Home Run on the Keys (1937) User Reviews

Zez Confrey

[boblipton · 7/10 · 1 April 2009]

I am sure that most of the audience of today, if it has any interest in this short, is interested in seeing Babe Ruth, one of the great baseball players of all time. Well, I'm happy to see him too, but for me the best part of this movie is Zez Confrey, one of the great jazz composers of all time. He wrote such eccentricities as "Kitten on the Keys", "Stumblin'" and "Dizzy Fingers." He even plays a bit of "Kitten" in this one amidst film clips of Ruth hitting home runs and instructing him how to compose a new song. The result, "Home Run on the Keys" is given a full band orchestration, but there's more than enough of the weird timing that Confrey brought to his compositions to keep me happy.

There's also fellow songwriter Byron Gay and some singing moppets.

Babe Strikes A Short Film

[DKosty123 · 5/10 · 5 December 2016]

There are some nice things about this short film.

The recently retire Ruth talking about his famous "called shot" in the World Series on the film is a highlight. What is too bad is he does not mention one of his last homers at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. That home run, in one of baseballs largest stadiums actually left the stadium. He was one of the few players to do this and it was the last game he played for the Braves.

Then Ruth goes into his music stuff. Amazing is that he hit more home runs while he is playing in the band, even though the music is going on. This one is a short film, maybe not too sweet.

Babe is a real upbeat guy in this one.

"So David, play it! It's a home run!"

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 19 December 2016]

Despite his voracious appetite for food, alcohol and women, Babe Ruth had an exceptional rapport and relationship with young kids, and that comes through here in the latter part of this segment when the Babe visits a radio station and goes on the air with some baseball commentary to the tune of one of the show's musical offerings. Quite honestly though, while watching I failed to realize that the young singing trio were actually girls; in their baseball uniforms looking like Little Leaguers, I thought they were boys! I'll just have to go back and check this short again, I know my vision isn't that bad. The opening of this quickie film short had Ruth collaborating with three hunting buddies to produce a song titled "Home Run on the Keys", thus the title of this entry. Nothing much noteworthy here except to get a look at the Babe off the baseball field, except we get a look at that too in a montage of film clips transposed over the film's orchestration.

Worth Watching to See Ruth

[Michael_Elliott · 31 October 2010]

Home Run on the Keys (1937)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Decent Vitaphone short belongs in the Musical genre but I'm pretty sure it's baseball fans who are going to get the biggest kick out of it. What we have is Babe Ruth discussing music with some friends and he gives them the idea of putting a baseball song on the radio, which turns out to be the title number. We also have the DeMarco Sisters doing "On the Beach at Bali-Bali." That's pretty much all there is to this short. We get two musical numbers and neither one is all that impressive but the main reason to check this out is for getting to see the Babe. He certainly wasn't a great actor but I found him to be quite charming here. There's a scene where he's apparently playing the piano but since we never see his hands I'm going to guess that someone else was doing it.

Sometimes the always eponymous Warner Bros. take a break from World Wars . . .

[oscaralbert · 6/10 · 28 March 2019]

. . . and the Apocalypse, and allow their prophetic prognosticators to relay messages from the All-Seeing Eye concerning more mundane events, smaller segments of Humanity, or even specific individuals. HOME RUN ON THE KEYS is a great example of Warner Bros.' seers playing this sort of "small ball." HOME RUN features an aging "Babe Ruth" making a mockery of the one-time legendary "Sultan of Swat." The portly, rotund geezer pictured during HOME RUN ON THE KEYS seems to have no relation to the Hall of Fame ballplayer often super-imposed here on the Big Screen through Yesteryear's archival footage action shots. The notion that has-beens could enjoy an after-life as Tinsel Town buffoons no doubt enticed the Big Apple's Giants and Dodgers to soon change their tune to "California, Here We Come!" But what about those darn Yankees? Historically, the Detroit Tigers have been the biggest thorn in the King of the Jungle's paw. Motor City's squads of "Yankee Killers" have prevented Ruth's bunch from reaching at least a couple dozen additional World Series. However, HOME RUN ON THE KEYS warns Motown NOT to dole out nine-figure contracts to one-time sluggers, paying them as much as the rest of the team put together to push their walkers out to the on-deck circle a few times per season. Tragically, Detroit's Pizza People ignored Warner Bros.' warning, emptied their dough box for "Miggy," and are now suffering through a 12-decade long "rebuilding" slump!

Total Absurdity

[mrdonleone · 7/10 · 23 May 2020]

Can anyone please explain to me how it is possible that the documentary about baseball turns into a musical but people singing in a radio wire comes the radio all of a sudden and all these crazy things and then you have all the crazy things and then if you combine them it looks more like a David Lynch episode of Fame Peaks the old series because the new Sarah's aren't is great but this all is a? Is it strange is it real is it not real the combination of the music with images of babe Ruth winning many serious it's just the question if you want to see it but we are seeing it and then definitely the question is is it worth it the answer is maybe maybe it is worth it to see all of this and maybe be blessed merry merry be blessed to know the song inshallah.

Whether it's good or not, it's well worth seeing just to see Babe Ruth!

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 5 December 2016]

"Home Run on the Keys" is a later Vitaphone short that stars Babe Ruth. Ruth had just retired from baseball and was apparently persuaded to star in this short where the Bambino supposedly is hanging out with his buddies, musicians Zez Confrey and Byron Gay and one other who isn't identified. Then, after some gay repartee, the scene switches to the DeMarco Sisters as they sing some ditty while dressed in baseball costumes. Following this, Babe yells out baseball terms all set to music--and it's even less musical than Rex Harrison's 'singing'. All this is accompanied with baseball footage superimposed atop Ruth and the orchestra.

So is any of this particularly good? No. It comes off as a bit contrived and I must admit that although the little DeMarcos were cute, they weren't extremely talented. And, it was obvious that Ruth was NOT destined to a new career as a crooner (thank God). But, considering the film's historical value, I am glad it's been preserved and is being shown on TCM.