A League of Their Own
A League of Their Own is a film about the women's baseball league that came into existence during World War II. It premiered on 1992-07-01.
Although it employs a lot of comedy, the film is also quite dramatic and focuses on several female players trying to become stars in a male-dominated sport. The story follows two sisters in particular as they make their way through the highly competitive tryouts, and then endure the abuse (physical and sexual) women of the day had to face, while at the same time trying to save their league from going under.
The success of the film spawned a TV series in 1993, which only lasted six episodes, and only five of which were aired. However, another series is expected to be released in 2022.
Contents
Personal
I first saw this film at my father's house shortly after it came out, my step-mother had either bought the VHS or recorded it off pay-per-view. I really like the film and eventually bought it for myself. I've watched it several times since then.
I own this film on DVD and have seen in many times.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Geena Davis | Dottie Hinson |
| Lori Petty | Kit Keller |
| Tom Hanks | Jimmy Dugan |
| Madonna | Mae Mordabito |
| Rosie O'Donnell | Doris Murphy |
| Megan Cavanagh | Marla Hooch |
| David Strathairn | Ira Lowenstein |
| Garry Marshall | Walter Harvey |
| Jon Lovitz | Ernie Capadino |
| Tracy Reiner | Betty Horn |
| Bitty Schram | Evelyn Gardner |
| Ann Cusack | Shirley Baker |
| Anne Ramsay | Helen Haley |
| Freddie Simpson | Ellen Sue Gotlander |
| Renée Coleman | C Alice Gaspers |
| Robin Knight | 'Beans' Babbitt |
| Patti Pelton | Marbleann Wilkenson |
| Kelli Simpkins | Beverly Dixon |
| Neezer Tarleton | Neezer Dalton |
| Connie Pounds-Taylor | Connie Calhoun |
| Kathleen Marshall | 'Mumbles' Brockman |
| Sharon Szmidt | Vivian Ernst |
| Pauline Brailsford | Miss Cuthbert |
| Bill Pullman | Bob Hinson |
| Justin Scheller | Stilwell |
| Eddie Jones | Dave Hooch |
| Alan Wilder | Nelson |
| Michael Haley | Empathetic Umpire |
| Don S. Davis | Racine Coach Charlie |
| Janet Jones | Racine Pitcher |
| Brenda Ferrari | Racine Catcher |
| Téa Leoni | Racine First Base |
| Laurel Cronin | Maida Gillespie |
| Robert Stanton | Western Union Man |
| Harry Shearer | Newsreel Announcer |
| Douglas Blakeslee | Doris' Fan #1 |
| Joey Slotnick | Doris' Fan #2 |
| Lynn Cartwright | Older Dottie |
| Kathleen Butler | Older Kit |
| Eunice Anderson | Older Mae |
| Vera Johnson | Older Doris |
| Patricia Wilson | Older Marla |
| Mark Holton | Older Stilwell |
Review
Good
- The film has a lot of main themes, and it does all of them well. Women striving to find success in a male-dominated field, a younger sister trying to step out of her older sister's shadow, a washed-up former star trying to relearn what it means to be successful, etc.
- Tom Hanks's performance as a washed up alcoholic is hilarious and he has a bunch of fantastic lines.
- The constant battle between Kit and Dottie really shows sibling rivalry in its truest form.
- Seeing all the crap that women of the day had to go through is very eye-opening.
- Jon Lovitz is wonderfully patronizing and insulting.
- As baseball movies go, this is one of my favorites.
Bad
- In the film, the women's league slowly becomes popular and continues to present day. However, in the real world, the women's baseball league only lasted a single season. While I certainly prefer the happy ending of the film, it makes any attempt at historical accuracy a mere pretense.
- Madonna, although her overall performance is good, goes too over-the-top in her reaction to the league being shut down.
- The dubbing of Geena Davis's voice over Lynn Cartwright's for the older Dottie is pretty obvious.
Ugly
- Nothing.
Media
Posters
The original film poster.
Covers
Deluxe US DVD cover. Similar to the VHS cover.
An alternate DVD cover.
Fan Art
Fan art by Joey Spiotto.
Video
Quotes
- "Are you crying? Are you crying? ARE YOU CRYING? There's no crying! THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL!"
- "Rogers Hornsby was my manager, and he called me a talking pile of pigshit. And that was when my parents drove all the way down from Michigan to see me play the game. And did I cry?" "No." "Yeah! NO. And do you know why?" "No." "Because there's no crying in baseball. THERE'S NO CRYING IN BASEBALL!"
- "It just got too hard." "It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great."
- "Ow. Doesn't that hurt them?" "Doesn't seem to." "Well, that would bruise the hell out of me."
- "You ever hear Dad introduce us to people? 'This is our daughter Dottie, and this is our other daughter, Dottie's sister.'"
- "You know, if I had your job, I'd kill myself! Wait here, I'll see if I can dig up a pistol."
- "If we paid you a little bit more, Jimmy, do you think you could be just a little more disgusting?" "Well, I could certainly use the money."
- "You ever been married?" "Well, let me think... yeah, twice." "Any children?" "One of them was, yeah."
Links
