Trailer

The Bad News Bears (1976)

PG   |    |  Comedy, Drama, Family

The Bad News Bears (1976) Poster

An aging, down-on-his-luck ex-minor leaguer coaches a team of misfits in an ultra-competitive California little league.

7.3/10
20,551
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84 Metascore

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  • The Bad News Bears (1976)
  • The Bad News Bears (1976)
  • The Bad News Bears (1976)
  • "Bad News Bears" Walter Matthau 1976 Paramount
  • The Bad News Bears (1976)
  • The Bad News Bears (1976)

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Awards

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award.

Another 1 win.

Reviews & Commentary

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User Reviews
22 June 2005 | moonspinner55
8
| Cutthroat Little League--in all its sprinkler-system, sun-&-Schlitz-drenched glory
Scrappy pool-cleaner (and former ballplayer) in Southern California gets talked into coaching Little League to a bunch of no-talent boys. I don't think I've ever seen another movie that captured this bit of Americana so vividly: you can almost smell the freshly-cut grass and the cigar smoke in the air! One of Walter Matthau's many triumphs, and Tatum O'Neal as the pitching ace is also terrific (especially in the dug-out scene where she tries involving Matthau in her life and he cracks, sending her away in tears: "You don't wanna go, fine, no big deal."). The young boys are mostly all wonderful: Alfred Lutter, from "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore", as the nerdy brain; Jackie Earle Haley as the cool kid with shades and motorcycle; Brandon Cruz, from "The Courtship of Eddie's Father", as the pitcher for the enemy-team. The film has some overacting and is occasionally sloppy (with the boom-mike showing, as well as O'Neal's stand-in in a wig), but is otherwise extremely well-written and designed and directed. In 1976, this had kids and adults lining up to see it, so I wouldn't consider the picture a 'sleeper' or an underrated film. It was a big commercial box-office hit and there is an audience for it wherever there's a DVD player and a screen. ***1/2 from ****

Metacritic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Did You Know?

Trivia

The daily newspaper comic strip Tank McNamara ran a story line loosely based on and inspired by the movie. In the story line a girl named Janet wins an injunction to pitch in an all boys Little League for a team called The Bears. Janet and the team's coach bore a slight resemblance to Tatum O'Neal and Walter Matthau.

Quotes

Coach Morris Buttermaker: A busted bat and a long fly ball...
Bad News Bears: Any day now, Durocher will call!

Goofs

Around 00:35:40, a kid is wearing a t-shirt with a french flag on it but colors are inverted : the french's flag is blue-white-red (not red-white-blue); It's not a mirror effect cause we can read the word "FRANCE".

Crazy Credits

When the Paramount logo turns blue, the "Paramount" text extends beyond the dark blue area instead of staying inside the dark blue.

Soundtracks

Carmen
Written by Georges Bizet

Storyline

Plot Summary

Synopsis (WARNING: Spoilers)

Genres

Comedy | Drama | Family | Sport

Details

Release Date:

7 April 1976

Language

English, Spanish

Country of Origin

USA

Filming Locations

Los Angeles City Hall - 200 North Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$32,211,330

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$32,211,330

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