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:

THE Private LIFE OF A GREAT Public HERO! (original print ad - mostly caps)

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance | Sport

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Certificate:

Approved

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of two films directed by Sam Wood in 1942 to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film. The other, Kings Row (1942), also netted Wood a nomination for Best Director.

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Goofs

The representation of the Johnny Sylvester story line is full of errors.

• Sylvester was in hospital in the New York area, not in St. Louis
• Ruth's 1926 promise to Sylvester took place via mail.
• The Cardinals, not the Yankees, won the 1926 World Series in 7 games (the final out was Babe Ruth caught stealing 2nd.)
• In the 1926 World Series, Gehrig never homered.
• In the 1928 World Series (also vs. St. Louis) Gehrig homered twice, but in Game 3, and in the 2nd and 4th innings--not in the 9th. He did not strike out that game.
• In neither of the Cardinals-Yankees World Series in which Gehrig played was there a line score that read:

NATIONAL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 NEW YORK 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 ST. LOUIS 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0

• There was only one World Series game in which Babe Ruth homered and Gehrig hit two homers, the third game of the 1932 Series vs. the Cubs.

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Quotes

[last lines]
Lou Gehrig: [his farewell speech]
Lou Gehrig: Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth... play ball!

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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 version broadcast on WPIX 11 in the 1980's left out several notable scenes. Among them:

• Lou Gehrig's encounter with "Myra" while at college and his subsequent outburst at the fraternity and Sam Blake (the following scene begins where Blake is trying to sell Lou on the Yankees)
• The scene where Lou walks into the Yankee locker room for the first time, sees the names of the other players and tries on his hat
• The scene where he receives his tuxedo in the mail and tries to explain it to his parents
• When Lou and Eleanor return home to a surprise party, the dialogue before they walk through the door where Mom Gehrig wonders "what's keeping Lou"
• The Veloz and Yolanda dance sequence

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Connections

Referenced in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Million Dollar Movie Week 1 (2009)

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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

Pride of the Yankees is still the greatest baseball movie.

Pride of the Yankees is still the greatest baseball movie ever made. It is the true story of the legendary Lou Gehrig, the "iron man" of baseball who was struck down suddenly by what whould later be known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Sterling performances by Cooper and a talented cast which included Thresa Wright, Walter Brennan,Dan Duryea and a guest appearance by Babe Ruth himself. There are many touching scenes in this film, especially the last one in which Gehrig says goodbye to his fans and team-mates at a tribute in Yankee Stadium. Try to rent the black and white original version. You won't be sorry!