Babe Comes Home (1927) is a silent sports drama film starring Babe Ruth as himself. The movie was produced by First National Pictures and directed by Ted Wilde. It was based on a short story titled “Said With Soap” by Gerald Beaumont, which was published in The Saturday Evening Post.
The story follows Babe Dugan, a baseball slugger (played by Babe Ruth) who has a bad habit of chewing tobacco, which annoys Vernie, a laundress (played by Anna Q. Nilsson). Despite their differences, romance blossoms between them. However, Babe’s temper and his tobacco-chewing habits cause problems in their relationship. As the film progresses, Babe learns to curb his bad habits to win back Vernie’s love, all while continuing his career in baseball.
In the film, there’s a notable comedic scene where Babe Ruth accidentally steamrolls over a much smaller player named Lou Archer. While the film itself is lost, production stills and promotional materials suggest this was a slapstick moment, likely emphasizing Ruth’s massive size and strength compared to the smaller, unfortunate Archer.
Lou Archer’s role in the film is not widely documented, but given the era’s comedic tendencies, it’s possible he was portrayed as an opposing player or a teammate who found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Physical comedy, especially involving outsized athletes like Ruth, was a common trope in silent films, adding humor to the baseball romance storyline.
Babe Comes Home was one of Babe Ruth’s few feature film appearances as an actor, playing a fictionalized version of himself. The film showcased Ruth’s immense popularity in the 1920s, as he was already a baseball icon. It was one of the few films at the time that blended sports and romance.
Unfortunately, Babe Comes Home is considered a lost film, meaning no known copies exist today. However, some promotional materials, such as lobby cards and posters, have survived.
