Fear Strikes Out (1957)

Director:

Robert Mulligan

Writers:

Jimmy Piersall (book) and
Al Hirshberg (book) ...

Release Date:

15 August 1957 (Australia)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Sport

Plot:

True story of the life of Jimmy Piersall, who battled mental illness to achieve stardom in major league baseball.

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Mental Illness | Electroconvulsive Therapy | Psychiatrist | Father Son Relationship

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Anthony Perkins	...	Jimmy Piersall (older)
Karl Malden	...	John Piersall
Norma Moore	...	Mary Piersall
Adam Williams	...	Doctor G. Brown, Psychiatrist
Perry Wilson	...	Mrs. John Piersall
Peter J. Votrian	...	Jimmy (younger)

Also Known As:

The Jim Piersall Story (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Karl Malden as usual refers to someone, in this movie a baseball scout, by the name of Sekulovich. His real birth name.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When Jimmy Piersall is taking the field in his high school state championship game, he's wearing #37. When the team is in the locker room after the game, another player on his team is also wearing #37.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "3rd Rock from the Sun: Dick Strikes Out (#5.16)" (2000)

The Classic Tale Of Pushy Parents

I still remember seeing this as a Little League-age kid in the theater as our family was vacationing in Florida.

When I saw it again, some 40 years later, parts of the film were still very familiar, a testimony to how powerful some of these scenes were. I never forgot them.

This was a based-on-a-true-life account of major league baseball player Jimmy Piersall, a very talented player who suffered a nervous breakdown. The enormous pressure to succeed that was driven into him by his never-satisfied father was pictured as the cause which made him snap.

Anthony Perkins, who plays Piersall, and Karl Madlen, who portrays his dad, are both excellent, riveting characters. Some say this was Malden's best performance ever. Perkins was no slouch, either. This is the classic sports story of an overzealous parent living his or her dreams through their child.

The baseball segment of this film ended about halfway through. From that point, after Perkins breaks down at the park, climbing the backstop fence in a horrifying scene, the film actually gets even more interesting with everyone in the film contributing although the cast, after Perkins and Malden, is a pretty much an unknown-name one.

The only unrealistic part of the film, typical of sports films until the 1980s, was seeing an actor play a ballplayer when he "throws like a girl," as the old expression went. The younger actor playing Piersall as a kid was no better than Perkins in this regard. Neither had a clue how to a throw a ball. It looks corny nowadays.

Oh, well. That wasn't the focus of the story, anyway. As powerful as this film was, it apparently didn't have much of an effect as pushy parents in sports still exist and probably always will, taking the fun out of sports for a number of kids.

It's still a memorable film and worth your time today, especially if you have never seen it.