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:

It's the Great American Story!

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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

The favorite film of director Garry Marshall.

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Goofs

At an hour and 2 minutes into the film, the Yankees are playing the Cardinals at Sportsman's Park in the 1928 World Series. Right after announcer Bill Stern tells the radio audience that Gehrig has promised to hit two home runs for the sick kid in the hospital, there is a shot that appears to be from the grandstand behind home plate, revealing the park to be Yankee Stadium, not Sportsman's Park. The outfield wall makes that obvious.

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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 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 Topaz (1945)

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Soundtracks

Ain't We Got Fun
(1921) (uncredited)
Music by Richard A. Whiting
Lyrics by Gus Kahn and Ray Egan
Played at the college dance and partially sung by Virginia Gilmore

User Reviews

It's About More Than Baseball

Right off, let me say that I agree that this is a great baseball movie - perhaps the greatest. The on-field action is beautifully portrayed and realistic, and the authenticity is heightened, of course, by having Babe Ruth playing himself. The inspiring and ultimately tragic story of the great Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig has a deeper purpose though; deeper, but not hidden. We see it right in the scroll that runs before the movie even begins. This movie was made in 1942 at the height of World War II. Gehrig is going to be portrayed as the great American hero, who faced life and death with valor and courage. This is a message to the American kids on the battlefields of Europe and the Pacific who grew up watching their hero Gehrig play baseball: "do your duty! It's what Gehrig would have done!" So let's acknowledge that while "Pride Of The Yankees" is undoubtedly a great baseball movie, it's also a piece of wartime propaganda. Nothing wrong with that, by the way. I just think it should be acknowledged. And while Gehrig is being held up as the great American hero, it's also worth noting that he's portrayed very humanly, too. Stumbling over the bats as he goes to the plate for the first time in place of poor old Wally Pipp, who doesn't know that he's just lost his job forever; totally oblivious to a ground ball that goes right past him because he's mesmerized by Eleanor in the stands; the butt of rookie gags by his teammates (the eating of Babe Ruth's hat comes to mind here). Gehrig is approachable and likeable in this movie, not some godlike being who's so far beyond us as to be meaningless.

The performances are great. Gary Cooper pulled off the role of Gehrig perfectly. Having said that I have to say that I thought Cooper looked a bit too old to be a college kid as he portrayed Gehrig's college days. Teresa Wright was equally good as Lou's beloved Eleanor. The movie really revolved around these two. Others are largely window-dressing. Worth noting, though, are Elsa Janssen and Ludwig Stossel as Gehrig's parents. They added a wonderful touch of humour to the movie, even if they did come across as a bit unrealistic. But, then again, who knows? I didn't know Gehrig's parents! Maybe this was them!

Anyway, this is very enjoyable all around, with a fittingly touching conclusion, as Gehrig says good-bye to the fans at Yankee Stadium.

8/10