The Babe (1992)

50% of critics liked it
(16 reviews)
39% of users liked it
(7,020 ratings)

John Goodman is cast as the Sultan of Swat, whose excesses -- especially drinking -- and private demons can (in this context) be excused in view of his genuine love of baseball. The facts never get in the way of a good story for screenwriter John Fusco; we're even offered the umpteenth rehash of… More John Goodman is cast as the Sultan of Swat, whose excesses -- especially drinking -- and private demons can (in this context) be excused in view of his genuine love of baseball. The facts never get in the way of a good story for screenwriter John Fusco; we're even offered the umpteenth rehash of "Little Johnny", the largely fanciful tale of the invalid boy who promises to get well if Babe hits him a homer (as in Pride of the Yankees, the cured Johnny makes return a appearance as grownup). The most amusing fabrication is the casting of narrow James Cromwell as the Babe's orphanage mentor Brother Mathias, who in real life weighed 300 pounds. Many of the characters are composites, notably Bruce Boxleitner's Jumpin' Joe Dugan. At least Ruth's two wives--Trini Alvarado as Helen, who suffers Babe's many peccadilloes and dies under strange circumstances, and Kelly McGillis as Claire, who keeps Babe on a very short leash-are depicted with a modicum of accuracy. The baseball sequences are well handled (though there could have been less slo-mo) while Elmer Bernstein's charmingly old-fashioned musical score is right in tune with the film's approach to its subject. The Babe is rated PG; had this been the whole truth and nothing but, and R rating would probably have been in order. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 55 min.
Directed By: Arthur Hiller
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Apr 17, 1992 Wide
On DVD: Jul 1, 2003
Studio: MCA Universal Home Video

Critic Reviews

Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Goodman as Babe Ruth has good moments.
Martin Scribbs, Low IQ Canadian
The weakest baseball movie not to star Tom Selleck, Corbin Bersen, or a team of lovable black inner-city tots.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Charts the life and exploits of America's first real superstar athlete.
Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)
A terrible bio-pic, almost as bad as William Bendix in The Babe Ruth Story; Goodman is all ham; inaccuracies abound; no real sense of the game is evident.
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
Not one of the best baseball biopics out there, but Goodman makes it fun.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Featured Audience Ratings

Tim S

John Goodman turns Babe Ruth into an asshole - pretty much sums up the film.
Anthony L

Made for TV feel good film. I kept watching so it couldn?t have been all that bad. Goodman is very good but it helps if you?re a fan of baseball (I?m not though so whatever)!
danny d

its been a while but i remember liking this movie. john goodman is always good and the babe is a good time. while liking this flick, it was fairly historically inaccurate, but most of these movies are.

Cast

            John Goodman as George Herman "Babe" Ruth

            Kelly McGillis as Claire Hodgeson-Ruth

            Trini Alvarado as Helen Woodford-Ruth

            Bruce Boxleitner as Jumpin' Joe Dugan

            Peter Donat as Harry Frazee

            James Cromwell as Brother Mathias

            J.C. Quinn as Jack Dunn

            Bernard Kates as Colonel Jacob Ruppert

            Michael McGrady as Lou Gehrig

            Stephen Caffrey as Johnny Sylvester age 30

            James Andelin as Asa

            Larry Cedar as Forbes Field Announcer

            Ron Dean as Umpire Owens

            James Deuter as Society Man

            Matt Doherty as Boy in Car

            James "Ike" Eichling as Cigar Smoker

            Ralph Foody as Pittsburgh Man

            Brett Hadley as 1st Umpire

            Irma P. Hall as Fanny Baily

            Harry Hutchinson as Tris Speaker

            Roy Hytower as Elevator Operator

            Beep Iams as Boy at St. Mary's

            Ken Kells as 2nd Umpire

            Dana Lubotsky as Julia

            Ralph Marrero as Francesco Stephano "Ping Bodie" Pezzolo

            Jim Ortlieb as Scribe

            Michael Papajohn as Heckler

            Rick Reardon as Ernie Shore

            Hank Robinson as 4th Umpire

            Gene Ross as Brother Paul

            Ned Schmidtke as Hospital Reporter

            Peter Siragusa as Umpire Hildebrand

            Richard Tyson as Guy Bush

            Ron West as Spectator

            Laura Whyte as Mrs. Ballister

            Jeffrey Wiseman as Boy at St. Mary's

            Alan Johnson as Orphanage Reporter

            William J. Norris as Fedoras

            Shannon Cochran as Flapper

            Danny Goldring as Carrigan

            Shirley Spiegler Jacobs as Woman in Coffee Shop

            Michael Krawic as Theatergoer

            Bob Swan as George Ruth Sr.

            Meg Thalken as Johnny's Nurse

            Steve King as Fuchs

            Michael Nicolosi as Jimmy Colosimmo

            W. Earl Brown as Herb Pennock

            Nicholas Rudall as Brother Malcolm

            Albert B. Smith as Speakeasy Band

            Daniel Anderson as Bistro Band

            John Webb as Eddie

            Joe Ragno
            
See full cast