“The Bad News Bears” is a sports comedy film about an alcoholic ex-professional baseball pitcher hired to coach a youth baseball team called the Bears. Walter Matthau is perfect in the lead role as the coach who is a bit rough around the edges. Director Michael Ritchie (“The Candidate” 1972) was in his element here, as his first big screen job at the helm of a movie was for another sports flick “Downhill Racer,” released in 1969. Bill Lancaster penned the smoothly-written screenplay. They also did include a generous amount of baseball action.
The supporting cast includes Vic Morrow, Joyce Van Patten, and Ben Piazza, with child actors Tatum O’Neil, Jackie Earle Haley, Brandon Cruz, Chris Barnes, Erin Blunt, Gary Lee Cavagnaro, Alfred W. Luther, David Stambaugh, Quinn Smith, Jaime Escobedo, George Gonzalez, David Pollock, Scott Firestone, and Brett Marx, grandson of Milton “Gummo” Marx of the world famous Marx Brothers.
This was an early film for Jackie Earle Haley and Tatum O’Neal, both proceeding to further show business success down the road. Tatum won the Oscar in her only other film before “Bears,” which was “Paper Moon” in 1973. Brandon Cruz, by comparison, is an old show biz veteran, having previously been famous for the television series with Bill Bixby called “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father” (1969-1972).
“The Bad News Bears” was a box office sensation for producer Stanley R. Jaffe and Paramount Pictures, and was filmed primarily around the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. It spawned two sequels that came out in 1977 and 1978, but with mostly different casts.
The Bad News Bears (1976)
cinema
My Review
“The Bad News Bears” is a sports comedy film about an alcoholic ex-professional baseball pitcher hired to coach a youth baseball team called the Bears. Walter Matthau is perfect in the lead role as the coach who is a bit rough around the edges. Director Michael Ritchie (“The Candidate” 1972) was in his element here, as his first big screen job at the helm of a movie was for another sports flick “Downhill Racer,” released in 1969. Bill Lancaster penned the smoothly-written screenplay. They also did include a generous amount of baseball action.
The supporting cast includes Vic Morrow, Joyce Van Patten, and Ben Piazza, with child actors Tatum O’Neil, Jackie Earle Haley, Brandon Cruz, Chris Barnes, Erin Blunt, Gary Lee Cavagnaro, Alfred W. Luther, David Stambaugh, Quinn Smith, Jaime Escobedo, George Gonzalez, David Pollock, Scott Firestone, and Brett Marx, grandson of Milton “Gummo” Marx of the world famous Marx Brothers.
This was an early film for Jackie Earle Haley and Tatum O’Neal, both proceeding to further show business success down the road. Tatum won the Oscar in her only other film before “Bears,” which was “Paper Moon” in 1973. Brandon Cruz, by comparison, is an old show biz veteran, having previously been famous for the television series with Bill Bixby called “The Courtship of Eddie’s Father” (1969-1972).
“The Bad News Bears” was a box office sensation for producer Stanley R. Jaffe and Paramount Pictures, and was filmed primarily around the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. It spawned two sequels that came out in 1977 and 1978, but with mostly different casts.