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Doris Day, Ronald Reagan, Frank Lovejoy, Eve Miller, James Millican ... see more see more... , Russ Tamblyn , Gordon Jones , Hugh Sanders , Frank Ferguson , Walter S. Baldwin , Dorothy Adams , Bonnie Kay Eddie , Fred Millican , Pat Flaherty , Tom Greenway , Larry J. Blake , Frank Marlowe , Kenneth Patterson , Henry Blair , Gordon B. Clark , Jimmie Dodd , John Hedloe , Thomas Brown Henry , Glen Turnbull , Alex Sharp , John Kennedy , Alan Foster , Frank McFarland , Russ Clark

Ronald Reagan delivers one of his best screen performances as baseball great Grover Cleveland Alexander in The Winning Team. The title refers to the mutually supportive relationship between Alexander ... read more read more...and his loving wife Aimee (top-billed Doris Day); with this in mind, is it any surprise that the real Aimee Alexander served as the film's technical advisor. While the basic milestones of Alexander's career are adhered to, the film is a typical Hollywood blend of fact and fancy-plenty of fancy. While playing in the minors, Alexander is is hit on the heat by a batted ball, resulting in the dizziness and double vision that would ever after plague him. After toting up a record of 28 wins with the Philadelphia Phillies, Alex is traded to the Cubs, but World War 1 intervenes. On the battlefield, Alex suffers a recurrence of his double vision; and when he plays his first postwar game with the Cubs, he collapses on the field. Warned that his seizures will persist if he doesn't retire, Alex swears the doctor to secrecy. When the dizzy spells continue, Alex turns to drink. Branded an "alky", he descends to the depths of a House of David-style team, thence to the humiliation of carnival side shows. With the help and support of both Aimee and his old pal Rogers Hornsby (Frank Lovejoy), Alex stages a spectacular comeback, striking out Yankee Tony Lazzeri during the 1926 World Series and leading his team to victory. The script rearranges the chronology of Alexander's life, suggests incorrectly that the Lazzeri strikeout was the last play in the deciding Series game, and-most amusingly-depicts the unloveable Rogers Hornsby as a 100 % sweetheart. Otherwise, The Winning Team provides an excellent showcase for Ronald Reagan-though in later years he expressed some reservations about the script, noting that, by adhering to Warner Bros' insistence that the word "epilepsy" never be spoken, the picture confused audiences as to the true nature of Alexander's affliction. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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63% liked it

762 ratings

Unrated, 1 hr. 38 min.

Directed by: Lewis Seiler

Release Date: January 1, 1952

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DVD Release Date: August 15, 2006

Stats: 29 reviews

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Poster Doris Day and Ronald Reagan
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Flixster Reviews (29)

  • ajv2688
    November 7, 2010
    ajv2688
    This is a good baseball movie with good actors and it's even based on a true story which makes it more interesting.
  • jjnxn
    March 10, 2010
    jjnxn
    Standard biopic with Reagan adequate in the lead and Doris pert if a bit overly gushy as the wife. The background info is full of the usual fictions but at least they stick to the baseball facts pretty well.

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Critic Reviews

Bosley Crowther
August 12, 2006
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

To be sure, this is a somewhat different version of the story of Alex the Great from the one that was solemnly published in his obituaries two years ago. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
January 13, 2009
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Its accuracy is in doubt, but it's a competently made straightforward standard biopic on Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander. Full Review

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The Winning Team Trivia

  • In the Movie, Dogeball what is the name of the winning team in the Dogeball tournment?  Answer »
  • Which Disney classic is this? The California Atoms are in last place with no hope of moving up. But when the team mascot joins the team, (He can kick 100 yard field goals!) they start winning, and move up in the rankings. (starring Don Knotts)  Answer »
  • I had it all, the money, the fast cars and the super model girlfriend, but, because of punching a cop I end up in prison, and I have to turn a bunch of out-of-shape inmates into a winning team. Who am I?  Answer »
  • What was the name of the winning team in Dodgeball?  Answer »
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