I'm a lifelong NYer but not a baseball fan. In fact, I have never watched a baseball game in its entirety. That said, baseball cannot be compared to wrestling or boxing in the context of this movie. Both sports have a violent element, which was key to identifying the culprit. Otherwise, neither sport was referenced in the way you want baseball to be. Baseball had nothing to do with the crime or the criminal. As for jumping rope, that wasn't a sport (I don't think Double Dutch competitions existed yet). It's merely something kids normally did in most neighborhoods, much like shopping for adults. While it's true that many neighborhoods had stickball games, they were harder to find than jumping rope -- especially in congested Manhattan. Keep in mind that none of the surrounding ambient scenes were staged, so if a stickball game wasn't already in the neighborhood they were shooting, Sessin wasn't going to stage one.
Would a baseball reference have added to the NY ambiance? Not in my opinion. When we talk about NYC being a character in the movie, we're talking about the overall infrastructure, much as the mansion is a character in gothic movies. A baseball reference would not have made the story darker or more exciting -- or "noir-ish." Nor would it have helped to develope the characters or move the story forward. If anything, it might have distracted viewers who hated or loved NY teams.
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marbleann
13 years ago
I agree with sdc100. Believe it or not I would say most New Yorkers could not care a less about Baseball. Yes a lot do but it is not a essential part everyday life of a New Yorker. Secondly the movie was about a wrestler. Wrestling and Boxing like baseball is and was just important a sport in NY as baseball. As a kid I remember going to various Golden Glove boxing matches. They were all over the place. I believe the OP has fallen for the stereotype. Another thing. The station house was in Chelsea, which is downtown. The murder scene was in midtown Manhattan. The Dodgers were in Brooklyn, the Giants were in Harlem and the Yankeee's are in the Bronx. I do not believe mentioning baseball would of added anything worthy to the plot or to the ambiance of NYC. No one had anything to do with baseball and frankly most people could not care a less about it. My father was a homicide Detective with the NYPD and even though he was a Mets fan I doubt it was any part of his day while he was working a case And why was cops working in Chelsea working on a mid town case? They would be the Manhattan South squad. Oh and BTW having those kids play around the fire hydrant on a hot day is more a NYC scene then anything else could be IMO.
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bradford-1
13 years ago
Of course, Dassin might have screened Buster Keaton's THE CAMERAMAN, where Keaton treks to a deserted Yankee Stadium and stages his own inning as pitcher, batter and base runner. Or maybe SPEEDY, with Harold Lloyd as a go-getting cabbie who picks up Babe Ruth in Manhattan and takes him on a death-defying ride to the Stadium in time to make a game.
"We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did."
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gvb0907
13 years ago
Look at it this way. There were three teams in NYC at the time. You really can't reference all three, but if you mention one you annoy the fans of the other two, so it's better not to mention any of them.
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