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

When young Lou hits the ball, a close-up shows the pitcher in his wind-up almost-to or at-ball release with his arm forward of his body. However, when the view becomes a longer shot, the pitcher is still in his wind-up with his arm behind his head, moving forward.

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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 Trumbo (2007)

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Soundtracks

"I'm Just Wild About Harry"
(1921) (uncredited)
Music Eubie Blake
Played at the college dance

User Reviews

The #1 Gary Cooper Movie-Oscar or not

"The Pride of the Yankees", is in my humble opinion, one of the absolute best sports movies ever made. Gary Cooper and Teresa Wright were undeniably believable as Mr and Mrs Lou Gehrig, and I personally choke up each time I see this movie. The scenery around the ballpark was an experience for someone who has never been to New York, much less root for the current Yankees. It displayed real players, Babe Ruth, et al, and was such an enjoyable movie, that I watch this movie every chance I get. To this day, there are no actors or actresses that can make you believe they are a couple like Gary and Teresa did. Those days are gone, but on the bright side........we have this movie to look back and remember baseball, and its heroes that stayed with a team and played for pride......"The Pride of the Yankees" is a treasure to baseball lore, and it allowed those not yet around, to enter the baseball world of old, and experience what no longer is.