Eight Men Out****

Few people know this, but the Maltese Falcon was made three times before John Huston got his hands on it. The first three versions were far from the classic that John made, but it had been made and no one was interested in making it again.

On the set of the African Queen, John why he decided to make the Falcon. He had been a successful screenwriter and he was trying to decide what movie he wanted to direct first. Howard Hawks suggested the Falcon. John thought Howard was nuts. It failed three times. Why would it work now?

"Because they didn't do it right," Hawks told John. "The movie was right there in the book and they didn't make that movie. They made something else. Just follow the book. It's right there for you."

Sometimes writers and directors out-think themselves and try so hard to make their own imprint on a story (see Truffaut, Francois) that they ruin the film. Eight Men Out was a story that told itself.

Being a child of ten in 1919 and a big baseball fan when the World Series fix took place, it affected me greatly. I also knew Ring Lardner's family well, so I was familar with his side of the story. Ring also was one of the many larger-than-life characters in the movie with other people like Arnold Rothstein, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, Ban Johnson and Charles Comiskey.

For those who don't know this famous story, the Chicago White Sox were about to polish off the 1919 regular season as American League champions. They were regarded as one of the best teams in recent memory and it was a foregone conclusion that they would crush the National League Champion Cincinnati Reds. For their part, the White Sox players weren't happy. They were stiffed out of bonus money for winning the pennant by their stingy owner Charlie Comiskey. One night, some gambler heard their complaints and came up with a proposition - we'll get you money if you tank the series. These gamblers were small time guys though and they needed big time cash. For that, there was only one man to go to - Arnold Rothstein. The small time guys were able to contact the big guy through an elaborate web of mobsters and the deal was complete. In the end there were two problems with the corrupt bargain - first, not all of the money due to the players trickled down and second, two reporters, Lardner and Hugh Fullington, began to smell a rat.

We didn't have independent movies back in my day. Didn't need them. The studios made a lot more movies back then and they didn't spend as much each film, so a story like this could get made. For some reason it wasn't and it took a little independent guy like John Sayles to see this for the great story that it is. He creates a great look, puts together a fine script, casts some good actors and gets out of the way.

For the life of me, I don't understand why more good sports movies have not been made since the drama's ready made, but of those that have been filmed, this one's the best. It has sentiment, drama, realism, grit and a smart director.

When ever I see this, I remember something that my good friend John Lardner, Ring's dad, wrote many years ago. John was a sports writer and he covered a lot of boxing. One story had to do with the death of former middleweight champion, Stanley Ketchel. Here's the lede - "Stanley Ketchel was twenty-four years old when he was fatally shot in the back by the common-law husband of the lady who was cooking his breakfast." You don't even need to read anymore. Lardner told a tragedy with one line - simply, dramatically and subtly.

That's a good description of Eight Men Out - simple, dramatic and subtle.