A League of Their Own commentary, part 3: ‘Go where things happen’

Cut to a moving train departing the station with the old classic “Choo Choo Ch’boogie” playing on the soundtrack. Fun sidebar fact here: I danced to that song in one of my dance classes as a kid. I think it was the one where we each had wooden suitcases as props to stand on with our tap shoes. Picture evidence is somewhere around the house.

But back to the movie.

It’s interesting here to see trains as not only a standard form of transportation but also somewhat luxurious. The passengers could actually sit and enjoy themselves. A much better option than cramming into an airplane like sardines. Although, I’m sure the travel time on the train across the country from Oregon took much longer than a plane ride.

Boogying to catch a train
Capadino is on the train alone, except there’s an over-enthusiastic businessman talking his ear off. Then Capadino has had enough of listening to this guy’s bullshit. “You know, if I had your job? I’d kill myself. Sit here, I’ll see if I can dig up a pistol.”

Conversation over.

Meanwhile, Dottie and Kit come into the frame as they’re sprinting to catch the moving train, giving Capadino a chance to see their running abilities. Hey, it looks like Kit convinced Dottie to give it a shot! Once they jump onto the train, Capadino asks them a very important question: “Did you promise the cows you’d write?” They really max out every bit of comedic value with his character as possible in a relatively short amount of time, and I’m so here for it.

Capadino is smoking a giant cigar on the train again, clearly a trademark for him. Their next stop isn’t Chicago where tryouts are being held, but in Fort Collins, Colo. to look at another player. Quick-cut to a baseball being hit through a window of a building and landing into the pouring rain. I wonder if that was intentional to have this player, Marla Hooch, hit inside because of the rain. Maybe there’s something there with the perspective of how her hits would look. Or maybe it was raining when they wanted to shoot, so they improvised.

Marla’s proud pop stands off to the side and, upon Marla checking her swing at a high pitch, turns to tell Capadino that his daughter has “an eye like (Joe) DiMaggio.” The scout seems unimpressed by the father’s attempts to brag about his daughter, though it’s clear Marla is a talented switch hitter. Never mind the hair in her face, blue slacks, white button-up blouse and red ball cap covering most of her face.

Not pretty?

Capadino is not subtle whatsoever when Marla finally lifts her head, and more importantly her eyes, to make eye contact. Lovitz plays this one perfectly, again, giving a visible reaction that conveys Marla is definitely not the “dolly” type the league is looking for, so he offers a not-promising “we’ll let you know” and turns to walk out.

I love the solidarity that comes up here. It’s a common-sense but also kind of the first “girl power!” type moment of the movie. Kit and Dottie slam their suitcases down and refuse to leave, protesting Capadino’s move to leave Marla behind because she has too much of a resemblance to, in Capadino’s words, General Omar Bradley. No, I didn’t get that particular reference either, and apparently neither did Kit: “You mean you ain’t taking her cuz she ain’t pretty?!”  

“Well, look who just caught up!” Capadino retorts.

Then Marla’s father has a heart-to-heart with the scout, telling him he raised Marla (whose mother is deceased) like a little boy because he “didn’t know any better.” He doesn’t want Marla to be denied this opportunity now because of his job raising his daughter to… not be a Barbie doll, I guess.

Between the sisterly protests and this conversation, Ernie obviously caves and allows Marla to come along for the tryout.

Marla and her pop have a nice father-daughter scene at the train station. The advice Marla’s father gives her, as she’s apprehensive about leaving home where she won’t know anybody, is sweet and can probably be applied to many people at different crossroads in their lives.

“You gotta go where things happen.”

Welcome to Illinois, girls!
Capadino prods Marla to get her butt on the train that’s departing by explaining to her, in his witty way, how this mode of transportation is done. “You see how it works is, the train moves, not the station.” As Marla gets on the train and waves goodbye to her father, the camera shot is very well done here. A waving American flag is seen perfectly in the reflection of the train car as Marla waves.

However long the train trip to Chicago takes, the next thing we know, the group of four is walking out onto a baseball field, known as Harvey Field, which is obviously a shout to the real-life Wrigley Field. For some reason, they enter through an outfield entrance rather than a dugout. That’s probably to showcase the ballpark as seen from their eyes. It’s a movie. Capadino also reminds the sisters to not eat the grass, calling them “cow girls.”

One other thing, too. Capadino is wearing the same suit as when he met Dottie and Kit. How long is a train ride from Oregon to Chicago with a stop in between? Maybe it’s shorter than I think, but wouldn’t he have a change of clothes?

Capadino tells the ladies to hit the field for tryouts, adding that they shouldn’t embarrass him. This is where he makes his exit from the film (his character returns for a moment back in the present at the end of the movie), going home to give his wife a little “pickle tickle” (TMI, pal) before heading out on the road again. He leaves as the girls are still unsure of what to do, so naturally, he tells them it’s tryouts and to “get lost” before adding as he turns to leave, “I hate when they get attached to me like that.”

OK, so I guess I’ll have to stop gushing about Lovitz now. 

A League of Their Own commentary, part 1: 'Mule!' 'Nag!'
A League of Their Own commentary, part 2: 'So we can make a buck...'