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The Bad News Bears

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The Bad News Bears
The Bad News Bears promotional poster
Directed byMichael Ritchie
Written byBill Lancaster
Produced byStanley R. Jaffe
StarringWalter Matthau
Tatum O'Neal
Chris Barnes
Vic Morrow
Jackie Earle Haley
Joyce Van Patten
Quinn Smith
CinematographyJohn A. Alonzo
Edited byRichard A. Harris
Music byJerry Fielding
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
7 April 1976 (USA)
Running time
102 min.
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Bad News Bears is a 1976 film directed by Michael Ritchie. It stars Walter Matthau and Tatum O'Neal. The film was followed by two sequels, The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training in 1977 and The Bad News Bears Go to Japan in 1978, and a short-lived 1979-80 CBS television series, none of which were able to duplicate the success of the original. Also notable was the score by Jerry Fielding, which is an adaptation of the principal themes of Carmen. The title of the movie has become a popular expression to refer to bad news or the bearer of bad news. As in, "Those are the bad news bears."

A remake of the movie, directed by Richard Linklater with Billy Bob Thornton taking the role of Morris Buttermaker, was released on July 22, 2005.

Taglines:

  • The coach is waiting for his next beer. The pitcher is waiting for her first bra. The team is waiting for a miracle. Consider the possibilities.
  • At last, a picture of kids as they really are.
  • A classic comedy about growing up!

Plot

Morris Buttermaker (Walter Matthau), an alcoholic ex-professional baseball player, becomes the coach of a cellar-dwelling Little League team, the Bears. By recruiting a couple of unlikely prospects - an ex-girlfriend's 11-year old daughter (Tatum O'Neal), and local troublemaker Kelly Leak (Jackie Earle Haley) - he turns the team around.

Production and Success

In an important sense, the film is about the adults—the victory-obsessed Little League moms and dads who value winning above sportsmanship and enjoyment. In his 1976 review, critic Roger Ebert called the movie "an unblinking, scathing look at competition in American society." As the Bears begin to improve, coach Buttermaker gets caught up in this dynamic. Much of the film's drama is the way in which winning the league championship trophy, suddenly and surprisingly within reach, conflicts with his players' self-respect. The film culminates in the "big game," but most of the usual screen clichés are discarded in favor of a harrowing showdown between the favored Yankees' pitcher and his father/coach, counterintuitive strategy by both teams, and a game-winning play that is not.

The film was notable in its time for the amount of vulgarity (including profanity and ethnic slurs) placed into the mouths of the various child-actors who played the principal roles (specifically, a memorable Tanner Boyle, played by Chris Barnes, quoted as calling his teammates en masse "a bunch of Jews, spics, niggers, pansies, and a booger-eating moron"). However, all of the questionable dialogue was used for comic effect. A true product of the mid-70s, the film includes a now-unheard of scene where an inebriated Buttermaker drives around the players who are not wearing seatbelts in an open-top convertible.

The Bad News Bears was filmed in and around Los Angeles, primarily in the San Fernando Valley. The field where they played is in Mason Park on Devonshire Street in Chatsworth, California. In the film, the Bears were sponsored by an actual company, "Chico's Bail Bonds," a touch that fit in nicely with the idea that the Bears were a ragtag group of misfit kids who could not find a more respectable sponsor.

Fittingly, the parody in Mad Magazine commented: Can a 52-year-old man handle a 14-year-old girl, and not go to jail?"

Saturday Night Live did a sketch with Matthau as the guest host called "The Bad News Bees" which involved dealing with masturbation among the players referred to as "Buzzing Off". John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and the rest were wearing their recurring Bee costumes.

Cast

Adults
Morris Buttermaker Walter Matthau Coach of the Bears: A drunk ex-professional baseball player.
Roy Turner Vic Morrow Coach of the Yankees
Cleveland Joyce Van Patten League manager
Bob Whitewood Ben Piazza City councilman and lawyer who sued the league to allow the Bears (in particular, his son) to play. He convinces (and pays) Buttermaker to coach the team.
Kids
Ahmad Abdul-Rahim Erin Blunt A Black Muslim who plays in the outfield and adores Hank Aaron; strips off his uniform after committing errors, but convinced to return to the team by Buttermaker.
Jose Agilar Jaime Escobedo Miguel's older brother who plays second base; doesn't speak English.
Miguel Agilar George Gonzales Jose's younger brother; mostly plays right field. He doesn't speak English either; so short that the strike zone is non-existent.
Tanner Boyle Chris Barnes Short-tempered shortstop with a Napoleon complex; after suffering a horrible loss on their first game, he picks a fight with the entire seventh grade from his school (and loses). He tends to curse more than the others, and often insults and bullies Timmy.
Mike Engelberg Gary Lee Cavagnaro An overweight, out-of-shape boy who plays catcher; A great hitter, his jabs at rival pitcher Joey Turner ignite a rivalry.
Jimmy Feldman Brett Marx Fairly quiet third baseman with curly blond hair.
Kelly Leak Jackie Earle Haley Local troublemaker who smokes and rides a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Also the best athlete in the neighborhood. He alternates between left and center field and has a crush on Amanda.
Timmy Lupus Quinn Smith A "booger-eating spaz;" considered to be the worst player on the team, but surprises everyone in the final game by making a key play to keep the Bears in the game. He is the most quiet and shy player, but showed the odd ability to properly prepare a martini for Coach Buttermaker while the team was assisting the coach with pool cleaning.
Alfred Ogilvie Alfred W. Lutter A bookworm who memorizes baseball statistics. He's a backup at outfield and first base, but doesn't play very often. When he does play, he wears his watch.
Rudi Stein David Pollock Nervous relief pitcher with glasses who is a terrible hitter; often asked by Coach Buttermaker to purposely get hit by pitches so he won't try to swing. Also a backup outfielder.
Regi Tower Scott Firestone Another lightly developed character; has red hair. Plays third base.
Toby Whitewood David Stambaugh An unassuming boy who plays first base. Son of councilman Bob Whitewood.
Amanda Whurlizer Tatum O'Neal 11-year-old pitcher who feels insecure about her tomboy image. She is proven to be a good pitcher. Her mother was Buttermaker's ex-girlfriend.
Joey Turner Brandon Cruz The star pitcher and player of the Yankees. Roy's son, has a rivalry with Engleberg, and regularly bullies Tanner and Timmy. Allows Engleberg an in the park home run then quits the team after Roy slaps him in anger over a wild pitch.

References

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