''Bang the Drum Slowly'' is a 1973 American
sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
directed by
John D. Hancock, about a baseball player of limited intellect who has a terminal illness, and his brainier, more skilled teammate. It is a film adaptation of the 1956
baseball novel of the same name by American author
Mark Harris. It was previously dramatized in 1956 on the ''
U.S. Steel Hour'' with
Paul Newman,
Albert Salmi
Albert Salmi (March 11, 1928 – April 22, 1990) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Best known for his work as a character actor, he appeared in over 150 film and television productions.
Early life
Salmi was born and raised ...
and
George Peppard
George Peppard (; October 1, 1928 – May 8, 1994) was an American actor. He is best remembered for his role as struggling writer Paul Varjak in the 1961 film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', and for playing commando leader Col. John "Hannibal ...
.
This version stars
Michael Moriarty and a then little known
Robert De Niro as baseball teammates. De Niro's performance in this film and in ''
Mean Streets
''Mean Streets'' is a 1973 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese and co-written by Scorsese and Mardik Martin. The film stars Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro. It was released by Warner Bros. on October 2, 1973. De Niro won the National ...
'', released two months later, brought him widespread acclaim.
Plot
Henry Wiggen
Henry Wiggen was a fictional baseball player who was the subject of four novels by Mark Harris (author), Mark Harris: ''The Southpaw'' (1953), ''Bang the Drum Slowly'' (1956), ''A Ticket for a Seamstitch'' (1957), and ''It Looked Like For Ever'' ( ...
(Moriarty) is a star pitcher for the New York Mammoths, a fictional
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
team. He is a valuable player to his
manager Dutch but is in a dispute with the team's ownership, holding out for a new contract and more money. Henry has a sideline as an insurance salesman working for the Arcturus Corporation, with ballplayers as his clients. Henry's friend Bruce Pearson (De Niro), the team's catcher, is a player of limited skill and intellect. Teammates call Henry by the nickname "Author" because the brainy pitcher once wrote a book, although Bruce misunderstands and, with his thick Southern drawl, often calls him "Arthur" instead.
Henry and Bruce leave the
Mayo Clinic in
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, where Bruce has been told he is
terminally ill
Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, dementia or advanced h ...
with
Hodgkin's disease. They drive to Bruce's hometown in
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, because Bruce always wanted his only friend to see it. On their first night there, Bruce burns his old baseball memorabilia to acknowledge the inevitable end of his life.
The team knows nothing about Bruce's fate. At spring training, Dutch is preparing to release Bruce in favor of a hot young prospect, country boy Piney Woods. So management is amazed and confused when Henry ends his holdout and agrees to a new contract on one condition: that he and Bruce come as a package. If one is on the team, so is the other. If one is traded or sent down to the
minor leagues, the other goes, too.
Dutch tries everything to make Henry reveal why he insists that Bruce catch for him. In the meantime, the Mammoths are losing games and have a low morale, with teammates quarreling among themselves. Knowing that he is dying, Bruce wants Henry to change the beneficiary on his life insurance policy from his parents to his girlfriend Katie. Henry knows she is interested only in Bruce's money and is taking advantage of his circumstances, so Henry only pretends to change it.
One day when a player teases Bruce, a frustrated Henry blurts out the fact that Bruce is dying. He asks that it remain confidential, but quickly teammates and Dutch all learn the news. They begin to treat Bruce differently and each other as well, and the team's play and mood both improve. Near the end of the season, Bruce becomes too ill to continue playing. The team eventually wins the
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
, but Bruce returns home to spend his final days with his parents. As they part ways at the airport, Bruce asks Henry to send him a scorecard from the Series, which Henry laments he never did. After the season is over, Bruce dies, and Henry is the only member of the team to attend his funeral, serving as pallbearer. While visiting Bruce's grave, Henry vows, "From here on in, I rag nobody."
Cast
*
Robert De Niro as Bruce Pearson
*
Michael Moriarty as
Henry Wiggen
Henry Wiggen was a fictional baseball player who was the subject of four novels by Mark Harris (author), Mark Harris: ''The Southpaw'' (1953), ''Bang the Drum Slowly'' (1956), ''A Ticket for a Seamstitch'' (1957), and ''It Looked Like For Ever'' ( ...
*
Vincent Gardenia
Vincent Gardenia (born Vincenzo Scognamiglio; January 7, 1920 – December 9, 1992) was an Italian-American stage, film, and television actor. He was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, first for ''Bang the Drum Slow ...
as Dutch Schnell
*
Phil Foster as Joe
*
Heather MacRae
Heather MacRae (born October 5, 1946) is an American actress known for her role in the Woody Allen 1972 comedy '' Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)''.
