Baseball: A Selected Feature Filmography

Features

Moneyball (2011). Photo by Melinda Sue Gordon. © 2011 Columbia TriStar Marketing Group, Inc

FIRST INNING

The Ball Game (1898) – part of a game between the Reading Phillies and the Newark Bears – Produced by Edison Manufacturing Company

Casey at the Bat (1899) – from Ernest Lawrence Thayer poem – Produced by James H. White for Edison Manufacturing Company (40 seconds long)

Casey at the Bat (1913) Directed by James Young – with Harry T. Morey and Norma Talmadge

Spit Ball Sadie (1915) Directed by Hal Roach – with Harold Lloyd as Lonesome Luke

Casey at the Bat (1916) Directed by Lloyd Ingraham – with DeWolf Hopper

Somewhere in Georgia (1917) Directed by George Ridgwel – with Ty Cobb as himself

The Pinch Hitter (1917) Directed by Victor Schertzinger – with Charles Ray

The Busher (1919) Directed by Jerome Storm – with Charles Ray and Colleen Moore

 

Heading Home (1920).

SECOND INNING

Headin’ Home (1920) Directed by Lawrence C. Windom – with Babe Ruth as himself

Casey at the Bat (1922) – with DeWolf Hopper reciting Thayer poem – Produced in DeForest Phonofilm experimental sound-on-film process (six minutes long)

Casey at the Bat (1927) Directed by Monte Brice – with Wallace Beery and Zasu Pitts

Babe Comes Home (1927) Directed by Ted Wilde – with Babe Ruth as Babe Dugan and Anna Q. Nilsson

Fireman, Save My Child (1927) Directed by A. Edward Sutherland – with Wallace Beery and Raymond Hatton

The Bush Leaguer (1927) Directed by Howard Bretherton – with Monte Blue

Slide, Kelly, Slide (1927) Directed by Edward Sedgwick – with William Haines

Fast Company (1929) – first sound baseball feature; first film version of the play Elmer the Great – Directed by A. Edward Sutherland – with Jack Oakie

 

THIRD INNING

Fireman, Save My Child (1932) Directed by Lloyd Bacon – with Joe E. Brown

Elmer the Great (1933) – from play by Ring Lardner and George M. Cohan. – Directed by Mervyn Leroy – with Joe E. Brown

Death on the Diamond (1934) Directed by Edward Sedgwick – with Robert Young

Alibi Ike (1935) – from Ring Lardner story – Directed by Ray Enright – with Joe E. Brown

 

FOURTH INNING

Pride of the Yankees (1942) Directed by Sam Wood – with Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth as himself

It Happened in Flatbush (1943) Directed by Ray McCarey – with Lloyd Nolan and Carole Landis

Ladies’ Day (1943) Directed by Leslie Goodwins – with Eddie Albert, Lupe Velez and Max Baer

The Babe Ruth Story (1948) Directed by Roy del Ruth – with William Bendix as Babe Ruth

Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949) Directed by Busby Berkeley – with Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly and Esther Williams

It Happens Every Spring (1949) Directed by Lloyd Bacon – with Ray Milland and Paul Douglas

The Stratton Story (1949) Directed by Sam Wood – with James Stewart as Monty Stratton

The Kid from Cleveland (1949) Directed by Herbert Kline – with George Brent, Tris Speaker, Hank Greenberg and Satchel Paige

 

Kill the Umpire (1950). Columbia Pictures

FIFTH INNING

Kill the Umpire (1950) – written by Frank Tashlin Directed by Lloyd Bacon – with William Bendix

The Jackie Robinson Story (1950) Directed by Alfred E. Green – with Jackie Robinson and Ruby Dee

Rhubarb (1951) Directed by Arthur Lubin – with Ray Milland

Angels in the Outfield (1952) Directed by Clarence Brown – with Paul Douglas and Janet Leigh

The Winning Team (1952) Directed by Lewis Seiler – with Ronald Reagan as Grover Cleveland Alexander

The Pride of St. Louis (1952) Directed by Harmon Jones – with Dan Dailey as Dizzy Dean

The Kid from Left Field (1953) Directed by Harmon Jones – with Dan Dailey

The Big Leaguer (1953) Directed by Robert Aldrich – with Edward G. Robinson

The Great American Pastime (1956) Directed by Herman Hoffman – with Tom Ewell

Fear Strikes Out (1957) Directed by Robert Mulligan – with Tony Perkins as Jimmy Piersall

