***SPOILER ALERT*** (kind of)It's a great film and a great musical. But, perhaps with my perspective of today, I just wonder why -- at a time when popular baseball greats were named Rizzuto, DiMaggio, and Berra -- Sinatra's character wasn't given an Italian name. Perhaps it didn't fit with the time period in which the musical was set. But it still perplexes me. All of the stars are great in this film.

Fans of the principals and early MGM musicals will find this film entertaining enough, however I got the impression that it was terribly dated in the way it portrayed it's leading men. Gene Kelly in particular mugged his way through too many of the musical numbers, and I imagine the Frank Sinatra of a few decades later would have thought the one in this picture a cream puff. I can't say it's all Sinatra's fault either; MGM typecast his character in their early films as a nerdy type, more relaxed while reading a book than chasing skirts. The first part of the picture portrays him that way here, and Sinatra fans may seem baffled by it.I liked the premise well enough, a new owner of the 'Wolves' baseball team turns out to be a woman, and it sets up expectations that she'll try to run the team her own way to the detriment of the players. But it didn't really turn out that way. K.C. Higgins (Esther Williams) utilized her own love of the game to champion the team on the field, while dodging the affections of both Eddie O'Brien (Kelly) and Denny Ryan (Sinatra) in the early going. An obligatory pool scene is inserted into the picture to capitalize on the star's status as a former swimming champion, and it added some credibility to her position running a sports team.A sub-plot with Kelly's character involves a crooked sports gambler (Edward Arnold) attempting to influence the outcome of the Wolves' pennant run, but in an All-American MGM musical this idea won't gain traction for long. O'Brien and Ryan, with some help from the third member of their triple play battery, Nat Goldberg (Jules Munshin), lead the Wolves to their championship victory. Directed by Busby Berkley, the film is heavy on the musical numbers (I counted nine) with the dance choreography handled by Kelly and long time collaborator Stanley Donen. Some are built around a baseball theme, and the film wouldn't have been complete without that old standard, 'Take Me Out to the Ball Game'.

Busby Berkeley is known as Hollywood's greatest choreographer. I'm not sure if many people know that he was a film director as well. This was the last movie he directed and it demonstrates that he was quite good at that craft as well.This may be considered the least of the three Sinatra-Kelley collaborations. It is a notch beneath "Anchors Away," and "On the Town," but that's like saying, Da Vinci's "Woman with Ermine," us bit as good as his "Mona Lisa" or "Last Supper." It is still a great entertainment and still lots of fun to watch for musical fans.Sinatra is charming and has great chemistry with Gene Kelley. While never a great actor, Sinatra was effective when he was young and didn't stray far from his awkward adolescent personality. In the late 50's and 60's, his personality changed and he became cynical, losing the sweet innocence that his 40's and early 50's movies captured.Kelley is pure charm. He is very close to Frederick March in his naturalness and his dancing is delightful as usual.Ether Williams may have had an unpleasant time making the film according to reports, but she doesn't show it. She doesn't stand out, but she is competent and holds her own. Edward Arnold, the bad manipulator from "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," plays essentially the same role here quite efficiently.Betty Garrett does not appear until half way into the movie and manages to equal Sinatra, Kelley, and Williams. It is a great star making performance, repeated in "On the Tow," later that year. It is a sad thing that she was blacklisted the following year because her husband had been a member of the communist party. Except for one role in "My Sister, Eileen," she did not work for a whole decade in films. The best revenge was perhaps the fact that she was the only actor to appear as a regular cast member in the two #1 situation comedies on American television in the 1970's, "All in the Family," and "Happy Days." Her film career lasted for 60 years, a longer career than any of the bastards who blacklisted her.This is a bright, colorful, cheerful movie about Turn of the 19th Century Baseball and Vaudeville. The technical credits are Hollywood at its best. It is mostly worth seeing to bask in the glow of its four stars who were all young, full of energy and exciting to see.

Sinatra and Kelly are professional baseball players and entertainers. Esther Williams, who recently acquired ownership of the team, supplies the love interest for both Sinatra and Kelly, until Betty Garrett shows up with her usual spunk. How can you go wrong with an American pastime and a light, cheery, and fun musical? It is good and enjoyable, but somehow, comparing it to others of its ilk, this one seems be an inning short of true satisfaction. One shouldn't really criticize the plot of a musical, because musicals are notorious for having paper-thin plots, relying mostly on its stars and the music for true flavor and enjoyment. But, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" doesn't really start with much to it, except for Esther's figure and Ol' Blue Eyes' voice. When Betty Garrett does show up, she does manage to interject some life into it. All in all, while you could do a lot worse and while it is pleasant enough, I would recommend "On the Town" over this fair musical.