73. The Bad News Bears (1976)

The Bad News Bears is a 1976 American sports comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie and written by Bill Lancaster. It stars Walter Matthau and Tatum O'Neal. The film was followed by two sequels, The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training in 1977 and The Bad News Bears Go to Japan in 1978, a short-lived 1979–80 CBS television series, and a 2005 remake.

Notable was the score by Jerry Fielding, which is an adaptation of the principal themes of Bizet's opera Carmen.

PODCAST NOTES:

Bernie Kaminski is my guest (00:02), Bernie's amazing paper mache pop-cultural artwork (follow @berniekaminski for more) (2:00), Jason and Bernie's contrasting Little League experiences (7:00), Happy Days vs Media All Stars celebrity softball game excerpt (9:00), Matthau's incredible and heartbreaking dugout argument scene with Tatum O'Neal (10:30), Alternative casting: Warren Beatty and Steve McQueen (11:00), Walter Matthau 'quitting' scene (13:00), Matthau in 'The Taking of Pelham 123' (13:30), Bill Lancaster, screenwriter of 'Bad News Bears' and 'The Thing' (14:00), introduction of Kelly Leak scene 'Thanks, Mister' (17:00), Matthau's scene in the dugout where he's taking it too seriously (19:00), kids temperment as reflected in their jerky sideline parents at sporting events (22:00), Bernie's surprisingly impressive and underrated Little League career, including his score book from 1976 (24:00), Olgivie's baseball patch jacket in The Bad News Bears (27:30), 'Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore' scene with Alfred Lutter as Tommy (28:00), 'Breaking Away' with Jackie Earle Haley (34:30), Jackie Earle Haley in 'Little Children' (37:30), William Devane in 'The Bad News Bears: Breaking Training' and the uselessness of the sequels (39:00), great scene between Buttermaker and Ahmad Abdul Rahim in the tree after the loss to the Yankees (42:30), Beer can collecting in 1970s childhood (46:30), Bernie's Latch-Key TV selections.