Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Bang the Drum Slowly is a film adaptation of the novel of the same title by Mark Harris. It features Robert De Niro and Michael Moriarty together with Vincent Gardenia,Phil Foster,Heather MacRae,Ann Wedgeworth and Tom Ligon.It is directed by John D. Hancock.The screenplay centers on professional baseball player Bruce Pearson and his team mate Henry Wiggen, who supported Bruce to the bitter end after learning that the young catcher was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease and would soon die. When hayseed Pearson first joined the team, he and Wiggen, the team's red-hot pitcher were oil and water. The other team members were none to thrilled to have Pearson on their team. Wiggen changes his attitude when he learns of Pearson's illness, and when the other team members find out, they too become more helpful until the inevitably teary ending. The film is a touching melodrama that explores the inner workings of a baseball club and its players' personalities with remarkable depth.It is sentimental and predictable, but it's also very well acted by it talented cast.Finally,it is good to see a young Robert De Niro showing the talent that has made him one of our best actors.

Usually in baseball every pitcher and catcher on a particular team develop some sort of relationship since they need team work to be successful. Such is the story here added with the complication that the catcher Bruce, shyly but beloved character played by Robert De Niro, is dying of Hodgkins Disease. As the dying catcher, De Niro captures a simplicity rarely seen in his acting. It's really a standout performance.Michael Moriarty is the faithful pitcher and Vincent Gardenia received a well deserved supporting nomination as the suspicious manager of the team who hires a detective to find out what's going on between these 2 guys.Inevitably, the team finds out and attempts to come to the rescue of the stricken catcher.This is certainly one of the best of the baseball pictures as in the case of Pride of the Yankees, it explores tragedy and the human relationship among team players than can develop during such adversity.Selma Diamond is on hand as is effective in her brief 2 scene appearance as the sly telephone operator who knows something is amiss.The one disappointment was that when the inevitable occurs during off season, other than the Moriarty character, no one else attended the funeral.

Bang the Drum Slowly (1973) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Depressing but eventually uplifting tale of a star pitcher (Michael Moriarty) who befriends a dimwitted catcher (Robert DeNiro) who is dying. The thought of watching someone dying from a terminal illness might keep some people away from this movie but that would be a real shame because the film does a beautiful job of teaching about how we should treat people. This film certainly deals with the topic of death but it also deals with the spirit of life and it also works very well as a baseball movie. I don't think the film gets enough credit for how it handles the story of a middle ground player who must work extra hard to just try and compete with the bigger guys. DeNiro's character isn't the most talented but seeing him work hard to get where he wants is something very uplifting and this is especially true considering how sick and near death his character is. DeNiro gives a wonderful performance and really nails this character's Southern accent and mentality. There's been plenty of talk about DeNiro working out with the Cincinnati Reds in order to make himself look like a baseball player and he also succeeds on this level. You can't help but watch him and see a real struggling player. His scenes dealing with the disease are also extremely well acted and incredibly touching. Moriarty never gets the credit he deserves but he too delivers a great performance. There are many scenes where he doesn't have too much to say yet we can see how he feels just by looking at his eyes. Vincent Gardenia plays the third angle of this story, the two men's manager. I've seen quite a bit of Gardenia's work but this here is certainly the best of that. He gives an extremely heartfelt performance not only during the sadder moments but also the anger moments of a manager trying to keep his team together. In the end I think a few things are a bit too heavily handled but there's still a great story here with a real message. The most interesting scenes in the film are when DeNiro's character is being picked on by his teammates yet they change after they learn he's dying. The message of treating people good because you don't know if they really are dying gives one something to think about.

This movie,"Bang The Drum Slowly", is about much more than a baseball season. Similar stories have been set in other locations, among other groups of men. The field hands in a bunkhouse in "Of Mice And Men", or the military barracks in "The Hasty Heart". These are all stories about friendships among men, at a time when those men need those friendships.When Michael Moriarty learns his friend Robert De Niro is incurably sick and will soon die, he makes a decision to give his friend a final season of friendship and support. These men talk half-bright teenager among themselves, and then try to sound like sports-interview aces in formal situations. Note Moriarty's awkwardness in refusing to have an unwritten clause about not trading De Niro away from the team: "No verbal words. Must be wrote." He is equally awkward, and must move cautiously, in persuading the other players to help, and to keep mum when symptoms of the illness appear. Eventually, everybody is in on the effort to help. De Niro is welcomed into the TEGWAR games, and into the glee club. The team doctor is in the dugout at every game. The patient is able to hold up his end as catcher when the rotation brings him up to catch a game. At bat, it seems his best play all year is to hit a good solid triple and come into third standing up. In what turns out to be his last game, his team-mates see the trouble coming. The first baseman dashes in and snags a pop fly that De Niro can no longer handle himself.In his final monologue, walking away from De Niro's graveside, Moriarty gives what could be considered a strong contender for the best curtain line ever: "From here on in, I rag nobody."