Quote:
Originally Posted by JollyElm
The problem with the portrayal of 'The Babe' in movies is does anyone ever let their guard down far enough to actually believe the actor is Babe Ruth?? No frickin' way. They always find the fattest actor around, load him up with makeup and/or prosthetics and then pretend this completely out of shape board treader is the most famously skilled ballplayer of all time, when we wouldn't even choose him for a backyard Wiffle Ball game. Yeah right!
Although not stated directly (IIRC), this guy is supposed to be Babe Ruth in "The Catcher Was A Spy." He's like a four foot tall meatball. Come on, Hollywood!!!
Attachment 480184 |
They weren't always hacks. In 1942's Pride of the Yankees, Ruth actually played himself opposite Gary Cooper as Gehrig, if I remember correctly. And I don't think William Bendix was that bad of a Ruth portrayer.
Oh, and that reminds me of another thing touting Ruth's universal popularity and appeal. Swell actually created an entire card set to go along with and help promote the movie starring Bendix. Until the start of the junk wax era of the 80s-90s, the only similar player I can remember ever having an entire card set of more than just a handful of cards dedicated solely to them would be the 1959 Fleer Ted Williams set. And I think that wasn't so much that Fleer wanted to do a set just for Williams, but more because Topps had pretty much everyone else under exclusive contract back then.