Director: Sam Wood
Distributor: RKO Radio Pictures
Top Billed Actors: Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Babe Ruth
Won 1 Oscar:
Best Film Editing - Daniel Mandell
Nominated for 10 more:
Outstanding Motion Picture - Samuel Goldwyn Productions
Best Actor - Gary Cooper
Best Actress - Teresa Wright
Best Screenplay - Herman J. Mankiewicz and Jo Swerling
Best Original Motion Picture Story - Paul Gallico
Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture - Leigh Harline
Best Sound Recording - Thomas T. Moulton
Best Art Direction - Interior Decoration, Black-and-White - Art Direction: Perry Ferguson; Interior Decoration: Howard Bristol
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White - Rudolph Maté
Best Special Effects - Jack Cosgrove and Ray Binger (photographic); Thomas T. Moulton (sound)
Plot: The luckiest man on the face of the Earth plays a lot of baseball.
Distributor: RKO Radio Pictures
Top Billed Actors: Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Babe Ruth
Won 1 Oscar:
Best Film Editing - Daniel Mandell
Nominated for 10 more:
Outstanding Motion Picture - Samuel Goldwyn Productions
Best Actor - Gary Cooper
Best Actress - Teresa Wright
Best Screenplay - Herman J. Mankiewicz and Jo Swerling
Best Original Motion Picture Story - Paul Gallico
Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture - Leigh Harline
Best Sound Recording - Thomas T. Moulton
Best Art Direction - Interior Decoration, Black-and-White - Art Direction: Perry Ferguson; Interior Decoration: Howard Bristol
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White - Rudolph Maté
Best Special Effects - Jack Cosgrove and Ray Binger (photographic); Thomas T. Moulton (sound)
Plot: The luckiest man on the face of the Earth plays a lot of baseball.
Less a biopic than a tribute, The Pride of the Yankees (1942) honors one of the most revered baseball players in American history, that of one Lou Gehrig who tragically passed away from ALS just seventeen months prior to its release. It was directed by Sam Wood who had a Best Director nod that year, just for a different film. In fact, he was one of three directors to have a pair of films up for Best Picture for 1940 and he came back to do this again in 1942 with this and that Best Director-worthy film in Kings Row (1942). Apparently, producer Samuel Goldwyn and leading man Gary Cooper both had to be convinced to do the picture due to their indifference towards baseball. Goldwyn has said that Gehrig's speech, dramatically adapted as the concluding scene, is what forced his hand. Cooper had to learn how to swing a bat; not only had he never played baseball but he was also right-handed. Gehrig's wife is played by Teresa Wright, who has an impressive streak of her own. Her first three roles resulted in Academy Award nominations. She took home an Oscar for this year but for a different film - her supporting turn in Mrs. Miniver (1942). In terms of accolades, this was a perennial favorite for the AFI lists placing on the '100 Cheers' list as well as the '100 Movie Quotes' and '10 Top 10' sports category. Cooper as Gehrig also ranked among the top heroes in American film history. Any way you slice it, Gehrig was part of the fabric of American sports and culture and this film soon became part of that same fabric.
What I admire the most about this film is its casting. Apparently, Cooper is so like Gehrig that his widow couldn't bear it. He has the innocent, 'oh shucks' demeanor down to a science, coming off an Oscar win the year prior for a similar character in Sergeant York (1941). I sometimes shook my head at his naivete, but one can't help falling in love with such a great guy. I've also learned to love Wright in her flurry of Oscar-nominated roles. Here, she is endlessly lovable as she playfully teases Lou until he breaks down and makes her his best girl. She then has to contend with his mother, and then his condition, so she had to display a bit of range with frustration and pluckiness. In the face of it all, her smile still brightened the most solemn of scenarios as the honeymoon is discussed. I didn't cry during the concluding speech but I did cry during her embrace after she received the awards bracelet. Cooper and Wright are just right. I also concur with the casting of the actual Babe Ruth. There might have been some hesitancy with his age and shape but it's just so cool to see Ruth on living celluloid being his jovial and cocky self. The film was the second most nominated on the night but won only one award, that for film editing. I assume this is due to the wonderful montage sequences that show different ballparks and other city landmarks as we go through entire baseball seasons in the blink of an eye. I also enjoy the newspaper clippings incorporate into the scrapbook as part of these sequences.
Although I admire this film for becoming the worthy tribute to Lou Gehrig, there are a few things that don't work for it as a bona fide biopic. The story glosses over a lot of the baseball and focuses on his relationship with his mother (who I found to be quite annoying with her strong-will and overbearing personality) and wife. A whole scene is devoted to interior decorating as mother and wife duke it out to see who is the team captain of domestic life. The aptly-edited montages are efficient, but I would have preferred a bit more situational baseball scenes, and not necessarily ones that hinge on apocryphal promises to young boys in the hospital. The music also bothered me after a while - there's only so much "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" I could take. Putting that melody in a minor key in the sad moments is also incredibly hokey.
Overall, a superb cast led by Gary Cooper and Teresa Wright does a splendid job at honoring the legacy of Lou Gehrig. Although the wonderfully edited montages make for efficient and engaging baseball scenes, I do wish there was even more baseball and less of a domestic focus.
My Score: 7/10
What I admire the most about this film is its casting. Apparently, Cooper is so like Gehrig that his widow couldn't bear it. He has the innocent, 'oh shucks' demeanor down to a science, coming off an Oscar win the year prior for a similar character in Sergeant York (1941). I sometimes shook my head at his naivete, but one can't help falling in love with such a great guy. I've also learned to love Wright in her flurry of Oscar-nominated roles. Here, she is endlessly lovable as she playfully teases Lou until he breaks down and makes her his best girl. She then has to contend with his mother, and then his condition, so she had to display a bit of range with frustration and pluckiness. In the face of it all, her smile still brightened the most solemn of scenarios as the honeymoon is discussed. I didn't cry during the concluding speech but I did cry during her embrace after she received the awards bracelet. Cooper and Wright are just right. I also concur with the casting of the actual Babe Ruth. There might have been some hesitancy with his age and shape but it's just so cool to see Ruth on living celluloid being his jovial and cocky self. The film was the second most nominated on the night but won only one award, that for film editing. I assume this is due to the wonderful montage sequences that show different ballparks and other city landmarks as we go through entire baseball seasons in the blink of an eye. I also enjoy the newspaper clippings incorporate into the scrapbook as part of these sequences.
Although I admire this film for becoming the worthy tribute to Lou Gehrig, there are a few things that don't work for it as a bona fide biopic. The story glosses over a lot of the baseball and focuses on his relationship with his mother (who I found to be quite annoying with her strong-will and overbearing personality) and wife. A whole scene is devoted to interior decorating as mother and wife duke it out to see who is the team captain of domestic life. The aptly-edited montages are efficient, but I would have preferred a bit more situational baseball scenes, and not necessarily ones that hinge on apocryphal promises to young boys in the hospital. The music also bothered me after a while - there's only so much "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" I could take. Putting that melody in a minor key in the sad moments is also incredibly hokey.
Overall, a superb cast led by Gary Cooper and Teresa Wright does a splendid job at honoring the legacy of Lou Gehrig. Although the wonderfully edited montages make for efficient and engaging baseball scenes, I do wish there was even more baseball and less of a domestic focus.
My Score: 7/10