Robert De Niro’s forgotten baseball film - Bang the Drum Slowly (1973)

I am Jason Kleeberg, this is Force Five, and today I’m going to give you 5 reasons you might like Bang the Drum Slowly, and make sure to stick around because at the end I’ll give you two top 5 lists this movie could easily make.

Reason number 5, if you’re into baseball, this film gives you that beautiful early-70’s baseball texture, including old stadiums, teams and a much less polished product than what we see today. I’m a big baseball fan and I got a big kick out of seeing teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Baltimore Orioles in their old school uniforms, all playing at Shea Stadium. Now, the main team we’re following is the New York Mammoths, but they may as well be the Yankees because the uniforms are exactly the same. Where it differs from most sports films is that it’s not about one big game, one heroic homerun or one impossible championship run. It’s about the daily life of a ballclub, from clubhouses to hotels. We get to see old school contract negotiations, players hustling fans in hotel lobbies and how relationships change over long seasons.

Reason number 4, if you like hangout movies, you’re going to love Bang the Drum Slowly. I mentioned that it’s not about those singular moments during a season, because while the backdrop is this ballclub, it’s not a movie about baseball per se. For the most part, this is a movie about the friendship between two players, Henry Wiggum, the star pitcher, and Bruce Pearson, his catcher. We find out in the opening scene that the two are on their way back from Minnesota where they found out that Bruce has a terminal disease, and the movie really deals with their bond as Henry tries to keep it a secret from the team. It also deals with the relationships within the team and how those relationships change when people start finding out about Bruce’s condition.

Reason number 3, Robert DeNiro’s performance is absolutely heartbreaking. Before he nailed his breakout roles in Mean Streets, The Godfather II and Taxi Driver, he played Bruce, the middling catcher who has never taken baseball that seriously. He’s not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, which you find out immediately as his best friend Henry’s nickname is author because he wrote a book, but he thinks that it’s Arthur. He’s never treated well - the team picks on him and he doesn’t feel like an important piece of the Mammoths. In fact, the only reason he’s on the team is because of a deal Henry makes with the owner. However, while the character is a bit of a goof, DeNiro never plays him as such. He’s never turned into a cartoon. He’s played with sweetness, confusion, pride, fear and this kind of quiet dignity that became endearing and you understand why Henry wants to protect him.

Reason number 2, as great as Robert DeNiro is in this film, Michael Moriarty, who plays his best friend Henry, is the soul of this film. He could have easily come off as smug or superior, as he knows the game of baseball. He keeps a book on every hitter, while his friend is more interested in the women he sees in the stands as he comes back to the dugout. But he’s played with restraint and decency. He’s not trying to be a saint, he just really cares about his friend and he slowly realizes that being good to someone might matter more than being clever, successful or right. I thought he was amazing in this and he’s the kind of friend we should all hope for in life.

Reason number 1, if you’re looking for a film that highlights the importance of kindness, especially in the times we live in today where everything skews towards negativity, look no further. Bang The Drum Slowly won’t stick with you because it’s sad, although it will make you sad, I was bawling near the end of this one. It will stick with you because it’s about choosing kindness and the effect it can have on a person or a group, in this case, the Mammoths. Henry can’t save his friend but he can protect him from humiliation and he can make sure that his final season has dignity and that Bruce goes out on his own terms. The only villain in this movie is time.

While I was watching this, I think it could make a few Top 5 lists. The first is Top 5 sports movies that aren’t really about the sport. I think it sits in good company with films like Field of Dreams and The Wrestler in that respect. The second, the New York Mammoths would definitely be on a Top 5 fictional baseball teams list next to teams like the New York Knights from The Natural and Chico’s Bail Bonds Bears from the Bad News Bears.

If you’ve seen Bang the Drum Slowly, what did you think of it? If you have a movie you want me to do a 5 reasons video for, email me at forcefivepodcast@gmail.com.

Life is short. Spend it with the people, and the movies, that you love.