Fear Strikes Out (1957)

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

Director:

Robert Mulligan

Writers:

Ted Berkman (screenplay), Raphael Blau (screenplay)

Stars:

Anthony Perkins, Karl Malden, Norma Moore

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Anthony Perkins	...	Jim Piersall
Karl Malden	...	John Piersall
Norma Moore	...	Mary Piersall
Adam Williams	...	Doctor Brown
Perry Wilson	...	Mrs. John Piersall
Peter J. Votrian	...	Jim Piersall as a Boy

Storyline

Jim Piersall is groomed by his loving but hard-driving father (living vicariously through his son) to play major league baseball. His desire to succeed to please his father leads to mental illness and a nervous breakdown. Can he overcome those difficulties and return to the major leagues?

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Plot Keywords:

baseball | mental illness | based on tv movie | based on book | baseball movie | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 August 1957 (Australia)

Also Known As:

The Jim Piersall Story

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During production of this film, Tab Hunter, who had previously starred in the TV production (Climax!: Fear Strikes Out (1955)), dropped by to visit his friend Anthony Perkins on the film set. He got a chilly reception from the other cast members and crew, so he discreetly left. (Source: Autobiography "Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star" by Tab Hunter and Eddie Muller (2005 - Algonquin Books, Chapel Hill, NC)

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Goofs

At 58:32, the shadow on Jim's shirt.

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Connections

Referenced in What's My Line?: Two Mystery Guests: baseball player Jimmy Piersall; actor Paul Douglas (2nd appearance as mystery guest) (1957)

User Reviews

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.