The Pride of the Yankees (1942)

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

Director:

Sam Wood

Writers:

Jo Swerling (screenplay), Herman J. Mankiewicz (screenplay),

Stars:

Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Babe Ruth

Won 1 Oscar. Another 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

Biopic traces the life of Lou Gehrig, famous baseball player who played in 2130 consecutive games before falling at age 37 to ALS, a deadly nerve disease which now bears his name. Gehrig is followed from his childhood in New York until his famous 'Luckiest Man' speech at his farewell day in 1939.

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Plot Keywords:

baseball | speech | domineering mother | hat | train | 

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Taglines:

The Crowd Worshipped Him... One Woman Understood Him!

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Family | Romance | Sport

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 March 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Yankee-k dicsősége

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While filming the movie, Teresa Wright - who played Gehrig's wife Eleanor Gehrig - wore the actual bracelet that Lou gave to Eleanor on their fourth anniversary. Eleanor brought the bracelet to the set to be used in the movie. The bracelet is made up of 17 metal medallions that celebrate the seven World Championships and six All-Star game appearances that Gehrig made. The bracelet is now displayed in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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Goofs

As Gehrig (Cooper) is doing his homework at Columbia, he writes with his right hand. While Gehrig batted and threw left-handed, like many lefties of the era (perhaps because of "correction" in school), he wrote with his right hand.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Featured in The 78th Annual Academy Awards (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)"
(1922) (uncredited)
Music Fred Fisher
Played as background music at the carnival

User Reviews

Now batting the first baseman, number 4, Tanglefoot, I mean Gehrig

The story of Lou Gehrig, son of German immigrants, who went on to play first base for the Yankees throughout the 20's and 30's and set the then record of playing in 2,130 straight baseball games until he'd be sidelined forever from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the disease which now bears his name. The film can appeal to baseball fans, but really succeeds because of the strong focus on Lou's marriage to Eleanor which is the reason why the film is hallmarked, rather focusing mainly on the sports clichés seen in so many other sports movies of the era. (The fact of such a tragic case of Lou Gehrig contributed as well.) Cooper is great (as usual) and it seems to be the only choice to play the role. Wright also gives an excellent performance as Eleanor, and Brennan is his usual fun self as Blake. Great job by producer Goldwyn getting this one on film. Even the former players such as Babe Ruth and Bill Dickey in particular, carry themselves well with the film. A treat for all baseball fans. Some factual errors on Gehrig's career can be overlooked here. Rating, 10.