’s funeral, as well as some archival footage of the Sultan of Swat. Check it out.
Ruth Movies
In the month before Ruth’s death, Allied Artists released a bio-pic about the slugger, The Babe Ruth Story (1948), starring William Bendix as Ruth. Many critics have called the film, which includes scenes of Ruth healing sick children (a legend parodied by John Candy on SCTV), one of the worst movies of all time.
Regarding The Babe Ruth Story, people also note that the film could not even get little things right. For example, Bendix plays baseball as a right hander. Ruth was a lefty.
But if you watch The Babe Ruth Story with the right attitude and do not expect a realistic biography, you might have some fun. You can check out the trailer below.
Perhaps Ruth was so larger than life and so well known that it is difficult to make a good film about him. Like The Babe Ruth Story, 1992’s The Babe — with John Goodman in the title role — generally received poor reviews.
One of my favorite Babe Ruth movies was not really about Babe Ruth. Pride of the Yankees (1942) tells the story of Lou Gehrig’s career through the discovery that he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), what became known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.”
In Pride of the Yankees, Gary Cooper pays Gehrig and Ruth plays himself. What I always admired about Ruth’s self-portrayal is that he took part in a scene that makes Gehrig look much better than he does.
In the scene, Ruth visits a sick kid surrounded by reporters covering his visit. Then Gehrig visits the kid in private, showing his sincere concern and promising to hit two home runs for the child during the 1928 World Series. Reportedly, the Gehrig incident never took place and is loosely based on when Ruth promised a home run during the 1926 World Series to a hospitalized boy.
The movie’s version of the story makes Ruth look bad in comparison to Gehrig. But his generosity in playing the scene in tribute to his former teammate says a lot about the The Bambino as a person. Unfortunately, that scene is not available on Youtube (although another scene featuring Ruth is available on the Turner Classic Movies website).
Baseball would not be the same had Babe Ruth not come along, and there will never be another one like him. Thanks Babe.
What is your favorite Babe Ruth story? Leave your two cents in the comments.
On May 7, 1901, Frank James Cooper was born in Helena, Montana. After some work as a salesman and promoter, he started working as an actor in 1925, changing his first name to Gary when he signed a contract with Paramount. Reportedly, a casting director suggested the new name after her tough hometown of Gary, Indiana.
Gary Cooper went on to star in many memorable films including Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), Meet John Doe (1941), Pride of the Yankees (1942), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), and The Fountainhead (1949). Cooper was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar and lost for Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Pride of the Yankees, and For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Cooper’s First Best Actor Oscar
He received the Best Actor Oscar twice. First, he won the honor in 1942 for Sergeant York (1941).
Sergeant York features a terrific performance, even if some note that Hollywood may have been motivated to honor the World War I film about a pacifist becoming a soldier to encourage Americans to sign up to fight in the new war. Below is the trailer.
Cooper’s Second Oscar & The Meaning of High Noon
More than a decade later, he won the Best Actor Oscar for High Noon (1952), the last time he was nominated for Best Actor. It is hard to pick a favorite Gary Cooper movie, but I am not sure anything tops High Noon (1952).
We liked Cooper as a hero.
At the 25th Academy Awards in 1953, Cooper was filming another movie in Mexico and was ill. So, John Wayne accepted the award for him.
Below, actress Janet Gaynor announces Cooper’s win, and Wayne accepts the statue.
Interestingly despite Wayne’s joke wondering why he did not get the High Noon role, Wayne reportedly did not like the movie. There are various theories about why, but Garry Wills in John Wayne’s America explained that Wayne thought the movie ended on a note of disrespect for the law when Cooper dropped his badge in the dirt at the end.
Like Wayne, a number of people found political messages in High Noon. Some suspected High Noon had a “leftist” message. By contrast, though, others believed the script, written by Carl Foreman, who would later be blacklisted, was not sending a left-wing message but exploring the way people had cowered to the bully Sen. Joe McCarthy.
Other viewers find in High Noon a conservative message about how one man has to stand up when the justice system breaks down. Or they find an allegory about the Cold War. In Bright Lights Film Journal, Prof. Manfred Weidhorn summed up the contrasting theories about the movie, saying “High Noon, bristling with ambiguity, is a veritable Rorschach test.”
But High Noon is deep down a great movie, however you want to interpret any messages about the man (and his wife) standing up to the bad guys. And maybe the possibility of so many interpretations adds to its American character.
Many years ago when I was in college in the pre-Internet days and had some friends visiting from Sweden, I took them to a revival theater to see High Noon. I thought it was a wonderful example of an American movie, or at least of an example regarding how Americans see themselves.
Another former actor, Ronald Reagan, recognized how the movie remained in America’s consciousness decades later. He invokes the movie in this clip, discussing what it was like for a Republican to be in Democratic territory.
Cooper’s Third Oscar
Nearly a decade after High Noon, Cooper would be awarded a third and final Oscar. In April 1961, the Academy gave Cooper a Lifetime Achievement Oscar for his great career.
Cooper again could not accept the award. But this time, unknown to many, it was because of a serious illness.
When viewers saw Cooper’s friend Jimmy Stewart give an emotional speech at the Oscars, though, they realized Cooper was not well. The news soon came out that Cooper was suffering from prostate cancer. He died one month later on May 13, 1961, leaving behind a collection of great films that would be the envy of any actor.
What is your favorite Gary Cooper movie? Leave your two cents in the comments.
With the new baseball season just getting under way, it is time to reflect on some of the great baseball movies with a quote quiz. Match the quote from a baseball movie with the correct movie. Some are easy, some are more difficult. Answers will be posted in the comments.
The Quotes: (1.) “This field, this game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and what could be again.”
(2.) “You know what we get to do today, Brooks? We get to play baseball.”
(3.) “People all say that I’ve had a bad break.”
(4.) “There’s no crying in baseball.”
(5.) “You throw the ball. You hit the ball. You catch the ball.”
(6.) “Mild thing, you make my butt sting!”
(7.) “You love the Red Sox, but have they ever loved you back?”
(8.) “You have never been this close to greatness in your short life son. And you love it.”
(9.) “I am hung over, my knees are killing me and if you’re gonna pull this shit at least you can say you’re from the Yankees.”
(10.) “I’ve been brushing up on my Spanish of late, and I think he is saying something about, you know, his being Catholic, and it’s [wearing a cup] a sin.”
(11.) “Say it ain’t so, Joe. Say it ain’t so. ”
(12.) “God, I just love baseball.”
Match Each Quote With Correct Movie from This List: (a) Bull Durham (1988); (b) A League of Their Own (1992); (c) Bad News Bears (1976); (d) Cobb (1994); (e) The Natural (1984); (f) Pride of the Yankees (1942); (g) Fever Pitch (2005); (h) Major League (1989); (i.) Field of Dreams (1989); (j) Eight Men Out (1988); (k) Major League II (1994); (l) The Rookie (2002).
Ratings: 0-2 correct: Little League; 3-4 correct: Single A; 5-6 correct: Triple A; 7-8 correct: Major League Rookie; 9-10 correct: Major League Starter; 11 correct: Major League All-Star; 12 correct: World Series Champ.
Answers will be posted in the comments. What is your favorite baseball movie quote?
(1948), starring William Bendix as Ruth. Many critics have called the film, which includes scenes of Ruth healing sick children (a legend parodied by John Candy on 
explained that Wayne thought the movie ended on a note of disrespect for the law when Cooper dropped his badge in the dirt at the end.
