The Stratton Story

The Stratton Story
1949 theatrical poster
Directed by	Sam Wood
Produced by	Jack Cummings
Written by	Douglas Morrow Guy Trosper
Starring	James Stewart June Allyson Frank Morgan Agnes Moorehead
Music by	Adolph Deutsch
Cinematography	Harold Rosson
Editing by	Ben Lewis
Studio	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Distributed by	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s)	May 12, 1949 (1949-05-12)
Running time	106 min.
Country	U.S.A.
Language	English

DVD cover

The Stratton Story is a 1949 film directed by Sam Wood which tells the true story of Monty Stratton, a Major League Baseball pitcher who pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 1934-1938. This is the first of three movies that paired Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson, the others being The Glenn Miller Story and Strategic Air Command.

Plot

James Stewart plays the part of Stratton, who in the off-season of 1938 accidentally shoots himself in his right leg while on a hunting excursion. When his leg has to be amputated, it looks as though his pitching career is over. Nevertheless, with a wooden leg and his wife Ethel's (June Allyson) support, Stratton is able to make a successful minor league comeback in 1946.

Cast

• James Stewart as Monty Stratton
• June Allyson as Ethel
• Frank Morgan as Barney Wile
• Agnes Moorehead as Ma Stratton
• Bill Williams as Eddie Dibson
• Bruce Cowling as Ted Lyons
• Cliff Clark as Josh Higgins
• Mary Lawrence as Dot
• Dean White as Luke Appling
• Robert Gist as Earnie
• Gene Bearden as Himself
• Bill Dickey as Himself
• Jimmy Dykes as Himself
• Mervyn Shea as Himself

Notes

Ronald Reagan had sought the title role but was under contract with Warner Bros., which did not want to release Reagan for the film because they thought the movie would be a failure. The Stratton Story became a financial success and won the Academy Award for best Writing — Motion Picture Story.

Stratton commented that Mr. Stewart "did a great job of playing me, in a picture which I figure was about as true to life as they could make it".

Moorehead reportedly met her second husband, actor Robert Gist, during the making of this film.

Locations

Scenes were staged at various baseball parks, including:

• Comiskey Park in Chicago, Illinois, the home field of Stratton's team, the White Sox.
• Gilmore Field, the home of the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League, used in the final scenes of the film, which were set in Texas.
• Wrigley Field, the Los Angeles version, was used in some scenes.
• Stock footage was used of some other American League baseball parks, in establishing shots.

External links

• The Stratton Story at the Internet Movie Database
• The Stratton Story at AllRovi
• The Stratton Story at the TCM Movie Database
• The Stratton Story at Rotten Tomatoes