Baseball Videos Here--Even if Season Isn’t : THIS WEEK’S MOVIES

There may not be baseball this spring--thanks to the ongoing dispute between owners and players--but there will be baseball videos to watch.

“The Pride of St. Louis” and “The Babe Ruth Story” (both from CBS/Fox, $19.98 each) aren’t exactly up to “Bull Durham” in quality, but at least these two filmographies from 40 years ago will fill in a few hours with the sound of balls hitting bats and fists hitting gloves to comfort TV-game-less addicts.

“The Pride of St. Louis” is the better of the two. The 1952 film tells the story of one of the game’s most colorful characters, pitcher (and later NBC announcer) Dizzy Dean. Dan Dailey plays Diz in a movie that doesn’t quite convince but does entertain.

Even less believable is “The Babe Ruth Story,” a flat, whitewashed 1948 biography of the man who’s generally considered the best in the game’s history. William Bendix is suitably irrepressible as the Babe, but otherwise baseball fans will be disappointed.

CBS/Fox is also re-releasing “The Pride of the Yankees” (also $19.98), previously available from Key Video. A far better film than the other two, this 1942 drama starred Gary Cooper as Ruth’s most notable teammate, the great slugger Lou Gehrig.

And coming next week: “Field of Dreams” (March 8).

Old baseball films aren’t the only vintage videos CBS/Fox is offering this week. Under the banner of “Classic Romances,” these four new releases are $39.98 each:

“Desk Set” (1957). Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn in a lightweight but enjoyable comedy about the introduction of a computer to the research department of a business, much to the researchers’ dismay.

“Heaven Can Wait” (1943). Not to be confused with the Warren Beatty movie of the same name, this Ernst Lubitsch film is an ironic, sophisticated comedy/fantasy about a man (Don Ameche) who tells his life story to the devil in an attempt to figure out if he’s been put in the right place.

“The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” (1947). More sophisticated comedy--this time from Joseph L. Mankiewicz--about a young widow (Gene Tierney) and the ghost of a sea captain (Rex Harrison) who inhabits the house she moves into.

“An Affair to Remember” (1957). Leo McCarey directed this OK but flawed remake of his superior 1939 film “Love Affair.” Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr help make this shipboard comedy palatable.

One other notable oldie, from Warner ($59.95), is “Goodby, My Lady”--not a great film, but a touching and well-made one about a boy (the reliable Brandon de Wilde) and his dog. Walter Brennan, Phil Harris and a young Sidney Poitier also enliven the sentimental picture.

The newer movies making their way to video this week are considerably less interesting, including the silly, unfunny Australian comedy “Young Einstein” (Warner, $89.95, PG) and the putrid horror sequel “Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers” (CBS/Fox, $89.98, R).