A League of Their Own (1992)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Penny Marshall

Writers (WGA):

Kim Wilson (story) &
Kelly Candaele (story) ...

Release Date:

1 July 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Sport

Tagline:

To achieve the incredible you have to attempt the impossible.

Plot:

Two sisters join the first female professional baseball league and struggle to help it succeed amidst their own growing rivalry.

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Flashback | Female Athlete | Underdog | Sarcasm

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 5 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Tom Hanks	...	Jimmy Dugan
Geena Davis	...	Dottie Hinson
Madonna	...	Mae Mordabito
Lori Petty	...	Kit Keller
Jon Lovitz	...	Ernie Capadino
David Strathairn	...	Ira Lowenstein
Garry Marshall	...	Walter Harvey
Bill Pullman	...	Bob Hinson
Megan Cavanagh	...	Marla Hooch - 2nd Base
Rosie O'Donnell	...	Doris Murphy - 3rd Base
Tracy Reiner	...	Betty 'Betty Spaghetti' Horn - Left Field
Bitty Schram	...	Evelyn Gardner - Right Field
Don S. Davis	...	Charlie Collins, Racine Coach (as Don Davis)
Renée Coleman	...	Alice Gaspers - Left Field / Center Field (as Renee Coleman)
Ann Cusack	...	Shirley Baker - Left Field

MPAA:

Rated PG for language.

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Norway:5 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:12 | Peru:PT | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #31516) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Bosse Field - 1701 N. Main Street, Evansville, Indiana, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The characters at the Baseball Hall of Fame, and seen playing as the credits roll, are real original players from the league portrayed in the film.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The end of the film notes that the players of the AAGPBL were "the first women ever to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame." Actually, they are not inductees. Rather, they were recognized with a permanent exhibit in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, entitled "Women in Baseball," in 1988. The first woman to actually be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame was Effa Manley, the co-owner (with her husband, Abe) of the Newark Eagles. She was inducted in 2006.

Quotes:

Kit Keller: Hey, Dottie? thanks for gettin' me into the league.
Dottie Hinson: You got yourself into the league. I just got you on the train.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Ugly Betty: A League of Their Own (#2.5)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

FLYING HOME

"There is no crying in baseball!"

A League of their Own, another classic movie that I grew up with. I have to admit it, I'm a girl, I totally fell in love with this movie. But I'm one of the rare girls that loves baseball with a passion, I was raised in a very baseball oriented family, we live in Chicago, we kinda have to enjoy sports, lol. But growing up you wonder why baseball, football, basketball are more for the boys vs. the girls, girls can play but are not famous for it and if they are an athlete are accused of being manly. It's a tough world, but when I was 7 years old A League of their Own was released in theaters, my family saw this movie together and my life changed. Sounds silly, but this was the movie that reminded me to stay strong, at the time when women were expected to stay in the kitchen, as hard as they had to work for it, there was a women's baseball league during WWII. A League of their Own explores this hard but extremely fun time for the girls of the All American Baseball League.

When World War II threatens to shut down Major League Baseball, candy manufacturing magnate Walter Harvey decides to create a women's league to make money. Ira Lowenstein is put in charge of public relations and scout Ernie Capadino is sent out to recruit players. Capadino likes what he sees in catcher Dottie Hinson. She's a terrific hitter and he offers her a tryout, but the married woman is content where she is, working in a dairy and on the family farm in Oregon while her husband is away at war. He's less impressed with her younger sister, pitcher Kit Keller, who loves the game passionately but appears to be less talented. He finally lets her come along when she persuades Dottie to give it a try for her sake. When the trio arrive at the tryouts in Chicago, they meet Doris and Mae. They make it onto the team, The Peaches who are managed by drunkard former baseball great Jimmy Dugan. Jimmy initially treats the whole thing as a joke, leaving the managerial duties to Dottie. However, he takes over when he sees how hard and well his team plays. The league attracts little interest at first. With a Life magazine photographer in attendance, he asks them to do something spectacular. When a ball is popped up behind home plate, she catches it while doing splits; the resulting photograph makes the cover of the magazine. More and more people show up and the league becomes a huge success.

The acting is absolutely superb, we have actors on top of their game, Tom Hanks who delivers the memorable "There's no crying in baseball!" speech. Geena Davis who was a great heroine as the star of the league who just wants her husband home from the war but is hanging onto the league for her little sister's sake. Even Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell are great together and have awesome chemistry as best friends Mae and Doris. This is one of those chick flicks that everyone has to see because it worked on every level. Penny Marshall truly brought out the pain these girls had to go through to be taken seriously. The ending always gets me in tears I have to admit, just knowing that these girls hung in there and stayed strong when everyone told them that girls couldn't play ball, let's hope that one day they'll have the opportunity again.

10/10