The Pride of the Yankees (1942)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Sam Wood

Writers:

Paul Gallico (story)
Jo Swerling (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

5 March 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Family | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

THE Private LIFE OF A GREAT Public HERO! (original print ad - mostly caps)

Plot:

The story of the life and career of the famed baseball player, Lou Gehrig.

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Speech | Hero | Marriage | Retirement

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 10 nominations

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	Henry Louis 'Lou' Gehrig
Teresa Wright	...	Eleanor Twitchell
Babe Ruth	...	Babe Ruth
Walter Brennan	...	Sam Blake
Dan Duryea	...	Hank Hanneman
Elsa Janssen	...	Christina 'Mom' Gehrig
Ludwig Stössel	...	Henry 'Pop' Gehrig (as Ludwig Stossel)
Virginia Gilmore	...	Myra Tinsley
Bill Dickey	...	Bill Dickey
Ernie Adams	...	Miller Huggins
Pierre Watkin	...	Frank Twitchell
Harry Harvey	...	Joe McCarthy
Bob Meusel	...	Bob Meusel (as Robert W. Meusel)
Mark Koenig	...	Mark Koenig
Bill Stern	...	Bill Stern

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:Btl | USA:Approved (PCA #8295) | USA:Passed

Filming Locations:

Pelham Parkway, Bronx, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Trivia:

Released just 17 months after Lou Gehrig's death.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The Yankees played 2 World Series against the Cardinals when Lou Gehrig was on the team - 1926 and 1928. Whichever World Series the movie was depicting (assumedly 1928, the one where Gehrig hit 2 homeruns in one game), Gehrig's #4 is clearly visible in those scenes. But the Yankees did not have numbers on the backs of their uniforms until 1929.

Quotes:

Lou Gehrig: All the arguing in the world can't change the decision of the umpire.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Zombie Nightmare (#7.4)" (1994)

Soundtrack:

Auld Lang Syne

Cooper's most likeable performance...a heartfelt tribute to a great man...

Gary Cooper may have won his Oscar for SERGEANT YORK--but I think he deserved it even more for PRIDE OF THE YANKEES. I've never seen him give a more heartfelt, natural and completely likeable performance than I have here. And Teresa Wright is glowing as his sweetheart.

It tells Lou Gehrig's story in a simple, straightforward manner with only an occasional bit of Hollywood corn, the kind so typical of the 1940s. But the main storyline is carried by Cooper and Wright with some great assist from Walter Brennan. Brennan drops a lot of his cornball mannerisms (the kind he uses he in all his Western roles) and plays it straight here--with excellent results.

But it's Cooper's achievement--no doubt about that. If the last twenty minutes of the film don't move you to tears, you're made of stone. Cooper gets across the panic and fear that hits him with the first signs of his illness--with a subtle show of facial expressions. He's really into his character here and gives one of the best performances of his career.

Knowing someone who died from this disease, I was especially moved at how the first signs of illness were shown here.

Douglas Croft does a fine job as the young Lou--and by the way, whatever happened to him? He played Ronald Reagan as a boy in KINGS ROW and did several other films in the '40s. And how come Dane Clark received no billing in the credits? He was only seen early on in the film but he had a line of dialogue as one of Lou's fraternity pals. He had no credit in Alan Ladd's THE GLASS KEY too--he's the man Brian Donlevy shoves through a plate glass window. A year later he was being given the star buildup at Warner Bros.

A great film and a wonderful tribute to Lou Gehrig.