The Pride of the Yankees (1942)

The story of the life and career of 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	...	Lou Gehrig
Teresa Wright	...	Eleanor Gehrig
Babe Ruth	...	Babe Ruth
Walter Brennan	...	Sam Blake
Dan Duryea	...	Hank Hanneman
Elsa Janssen	...	Mom Gehrig
Ludwig Stössel	...	Pop Gehrig (as Ludwig Stossel)
Virginia Gilmore	...	Myra
Bill Dickey	...	Bill Dickey
Ernie Adams	...	Miller Huggins
Pierre Watkin	...	Mr. Twitchell
Harry Harvey	...	Joe McCarthy
Bob Meusel	...	Robert W. 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 | husband wife relationship | hero | terminal illness | retirement | 

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Taglines:

Intimate and thrilling drama of a hero of the headlines... the girl who had his love and shared his life, but dared not question his one secret!

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance | Sport

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Just before the start of New York Yankee home games (as of August 2018), the main scoreboard displays an image of a movie-theater marquee with the names of the Yankees and their opponents. Flanking the entrance of the theater are posters for two other attractions: The Babe Ruth Story (1948) and The Pride of the Yankees (1942).

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Goofs

Lou Gehrig played his first game as a Yankee during the 1923 season. Yet, when he enters the Yankee clubhouse for the first time (looking at the lockers, trying on his hat), the lockers of Mark Koenig and Bill Dickey are shown. Koenig did not join the Yankees until 1925, nor Dickey until 1928.

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Quotes

Hank Hanneman: That Gehrig's the chump of all time. Falling for a gag like that.
Sam Blake: Aw, he doesn't know about a gag.
Hank Hanneman: Yeah? What does he know about, Mr. Bones?
Sam Blake: Baseball.
Hank Hanneman: He knows... I'll tell ya somethin'. A guy like that is a detriment to any sport. He's a boob with a batting eye. He wakes up, brushes his teeth, hikes out to the ballpark, hits the ball, hikes back to the hotel room, reads the funny papers, gargles and goes to bed. That's personality, hm?
Sam Blake: The best.
Hank Hanneman: A real hero.
Sam Blake: Let me tell you about heroes, Hank....
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The final opening credit card is shared by Director Sam Wood and Production Design by William Cameron Menzies.]

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Alternate Versions

A colorized version is available.

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Connections

Referenced in Dallas: Charade (1990)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Made me even more of a baseball fan

After seeing this movie, I went out and bought the Ken Burns documentary on Baseball. It's amazing how nice of a guy Lou Gherig was! He was a true gentleman. He brought his Mom to ALL THE GAMES. He was a true hero as well. I liked this movie and it was very sad to see Lou get stiff toward the end of the movie. Babe Ruth played himself and that was no hard task for him. I bought this movie it was so darn good.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 March 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lou Gehrig

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Samuel Goldwyn Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1