Early years
MacRae is the daughter of motion picture ...
as Holly
*
Ann Wedgeworth
Elizabeth Ann Wedgeworth (January 21, 1934 – November 16, 2017) was an American character actress, known for her roles as Lana Shields in '' Three's Company'', Hilda Hensley in '' Sweet Dreams'', and Merleen Elldridge in ''Evening Shade''. She ...
as Katie
*
Tom Ligon as Piney Woods
*
Danny Aiello as Horse
*
Selma Diamond
Selma Diamond (August 5, 1920 – May 13, 1985) was a Canadian-born American comedian, actress, and radio and television writer, known for her high-range, raspy voice and her portrayal of Selma Hacker on the first two seasons of the NBC televisio ...
as Tootsie
*
Barbara Babcock
Barbara Babcock (born February 27, 1937) is an American actress who played Grace Gardner on ''Hill Street Blues'', for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress—Drama Series in 1981, She played Dorothy Jennings on ''Dr. Quinn, ...
as Team Owner
*
Patrick McVey as Bruce's Father
*
Marshall Efron
Marshall Efron (February 3, 1938 – September 30, 2019) was an American actor and humorist originally known for his work on the listener-sponsored Pacifica radio stations WBAI New York and KPFK Los Angeles, and later for the PBS television sho ...
as Bradley
Production
The non-
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
baseball sequences were filmed at
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
's
Yankee
The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Its various senses depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, residents of the Northern United S ...
and
Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City. s during late May and June 1972, when the
Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
and
Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
were on extended road-trips. The tarpaulin-covered field and scorebord of
Robert F. Kennedy Stadium
Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, commonly known as RFK Stadium and originally known as District of Columbia Stadium, is a defunct multi-purpose stadium in Washington, D.C. It is located about due east of the U.S. Capitol building, near the ...
("RFK Stadium", originally D.C. Stadium), where the American League's
Washington Senators (1961-71) played until moving to Texas as the Rangers the year of filming), is also seen during the rain-delay scene. The opening scenes of the movie show the stars running on the warning track at Yankee Stadium; in addition, the visitors' clubhouse, the walkway from the Yankees' dugout, and the front of the right-field bullpen also were used in the "away game" sequences. The few scenes of Yankee Stadium – particularly the wide pan at the end of the rain delay sequence – are some of the best clips of the stadium before the 1974–1975 renovation. Dugout shots of "home" games were shot at Yankee Stadium.
The "home" game sequences were filmed in Shea Stadium. The filmmakers also used the walkway that connected the Mets clubhouse, dugout, and the TV studio that was the home of ''Kiner's Korner'' post-game show for the singing scene. The Opening Day/band clips came from Major League Baseball (MLB); they were recorded before the fourth game of the
1969 World Series
The 1969 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1969 season. The 66th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Baltimore Orioles and the National L ...
at Shea. Wide crowd shots are from a regular season game, and MLB films also provided clips of
Tony Pérez
Atanasio "Tony" Pérez Rigal (born May 14, 1942) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and third baseman from through , most notably as a member of the ...
(from the 1970 World Series) and
Brooks Robinson hitting.
Spring-training baseball scenes were shot at the
Philadelphia Phillies' complex in
Clearwater, Florida, which is still in use. Rain-delay footage of a grounds crew covering the infield with a tarp was from the
1969 All-Star Game in
Washington's RFK Stadium (the game was postponed by rain and played the next day). In the audio over this clip was the voice of long-time Yankees' public-address announcer
Bob Sheppard. Baseball-game action clips starting at 01:21 are from MLB films; they are from Yankees and Mets games in 1970 and 1971 –
Danny Cater
Danny Anderson Cater (born February 25, 1940) is an American former professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter. He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies at the age of 18, on June 8, 1958. Cater played i ...
(10), shortstop
Gene Michael
Eugene Richard Michael (June 2, 1938 – September 7, 2017), known as Stick, was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout, manager and team executive. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1966 to 1975, most promine ...
(17), hitter
Jerry Kenney
Gerald Tennyson Kenney (born June 30, 1945) is an American former Major League Baseball infielder. He is from Beloit, Wisconsin.
Baseball career
The second hit of his major league career was an inside-the-park home run with the New York Yankees i ...
, catcher
Thurman Munson
Thurman Lee Munson (June 7, 1947 – August 2, 1979) was an American professional baseball catcher who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees, from 1969 until his death in 1979. A seven-time All-Star, Mun ...
(15), and runner
Bobby Murcer (1) can be seen.
The uniforms worn by the Mammoths baseball team are Yankees uniforms from 1971, but the "NY" on the home pinstriped shirts was changed. Other teams providing uniforms were the
Pittsburgh Pirates and the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
.
