Take Me Out to the Ball Game Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Take Me Out to the Ball Game Blu-ray Movie Review

Swing and a bunt.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III January 13, 2022

The second of three films headlined by Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly, Busby Berkeley's Take Me Out to the Ball Game smooshes together baseball and musical theater with mixed results. Our crooning duo stars as Dennis Ryan and Eddie O'Brien, players for the fictional Chicago Wolves who perform Vaudeville numbers during the off-season. Struggling to balance their busy careers and personal lives, things get even more complicated with the arrival of beautiful new team owner K.C. Higgins (Esther Williams). Take Me Out to the Ball Game earned a warm critical and commercial reception back in 1949 (which might even be magnified now by decades of nostalgia for America's pastime) but, while it's fluffy and entertaining with a certain amount of charm, one thing's for sure: this is no Damn Yankees.

But it's kind of meaningless to compare the two films, even though co-writer Stanley Donen was prominently involved in the production of both. Whereas Damn Yankees is an ambitious and creative retelling of the Faust legend with bona fide Broadway roots, Take Me Out to the Ball Game feels like a retread of Anchors Aweigh with baseball subbing in for Hollywood. (And since Anchors Aweigh was hardly a rock-solid foundation to begin with, that's not exactly high praise.) Yet it still floats by on a combination of pure cinematic charisma and, of course, that good old American nostalgia for baseball... even if the turn-of-the-century game represented here now feels like it's from a different planet entirely. The film's lightweight romantic drama, which mostly centers on their shared pursuit of team owner K.C. Higgins while rabid fan Shirley Delwyn (Betty Garrett) makes a play for Ol' Blue Eyes, is balanced out by other elements including the interference of gambling gangster Joe Lorgan (Edward Arnold) and his men, as well as the Chicago Wolves' efforts to maintain their winning streak... which Joe doesn't take kindly to, once he starts betting against them.

It's a workable premise but doesn't amount to much more than the sum of its parts; the kind of fluffy, forgettable film that makes for decent weekend entertainment and doesn't linger in your mind for long afterward. Still, fans of the cast will find enough to enjoy here, and several of its song breaks are well above average. But while Take Me Out to the Ball Game is probably the least compelling of the three Sinatra-Kelly films (the other being On the Town, released later that year), Warner Archive gives it the royal treatment with another top-tier restoration that makes this Technicolor beauty shine like new. At its current price point, even those halfway interested in the film may want to pick it up.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Take Me Out to the Ball Game lights up the scoreboard with another technically proficient 1080p transfer from Warner Archive. Although the source material and restoration details were not advertised, Warner Archive typically uses 2K/4K scans of either original negatives or best-available preservations; combined with their use of careful cleanup, the result is typically a razor-sharp but film-like image that preserves fine detail and textures beautifully. That's certainly the case here: as evidenced by these included screenshots, Take Me Out to the Ball Game looks absolutely stunning in its fully restored state, easily surpassing previous home video editions with a nicely-resolved image that sparkles with clarity. The film is is also not short on bold, bright colors, from its costume design to the vivid backgrounds -- except for those ugly pea soup-colored bleachers -- and they're supported by robust saturation that thankfully isn't prone to bleeding. Combined with Warner Archive's typically excellent disc encoding, it's quite an impressive end result that, for die-hard fans, will be like seeing this film again for the first time. Overall, it's yet another top-tier transfer and really pushes the limitations of the Blu-ray format -- I've seen 4K catalog releases that didn't look this good.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As expected, Take Me Out to the Ball Game's DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio mix pulls its own weight with a balanced and clear presentation of the original one-channel source material. Dialogue and background effects are balanced nicely with no prioritization issues, and the frequent music breaks -- which, yes, include several variations of the title track -- sound relatively full and robust. No obvious drop-outs or sync issues, aside of course from those during the musical numbers. Overall, it's a clean and satisfying effort that sounds good as (or better than) other era-specific musicals recently released by Warner Archive, such as In the Good Old Summertime and Annie Get Your Gun.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the film, but not the extras. This is especially annoying because several extras ported over from previous Warner Bros. DVDs featured optional subtitles that are now missing.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a standard keepcase with original one-sheet poster artwork and no inserts. Several extras are ported over from older DVD editions, as well as a few small additions to round out the package.

• Deleted Musical Numbers - Two excised bits are presented as a combination of filmed material and stills (replacing a few lost shots); they look and sound comparable to the main feature. Separate text introductions are also included, providing detail about the restoration process and reasons why they were cut.

• Baby Doll (2:42) - Gene Kelly, singing to Esther Williams.
• Boys and Girls Like You and Me (4:14) - Frank Sinatra, singing to Betty Garrett.

• Cartoon: The Cat and the Mermouse (7:37) - Since Take Me Out to the Ball Game was an MGM production, the inclusion of this classic Tom and Jerry short seems like a good enough historical fit; it was released the same year and likely appeared in theaters as pre-show entertainment. Bonus points, too: this fun "day at the beach" cartoon was not included on Golden Collection, Volume 1, which is long overdue for a sequel.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:50) - This classic promotional piece can also be seen here.

• Song Selection - Instant access to the film's 12 main musical breaks, listed below.

• Main Title
• Take Me Out to the Ball Game
• Yes, Indeedy
• O'Brien to Ryan to Goldberg
• Take Me Out to the Ball Game (K.C.'s Swim)
• The Right Girl for Me
• It's Fate Baby, It's Fate
• Strictly U.S.A.
• Irish Jigs
• The Hat My Dear Old Father Wore Upon St. Patrick's Day
• Strictly U.S.A. (Finale Reprise)
• End Cast

Take Me Out to the Ball Game Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Busby Berkeley's Take Me Out to the Ball Game is a likeable enough musical that, if you'll pardon the pun, touches all the bases: it's got a good cast, catchy musical numbers, and a lightweight story that make it decent matinee material. But it's little more than that: fluffy and kind of forgettable, even though it will obviously appeal more to die-hard fans of their other pairings in films like Anchors Aweigh and On the Town (both are available separately, or as part of Warner Bros.' 2015 Frank Sinatra Collection). Warner Archive's Blu-ray picks up the slack with another perfect 1080p transfer, lossless audio, and a few thoughtful extras. Recommended, but newcomers may want to try before they buy.