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

Multiple published sources have asserted that Cooper, who was right-handed, could not master a convincing left-handed throw or swing. To remedy the problem, the story went, he was filmed throwing right-handed while wearing a mirror-image uniform, and for batting sequences he would swing from the right side of the plate, then run to third instead of first base; technicians then reversed the print of the film. However, Tom Shieber, a curator at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, has shown that Cooper did indeed learn to bat left-handed, and never wore a backwards Yankees uniform nor ran to third base after swinging. Film footage was "flipped" only once, during a brief sequence portraying Gehrig's minor-league days at Hartford, in order to make Cooper appear to be throwing left-handed. Scenes requiring Cooper to throw a ball as a Yankee were filmed using his stand-in, Babe Herman.

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Goofs

During the collage of Gehrig's first road trip as a starter, when the Yanks are in Washington, they show a runner running from 1st base & sliding into home, under the catcher's tag. (It's known that they flipped the film to make Cooper, a right hander, look like he was left handed, like Gehrig.)

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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

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

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Soundtracks

"I'll See You in My Dreams"
(1924) (uncredited)
Music by Isham Jones
Played by a band at a restaurant

User Reviews

The Life of Lou Gehrig: Baseball Player and American Hero.

A touching and emotional experience about the life of late-New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig (played brilliantly by the always excellent Gary Cooper, Oscar-nominated). By 1939 Gehrig was saying farewell to baseball prematurely due to a rare muscle disorder that today bears the hero's name. Shortly after Gehrig's famous speech, he would indeed pass away. "The Pride of the Yankees" (made less than three years after his death) is a moving tribute that is first-class in every way imaginable. We meet the character as a young boy whose strict mother wants him to be an engineer. As the years pass though he cannot deny his love of the grand old game. Sportswriter Walter Brennan (who was always outstanding as well) becomes the biggest supporter of Gehrig, even though Gehrig seems out-of-place in the big city at times and seems more concerned about baseball than anything else (which bothers some inside of the Yankees circle, mainly due to Babe Ruth's famous antics). As the years pass, championships come and a constant is always Gehrig who set a record with 2,130 consecutive games played (Cal Ripken, Jr. would later break that record in 1995). He finds love with a young woman from Chicago (Oscar-nominee Teresa Wright) and it appears that happiness is all that the couple will experience. Sadly that would not be the case though. Sam Wood's heart-felt direction and a focused screenplay (which is a bit sappy at times) just add an odd element of grace that endears the film to most all movie-goers. Babe Ruth does play himself here and is a surprisingly excellent performer who allows himself to be taken out of the spotlight to tell Gehrig's story. He ends up being a really solid supporting actor. I do admit that "The Pride of the Yankees" is slightly flawed. Some things seem a bit staged (most notably the young child in the hospital), but overall the film is right on target. Anyone who loves baseball, loves movies and has feelings (whether good, bad or indifferent) about the Yankees should definitely give "The Pride of the Yankees" an at-bat. It is a stunning experience that is suitable for the whole family and teaches the whole audience about love, friendship, compassion, life, death and heroism. 4.5 out of 5 stars.