The film and book include a fictional
card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific.
Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). A small number of card ga ...
known as tegwar, an
acronym
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
for "the exciting game without any rules". It is a game designed to separate a
sucker
Sucker may refer to:
General use
* Lollipop or sucker, a type of confection
* Sucker (slang), a slang term for a very gullible person
* Hard candy
** Cough drop
** Mint (candy)
Biology
* Sucker (botany), a term for a shoot that arises undergro ...
from their cash. Henry Wiggen
plays this game along with other ballplayers and coaches to sucker passers-by in the lobby of the team hotel. It is generally believed that Bruce Pearson is too dumb to be able to sucker people, so he is initially excluded; however, Henry begins to include Bruce in the tegwar games as the story progresses.
This film is reportedly Robert De Niro's colleague
Al Pacino's favorite film. In reviews, Wiggen is often referred to as being modeled after
Tom Seaver
George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cinc ...
, though not in the book, which was written when Seaver was 12.
One piece of artistic license: Moriarity's Wiggen is a right-handed pitcher, while Wiggen in Harris's novels is explicitly a left-handed pitcher; in fact, the Harris book that featured Wiggen and that preceded ''Bang the Drum Slowly'' (1956) was titled ''
The Southpaw
Mark Harris (November 19, 1922 – May 30, 2007) was an American novelist, literary biographer, and educator.
Biography
Early life
Harris was born Mark Harris Finkelstein in Mount Vernon, New York, to Carlyle and Ruth (Klausner) Finkelstein. ...
'' (1953).
One error was the scoreboard at the end of the game against the Pirates only shows 8 innings played.
Reception
Roger Ebert of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...
'' gave the film his top grade of four stars and wrote that "it's not so much a sports movie as a movie about those elusive subjects, male bonding and work in America. That the males play baseball and that sport is their work is what makes this the ultimate baseball movie; never before has a movie considered the game from the inside out."
Roger Greenspun
Roger Greenspun (December 16, 1929 – June 18, 2017) was an American journalist and film critic, best known for his work with ''The New York Times'' in which he reviewed near 400 films, particularly in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and for '' ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' wrote, "Except for some updating, and minimal plot simplification, John Hancock's 'Bang the Drum Slowly' is a remarkably faithful rendering of the well-known baseball novel that Mark Harris wrote in 1955. It is one of those rare instances in which close adaptation of a good book has resulted in possibly an even better movie." Arthur D. Murphy of ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' said, "John Hancock's second feature directorial effort is very good in sustaining credible melodrama in the story of a dying baseball player and his pal. The film has nothing trendy going for it before the fact, either in the artistic or commercial sense, but it emerges as a touching, amusing and heart-warming picture."
Gene Siskel of the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...
'' gave the film three stars out of four and stated that it "does offer considerable entertainment, will provide at least a few sniffles, and does have a human center. The reason: The movie is very funny. Its best moments are not the maudlin, heart-tugging passages of dialog laced with mournful piano, but the locker-room antics of the baseball team itself."
Kevin Thomas of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' called the film "deeply affecting, often humorous but never morbid or maudlin," and "a film studded with terrific scenes and telling bits of dialog, reminding us anew of how valuable the contribution of even the most unprepossessing individual can be." Conversely, Gary Arnold of ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' declared that "I found it a disappointing picture, flat and banal and not nearly as effective as the television movie '
Brian's Song
''Brian's Song'' is a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week that recounts the life of Brian Piccolo (James Caan), a Chicago Bears football player stricken with terminal cancer after turning pro in 1965, told through his friendship with teammate Gale Sayer ...
,' with which 'Bang the Drum Slowly' is bound to be compared."
, ''Bang the Drum Slowly'' holds a rating of 92% on
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
based on 38 reviews.
Awards and honors
For his portrayal of Dutch Schnell,
Vincent Gardenia
Vincent Gardenia (born Vincenzo Scognamiglio; January 7, 1920 – December 9, 1992) was an Italian-American stage, film, and television actor. He was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, first for ''Bang the Drum Slow ...
received an
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination.
Timeout magazine named it 12th best baseball movie of all time.
The film is recognized by
American Film Institute in these lists:
* 2006:
AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – Nominated
* 2008:
AFI's 10 Top 10:
** Nominated Sports Film
See also
*
List of American films of 1973
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
References
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bang The Drum Slowly (Film)
1973 films
1970s sports drama films
American baseball films
American sports drama films
1970s English-language films
Films directed by John D. Hancock
Films set in New York City
Paramount Pictures films
1973 drama films
1970s American films
Films about disability