Name: Bang the Drum Slowly
Genre: Drama
Released: 1973-08-26
Duration: 96 min
Rating: 7.0
Cast: Michael Moriarty, Robert De Niro, Vincent Gardenia, Phil Foster, Ann Wedgeworth

1973·Drama·1h 36m

7.0

★

The story of a New York pro baseball team and two of its players. Henry Wiggen is the star pitcher and Bruce Pearson is the normal, everyday catcher who is far from the star player on the team and friend to all of his teammates. During the off-season, Bruce learns that he is terminally ill, and Henry, his only true friend, is determined to be the one person there for him during his last season with the club. Throughout the course of the season, Henry and his teammates attempt to deal with Bruce's impending illness, all the while attempting to make his last year a memorable one.

Directed by John D. Hancock

terminal illness

baseball player

Trailer

IMDB

N/A

Where to Watch

Cast

Michael Moriarty

Henry Wiggen

Robert De Niro

Bruce Pearson

Vincent Gardenia

Dutch Schnell

Phil Foster

Joe

Ann Wedgeworth

Katie

Patrick McVey

Bruce's Father

Heather MacRae

Holly

Selma Diamond

Tootsie

Barbara Babcock

Team Owner

Tom Ligon

Piney

Marshall Efron

Bradley

Hector Elias

Diego

Crew

John D. Hancock

Director

Richard Marks

Editor

Popular Reviews

16 reviews

Michael

8.0★ · 01/31/26

How can you not be romantic about baseball :’(

s0up_lvr

8.0★ · 01/05/26

Robert de niro takes on the role of an incredibly endearing guy who also happens to piss in the sink apparently. And also knows how to get jiggy with it. So it’s really multifaceted actually

k1lg0ressurfer

6.0★ · 09/20/25

softest man in baseball… im ruined

Arjun

5.0★ · 07/29/24

A great story with a pretty decent second half. It starts off alright but kind of confusing, but as the movie progressed and the relationship between De Niro and Moriarty characters grow the better it got. Although the acting at times is very mediocre. Moriarty was pretty boring with little to offer. De Niro also just plays a one noted character, it was just odd to see him… not be that great? Despite all this I thought Vincent Gardenia was a standout, he really felt like a manager with some great moments that made the movie pretty enjoyable. Due to Gardenia the dugout and ball club scenes are the strength of this movie. Although the story is great, it’s just very bland and by the books for its execution.

frenchie

6.0★ · 09/13/23

I watched this with my mom so it was a good time, despite being a bit slow and dry. I'm really disappointed that 𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘱 song that they do the dance number to isn't real. I thought it was nice, just wish it'd been officially recorded at some point :(