Take Me Out to the Ball Game: Busby Berkeley

I think I liked Busby Berkeley's Take Me Out to the Ball Game for the wrong reasons. I mean, the film has some problems: the drama is contrived, the pacing uneven, and the dance numbers just sorta...disappear in the last half. But it's fascinating from a cultural standpoint. Here's a film where the women have almost as much sexual agency as the men: watch how Betty Garrett pursues Frank Sinatra; watch how Esther Williams refuses to surrender her love of baseball in her romantic pursuits. It doesn't hurt that seeing Frank Sinatra as a gynophobe is absolutely surreal. He...plays the part oddly well. The musical number celebrating America was delightful, as well. Gotta love World War Two era Hollywood. Er, 1949 counts as "World War Two era" right?

6/10