Damn Yankees (1958) Directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen – with Gwen Verdon and Tab Hunter

 

SIXTH INNING

Safe at Home (1962) Directed by Walter Doniger – with Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris

Bang the Drum Slowly (1973) Directed by John D. Hancock – with Michael Moriarty and Robert De Niro

The Bingo Long Traveling All Stars and Motor Kings (1976) Directed by John Badham – with Billy Dee Williams, James Earl Jones and Richard Pryor

The Bad News Bears (1976) Directed by Michael Ritchie – with Walter Matthau, Tatum O’Neil and Jackie Earle Haley

The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training (1977) Directed by Michael Pressman – with William Devane and Jackie Earle Haley

The Bad News Bears Go to Japan (1978) Directed by John Berry – with Tony Curtis and Jackie Earle Haley

 

SEVENTH INNING

The Natural (1984) – from Bernard Malamud novel – Directed by Barry Levinson – with Robert Redford

The Slugger’s Wife (1985) – writ- ten by Neil Simon – Directed by Hal Ashby – with Michael O’Keefe and Rebecca De Mornay

Eight Men Out (1988) Written and Directed by John Sayles – with John Cusack and Charlie Sheen

Bull Durham (1988) Written and Directed by Ron Shelton – with Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins

Field of Dreams (1989) – from W.P. Kinsella novel – Written and Directed by Phil Alden Robinson – with Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones

Major League (1989) Written and directed by David S. Ward – with Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen and Corbin Bernsen

 

A League of Their Own (1992). Columbia Pictures

EIGHTH INNING

Talent for the Game (1991) Directed by Robert M. Young – with Edward James Olmos and Lorraine Bracco

The Babe (1992) Directed by Arthur Hiller – with John Goodman as Babe Ruth

A League of Their Own (1992) Directed by Penny Marshall – with Geena Davis, Tom Hanks and Madonna

Mr. Baseball (1992) Directed by Fred Schepisi – with Tom Selleck

Rookie of the Year (1993) Directed by Daniel Stern – with Thomas Ian Nicholas and Gary Busey

The Sandlot (1993) Directed by David Mickey Evans – with Tom Guiry

Cobb (1994) Written and Directed by Ron Shelton – with Tommy Lee Jones as Ty Cobb

The Scout (1994) Directed by Michael Ritchie – with Albert Brooks and Brendan Fraser

Angels in the Outfield (1994) – remake of 1952 movie – Directed by William Dear – with Danny Glover and Tony Danza

Major League II (1994) Directed by David S. Ward – with Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger and Corbin Bernsen

Little Big League (1994) Directed by Andrew Scheinman – with Luke Edwards and Timothy Busfield

The Fan (1996) Directed by Tony Scott – with Robert De Niro and Wesley Snipes

Major League: Back to the Minors (1998) Directed by John Warren – with Scott Bakula and Corbin Bernsen

For Love of the Game (1999) Directed by Sam Raimi – with Kevin Costner

 

NINTH INNING

Hardball (2001) Directed by Brian Robbins – with Keanu Reeves and Diane Lane

The Rookie (2002) Directed by John Lee Hancock – with Dennis Quaid

Mr. 3000 (2004) Directed by Charles Stone III – with Bernie Mac and Angela Bassett

Bad News Bears (2005) – remake of 1976 movie Directed by Richard Linklater – with Billy Bob Thornton and Greg Kinnear

Fever Pitch (2005) – adapted from Nick Hornby novel Directed by Peter and Bobby Farrelly – with Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon

Benchwarmers (2006) Directed by Dennis Dugan – with Rob Schneider and David Spade

The Final Season (2007) Directed by David Mickey Evans – with Sean Astin

Touching Home (2008) Directed by Logan Miller and Noah Miller – with Ed Harris and Brad Dourif

The Perfect Game (2009) Directed by William Dear – with Clifton Collins, Jr. and Cheech Marin

Moneyball (2011) Directed by Bennett Miller – with Brad Pitt and Philip Seymour Hoffman

– compiled by Edward Landler

About Edward Landler 113 Articles
Edward Landler is a filmmaker, media educator and film historian. He made I Build the Tower, the definitive feature documentary on the Watts Towers, and is currently completing a cultural history of film. He can be reached at edlandler@roadrunner.com.