The Pride of the Yankees

Starring: Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Babe Ruth, Walter Brennan, Dan Duryea, Elsa Janssen, Ludwig Stossel, Virginia Gilmore
Directed by: Sam Wood
Rating: Approved
Genre: Drama, Romance, Sports
1942

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Follows the life of New York Yankee great Lou Gehrig (Gary Cooper).

Review:

Tim: Although I'm not a fan of the Yankees at all, I was able to put aside my distaste for the franchise because I was legitimately interested in seeing the depiction of the life of one of the greatest Yankees- and one of the greatest ballplayers of all time. Plus, this film contains of the great lines of all time. I was even more excited when I learned that the film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards. And here's the thing- the film doesn't quite live up to all those expectations. Now, The Pride of the Yankees is a seriously good movie. I will continually stress that. However, it wasn't quite great. I admit this surprised me. As much as I thoroughly enjoyed the film, I also left wanting a bit more.

Let's start with the positives. Gary Cooper was fantastic in the lead role. He brings this wonderful everyman quality to Gehrig. He might be innocent and a bit naive, but he's a genuinely good person, brimming with integrity. It's hard not to watch this performance and feel no emotional connection to the character. He's a "Aw shucks" blue collar working man who just happens to be one of the most talented baseball players on the planet. Much of the movie is a romance as he woos his future wife. Cooper was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance and he deserves it. He's simply excellent in this role. It must have been hard portraying such a famous figure such a short time after his death. I also give the right-handed Cooper credit for portraying the left-handed Yankee. Cooper's baseball scenes aren't always the most believable (Cooper wasn't a baseball fan), but he was far better than you would expect.

I enjoyed how the film really spent a lot of time on character development. We really get to know Gehrig and those closest to him- his parents, his eventual wife, a friendly reporter. We see how much he loves the game, even going so far as to spend his precious off time playing umpires to kids in back lots. His relationship with his parents is great. The movie focuses so much time on Gehrig that we really do care about him.

This film features some incredible scenes. The highlight is obviously Gehrig's speech at the end. Cooper is fantastic here. I loved his delivery of the line- "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth" is fantastic. It's one of the most iconic lines in any sports movie and it's a big reason why this movie is so good. I also loved the scenes where Gehrig promises to hit two home runs for the sick kid in the hospital. It's ridiculous (more on that later), but it makes for incredible drama.

Teresa Wright was good as Eleanor. She brought some moxie and energy to the role and it worked well. Cooper is so laconic at times that her charisma was certainly needed. Elsa Janssen and Ludwig Stossel were solid as Gehrig's parents. They had some legitimately funny scenes together. I really enjoyed Walter Brennan as Sam. It was great seeing Babe Ruth play himself. That was a risky decision, but it paid off in spades.

Now, while I had a great time with this effective movie, there's a few things that prevent it from being better. The first is that it really feels like the movie was made by someone who didn't know baseball all that well. That incredible scene where Gehrig hits two home runs for the sick kid in the World Series? That never happened. Also, in the film, he's being intentionally walked the second time. It's a cool scene, but the idea that a player being intentionally walked could or would swing and actually hit a home run is ludicrous. It's a cool scene, but it would never happen. The movie also focuses so much on the relationships in the film that it feels like it misses out on showcasing more of the baseball scenes. I was shocked how few baseball scenes we got in a movie about Lou Gehrig. Some of that was because of Cooper, some due to the cost maybe- but it hurts the film. The movie feels more like a story about a man who happened to play baseball, rather than the definitive story of Lou Gehrig. The story is often concerned more with the romantic aspects of the film than the baseball ones. That hurts the movie. We needed a little more baseball action. While I enjoyed the portrayal of Gehrig as a legitimately good guy, the movie makes him out to be a saint. I know the film was released in the early 1940s, but a little more complexity to the character would have big a big benefit.

Now, while I believe some of these flaws prevent The Pride of the Yankees from being a great movie, please know that I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It's an entertaining, memorable film. I was a little disappointed in only won 1 Academy Award (Best Film Editing), but I'm happy it won that. This is a classic movie that's well worth seeing.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Cobb, The Babe Ruth Story, The Stratton Story