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The Story
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It's the 40s, America has gotten into WWII and most of the eligible Major
League Baseball players are being drafted. In an attempt to save the sport,
several team owners and buisnessmen formed the All American Girls Baseball
League. The film begins in the 90s as Dottie Hinson (one of the players
from the 40s team) leaves to attend her League's installation in Cooperstown,
The Baseball Hall of Fame.
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The Cast
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C - Geena Davis, as Dottie Hinson. The “Queen of Diamonds” is the best player in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League that was formed during World War II when men’s baseball was shut down and team owners needed something to keep the sport alive. A handful of teams based at small Midwestern cities played from 1943-1954. “A League of Their Own” is based on this true story, but focuses on two players from a farm in Oregon—Dottie, married to a serviceman stationed overseas, and her younger sister who’s “as unmarried as they come.” Davis shines as the reticent star who manages the team in the early going and makes some amazing catches behind the plate, which we learn in the extras were really her! All of the actresses were hired primarily because of their ability to play baseball. |
| Manager - Tom Hanks, as Jimmy Dugan, a former major-league star destined for the Hall of Fame who drank himself out of baseball. Hanks usually has the stage to himself, but even in an ensemble he brings great vitality to his part. When he pees in front of the girls, shuffles along in an alcoholic stupor, kisses the team’s chaperone (Pauline Brasilsford) thinking she’s one of the beautiful players, and constantly spits tobacco juice, he couldn’t be any more convincingly hilarious. Marshall directed him before in “Big,” so she knew what she was getting. |
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CF - Madonna, as “All the Way” Mae Mordabito. This chain-smoking female Charlie Hustle, who used to be a dime-a-dance girl, offers to spice up things by “accidentally,” ala Janet Jackson, giving fans a glimpse of her boob. Marshall wanted Madonna because she needed a high-energy dancer for a roadhouse scene, but first the superstar had to pass the baseball test, like all the rest. Actresses had to show they could hit, throw, and run before they were even considered for a part. After consultants from the L.A. Dodgers told Marshall the material girl was “teachable,” she was in. |
| P - Lori Petty, as Kit Keller, a kid sister with
a big inferiority complex who’s as competitive in her sibling rivalry as
she is on the mound. The fiery fireballer needs to be cooled off more than
once, and though Petty plays it a bit over the top at times, she makes it
easy for viewers to believe the love-hate relationship she has with big
sis. 3B - Rosie O’Donnell, as Doris Murphy, Mae’s tough-talking toadie-style sidekick who hits for power and doesn’t pull any punches in her performance. The stand-up comic makes you believe she’s a “broad” from the Bronx. It turns out that O’Donnell, like Petty, was a tomboy who was already a darned good ballplayer. O’Donnell was told to become Madonna’s best friend during filming, and the close relationship they developed carries over onto the screen. Madonna was frequently mentioned as Rosie's pal on "The Rosie O`Donnell Show". RF - Bitty Schram, as Evelyn Gardner, who keeps forgetting to hit the cut-off “man” with her throws, which, of course, raises the blood pressure of the manager and provides for one of the cinemas' greatest comic moments, "There's no crying in baseball!" — as does her delinquent little boy, whom she brings on road trips. She went on to become Adrian Monk's nurse in the USA Network hit series "Monk". |
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Special FX / Sound
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The special FX in this picture are minimal, not being one of those hi-tech, sci-fi types of films. The most technical FX in this feel good baseball story is the fade from black and white to color ( when Marshal re-creates the old style Newsreel footage). The sound quality is even and pleasant to the ear. Even the quietest whisper is audible without playing with the volume button on the remote ( one of my pet peeves ). The large crowd scenes do not require adjustment either, a pleasure in the world of low quality sound recording in motion pictures. |
Directing
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Penny Marshall's films have always been a pleasure to watch (Jumpin' Jack Flash, Big, Awakenings & Renaissance Man - just to name a few). Who would have guessed that little Laverne DeFazio ( of "Laverne & Shirley" fame ) could have grown up to become such a talented film maker. I guess the move to Hollywood was a step in the right direction. Even so, she hasn't forgotten her roots. Carmine "The Big Ragoo" Ragusa (Eddie Mekka) and Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggmann (David L. Lander) from "Laverne & Shirley" both have bit parts in the film. Mekka, in the dance hall scene and Lander is the play-by-play announcer at the Rockford Peaches homegames.
K. Mangum - June 2005 |
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