Babe Ruth Story Comparison

Another example of Babe’s portrayal shown almost as entire opposites is the way he handles relationships with women. The Babe Ruth Story doesn’t even touch upon Helen and his child, but possibly because the writers didn’t want to take away from Babe’s good-natured persona. Claire is the only woman by Babe’s side in this movie and there is only a slight allusion to his womanizing ways. The only time that womanizing stood out was when Babe made a lewd comment to a woman writer about her allowing him into her dressing room. Crepeau noted that, “Claire remains loyal to her man, improves his conduct, curbs his drinking, manages his life, suffers his pains, offers advice, supports him in every way, and stays with him to the end” (140). Crepeau is

just reiterating that Claire had a positive impact on his life and strays from the fact that in real life, she was his mistress. The Babe portrays an extremely sexual version of Ruth; where lust was the major driving force in his relationships with women. This film included Helen and their tough times, but also showed that he was fooling around with Claire at the same time and Helen knew about it. This version of the Babe is often referred to as an animal. Crepeau observes that, “At one point in his pursuit of Helen, Ruth mimicked a monkey or gorilla, with all the sexual implications of that symbol” (136). His animalistic ways with women contributed to the persona that this film was trying to make known about Babe.
The facets of Babe’s life and personality contributed to his stature as a man, especially in the way he portrays himself to be and how he carries himself. The Babe Ruth Story capitalized on a Babe who is “presented as the savior of baseball, a Christ-like worker of miracles on and off the field” (Ardolino, 107). Initial impressions of Ruth’s character in this film radiate that he is a naïve, innocent man who is just trying to do good in life. Some of these traits follow him throughout the film, like his goofball tendencies, but in the end he is wiser and more mature. Unlike this version of Ruth, The Babe portrays Ruth’s character as an aggressive, rude, and abrasive drunk. Ardolino mentions that, ‘he is presented as a big baby, a child-man of gargantuan girth who somehow hits homers with his pants falling down and his belly hanging out’ (116). As previously mentioned, this Babe is often portrayed as animalistic so it comes to no surprise that when he was at a formal dinner party he thought it was appropriate to ask a woman to pull his finger and fart while giving a speech. The overall character and stature of the two versions portrayed in the Hollywood films are alarmingly differently, which leads the viewer to question which Babe is the real one.
Another difference between the two Babes is the way in which they handled their money. Trimble mentions that, “Ruth’s casual disdain for wealth reminded his audience that there were things more important than money, even as Ruth is amassing it at a tremendous rate” (130). It can be seen that both versions of Ruth accurately portrayed the casual disdain for wealth when they were being generous with their money, like buying dinner for groups of young boys or over tipping the wait staff. The main difference between their spending habits is that The Babe’s version of Ruth was often seen overspending his money, like when he bought Helen a horse after getting into a car accident with a 16-year-old girl and bringing home an adopted child for them to raise. This version of Ruth was often appeasing Helen’s anger by showering her with gifts, which is not the right way to fix marriage problems or spend money.
Between the two Hollywood films about Babe Ruth, we have amassed several similarities and differences amongst the two portrayals.

The Hollywood treatment of his life story was trying to capture the story of Babe Ruth in his prime; it was meant to take you through his life, but also have an entertaining story line. The Babe Ruth Story hid a huge aspect of Babe’s life in order to protect his reputation as a baseball hero, which was providing a false representation of the Great Bambino. The Hollywood films also made the movies come full circle; both films touched upon his death but didn’t go in depth about it. The Hollywood film treatment of Babe did not lie about aspects of his life, but rather chose what to include and emphasize. The vast differences and important similarities and their connection to Ruth’s life were easily understood after viewing the documentary version of his story. The documentary treatment discussed all aspects of Babe’s life without over emphasizing the negatives like The Babe did. The documentary mentioned the alcohol and sex without showing Babe in a negative light. When Babe’s sex life was the topic, the people telling the stories were laughing and smiling without being condescending about Babe’s actions. The documentary also mentioned Babe’s ‘belly ache heard around the world’ that was commonly thought to be a case of syphilis, which was left out in the Hollywood films. Even when mentioning that, the documentary did not give the impression that they were bashing Babe. Unsurprisingly, the documentary brought up more information about Babe’s death and what he did after retiring from baseball. The documentary treated Babe in a positive light, but the films sometimes didn’t in order to provide the entertainment that Hollywood films are expected to

have.
These three films about Babe Ruth bring into question which Babe is the real Babe. Although Ruth had his dark moments and it is important to include those, we can’t neglect that he was a humble and exceptional individual who devoted his life to doing what he loved. In order to have a truly classy and accurate depiction of Babe Ruth, the actor needs to be someone who can embody both sides of the Babe; showing him as a caring hero, but also someone who dabbled with vices without overdoing it. The first actor that comes to mind when thinking of someone to play Babe Ruth is Vince Vaughn. All of the movies that immediately come to mind starring Vince Vaughn show him as a caring and loving individual who can also be funny and slightly abrasive. A new portrayal of Babe Ruth calls for an actor that is classy, yet comedic, and that is Vince Vaughn. In order to capture the most accurate essence of Ruth, it is important to pay mind to the testimonials of those who knew Babe, not by the impression that the Hollywood film world has created for him