Take Me Out to the Ball Game

At the start of the twentieth century the baseball team the Wolves changes hands. The new owner is named K. C. Higgins, and the players grumble, assuming this is someone who will interfere too much. The person who appears is a woman who knows baseball well. The second baseman Dennis Ryan is taken with her at once. His roommate Eddie O'Brien has other plans; he is after a stage career, and men who work with gamblers want to use him against the team. Directed by Busby Berkeley, the film runs in the familiar shape of the MGM musical. The story was written by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, and Kelly also choreographed the dance sequences. Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly and Esther Williams take the leads. It was among Berkeley's last films as director. Who it's for: Viewers who like classic Hollywood musicals, the Kelly and Sinatra pairing, and dance sequences of the period. Who it's not for: The narrative is very thin and the link between numbers is weak. The woman is shown as competent and then pushed to the edge of the story.