''The Comrades of Summer'' is a 1992

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

featuring

Joe Mantegna Joseph Anthony Mantegna (, ; born November 13, 1947) is an American actor. Mantegna began his career on stage in 1969 in the Chicago production of the musical ''Hair''. He earned a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play and a Joseph Jeffe ...

and Natalya Negoda. It was directed by

Tommy Lee Wallace Thomas Lee Wallace (born October 8, 1949) is an American film producer, director, editor and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in the horror genre, directing films such as '' Halloween III: Season of the Witch'' and ''Fright Night Part 2' ...

, written by

Robert Rodat Robert Rodat (born c. 1960) is an American film and television writer and television producer. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for writing Steven Spielberg's war epic ''Saving Private Ryan''. Career Rodat wrot ...

and aired on HBO on July 11, 1992.

Plot

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), ...

manager Sparky Smith is fired from his job with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

. His attitude has gotten him into trouble with George, the owner of the Mariners, and no other teams seem to want any part of him. The

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

are coming up, however, and a spirit of

glasnost ''Glasnost'' (; russian: link=no, гласность, ) has several general and specific meanings – a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information, the inadmissibility of hushing up problems, ...

exists in the

post-Soviet The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, which is trying to field its first Olympic baseball team. Sparky reluctantly accepts an offer to move to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

to coach the players, many of whom don't even know the game's fundamentals. The players are predictably inept at first, but Sparky begins to learn the real joy in baseball is in the effort and the camaraderie. An exhibition game ultimately is arranged in which Sparky and his young, eager Russians get to play against his old team, the Mariners. Sparky also falls in love with young Russian girl Tanya Belova.

Cast

as Sparky * Natalya Negoda as Tanya * Michael Lerner as George *

Mark Rolston Mark Rolston (born December 7, 1956) is an American character actor, known for his supporting roles in popular films such as ''Aliens'', ''Lethal Weapon 2'', ''The Shawshank Redemption'', ''The Departed'' and the ''Saw'' film series, as well as G ...

as Voronov

Production

Filming took place in

Nat Bailey Stadium Nat Bailey Stadium, also known as The Nat, is a baseball stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is home to the Vancouver Canadians of the Northwest League High-A. Stadium history The stadium is located in Hillcrest Park immediately north-eas ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and in

References

External links

* 1992 films 1992 television films 1990s sports films American television films American baseball films Canadian television films HBO Films films Films directed by Tommy Lee Wallace Films scored by William Olvis Seattle Mariners Films about the 1992 Summer Olympics Films set in Moscow Films shot in Moscow Films shot in Vancouver Sports television films Canadian baseball films 1990s American films 1990s Canadian films {{sport-film-stub