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| 61* | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Genre | |
| Written by | Hank Steinberg |
| Directed by | Billy Crystal |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Marc Shaiman |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Robert F. Colesberry |
| Cinematography | Haskell Wexler |
| Editor | Michael Jablow |
| Running time | 129 minutes |
| Production companies |
|
| Original release | |
| Network | HBO |
| Release | April 28, 2001 (2001-04-28) |
61* is a 2001 Americansportsdramatelevision film directed byBilly Crystal and written byHank Steinberg. It starsBarry Pepper asRoger Maris andThomas Jane asMickey Mantle on their quest to breakBabe Ruth's1927single-season home run record of 60 during the1961 season of theNew York Yankees. The film first aired onHBO on April 28, 2001.
In 1998, the family of the lateRoger Maris goes toBusch Stadium to witnessMark McGwire of theSt. Louis Cardinalsbreak their father's record with a 62nd home run. Maris' widow, Pat, is hospitalized due to complications fromarrhythmia and watches the game on television from a hospital bed.
Decades earlier in 1961, Maris is presented with theMost Valuable Player award for the1960 baseball season, butMickey Mantle remains theNew York Yankees' superstar. Mantle starts off hot while Maris struggles. Maris suspects he may be traded, but new managerRalph Houk has Mantle and Maris switch places in the Yankees' batting order to see if it helps. It does, and Maris begins to hit home runs at a record pace. Mantle keeps pace and it becomes clear that both "M&M Boys" will make a run atBabe Ruth's record of 60 homers in one season.
Mickey's life off the field is taking a toll on his playing. He drinks, enjoys the Manhattan nightlife and arrives at the ballpark hung over. More than once, pitcherWhitey Ford has to bail him out or sober him up. To keep Mantle out of trouble, Maris and teammate/roommateBob Cerv invite him to move in with them in a modest home in Queens, with one condition: no women.
New York's fans and media pull for the popular and personable Mantle, a long-time Yankee. The quieter Maris is viewed as an outsider, aloof and unworthy. As the two men close in on the record,MLB CommissionerFord Frick, who was Babe Ruth's ghostwriter, makes a decision: unless the record is broken in 154 games, as Ruth did in 1927, the new mark would be listed separately indicating it had been done in baseball's newly expanded 162-game season.
It appears Mantle is not going to make it; his health deteriorates and he plays in constant pain. Maris, meanwhile, is unaccustomed to such a high level of public scrutiny and is uncomfortable interacting with the media, who dissect and distort everything he says or does. The fans heckle Maris and even throw objects at him on the field. Soon he begins receiving hate mail and death threats. His wife lives far from New York, usually available only by phone. The stress becomes so intense that Maris' hair begins to fall out in clumps. The Yankees owner also tries to favor Mantle by asking Houk to switch Mantle and Maris in the batting order, but Houk refuses, because the redesigned lineup has been winning a higher percentage of games.
Chronic injury and alcohol abuse catch up with Mantle, and an ill-advised injection by a doctor infects his hip and lands him in a hospital bed. With Mantle gone from the lineup, the stage becomes set for Maris. He fails to break the record in the 154th game of the season, but he does finally hit his 61st home run during the final game of the season.
Most of the baseball action scenes, including those set atYankee Stadium, were actually filmed atTiger Stadium inDetroit,Michigan. A combination of strategic photographing and post-production effects were used to enhance the illusion of the "classic" layout of Yankee Stadium. Tiger Stadium was credited as "playing" Yankee Stadium in the closing credits. Tiger Stadium also "played itself" as the home of the Tigers when the Yankees played them in Detroit.
The shots depictingFenway Park andBaltimore's Memorial Stadium were shot at theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 86% of 28 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10.[1]
At the59th Golden Globe Awards, actor Barry Pepper was nominated for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film.[2]
