The Pride of the Yankees

First off, my favorite actor of all time is Gary Cooper. I love his acting style, the gawkiness he often used in his screen roles, in addition of course to the fact that I thought he was absolutely gorgeous, in his prime (when he was in his 30's and 40's). Cooper's appeal is only enhanced, for me, by the distance of his on screen persona from his real-life one...he was quite the ladies' man in real life, not awkward with women as the characters he often portrayed on screen, and his smoldering sexuality shows from his piercing blue eyes. His lively offscreen affairs with stars such as Clara Bow (who famously declared "He's hung like a horse and he can go all night!"), Lupe Velez aka "The Mexican Spitfire", and of course Patricia Neal, are the stuff of old Hollywood legend.

Kevin Costner and Ralph Fiennes in their primes had nothing' on Coop. He was the man. Cooper, who started off wanting to be an artist, fell into acting instead, first as a stunt man in westerns, but quickly getting leading roles. He continued to do most of his own riding and stunts even into his later years, carving himself quite a name as a star of westerns, including the western classic "High Noon" (1952), but my favorite films of his were films such as "Mr. Deeds Goes To Town" (1936), "Meet John Doe" (1941), "Ball Of Fire" (1941), "Sargeant York" (1941), and of course "The Pride Of The Yankees". My husband understands my adoration of Gary Cooper; and/but we had this brief discussion before we watched my recently purchased DVD of the film (I'd seen it before, but didn't own a copy of it):

Husband: "I don't mind watching it with you as long as you don't make those noises you always make when you watch a Gary Cooper movie."

Me: "What noises?"

Husband: "Those noises like the ones Homer Simpson makes when he looks at a stick of butter...'Mmmmmmmm'...."

Me: "What? I didn't know I did that. Okay, I won't make any weird noises while we watch it."

So I was quiet (except for of course choking up in tears when Cooper delivers Gehrig's legendary "Today, I consider myself to be the luckiest man on the face of the earth" farewell speech). Gehrig's retirement speech helped immortalize him as a hero and an all-American role model.

"The Pride of the Yankees" is the blueprint for the sports biopic, and is generally considered to be the best movie about baseball ever made. Teresa Wright stars as his wife Eleanor. Wright, who just passed away this March, was an excellent actress, and a beautiful woman. The last film I saw her in was in a small part in "Somewhere In Time", and she had aged wonderfully. She and Cooper had great chemistry on screen, holding her own ground as he towered over her petite 5'3" frame.

Walter Brennan, a frequent Cooper co-star and real-life friend, and Babe Ruth as himself are two other co-stars who contribute much to the film.

The film traces the rags-to-riches story of Gehrig, as his childhood dream comes true when he's signed to the New York Yankees, and his untimely retirement when he is stricken with the fatal, neurological disease ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) which was afterwards simply called "Lou Gehrig's Disease". Cooper, although a bit of an odd choice for the part (one reason being his height, he was about 6'4"), gives an endearing, heartfelt, dignified performance, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. Gehrig was left-handed, Cooper right-handed, which was further complicated by the fact that Cooper himself wasn't a capable baseball player. For the filming, his uniform had "New York" printed backwards on it, he ran to third base when he hit a ball, and then the print was reversed.

Nominated for 11 Academy Awards in all, and receiving 1 (for Film Editing), "The Pride Of The Yankees" still stands as a must-see film for baseball fans and fans of classic cinema alike.

Superior biography of Lou Gehrig who had everything before ALS paid him a visit.

Gary Cooper is terrific as Gehrig. He was the embodiment of a plain, aw shucks guy who made it big in baseball. Teresa Wright had the right flavor as Eleanor, his loving wife.

There are fine supporting performances by Elsa Janssen and Ludwig Stossel as his parents.

The film is great because it shows a warm, loving family, poor financially but rich in spirit.

Rather than concentrate on all his baseball achievements, the film deals with Gehrig, the man and what a great, kindly gentleman that he was.

Walter Brennan, who made so many films with Cooper, appears again this time as a sports writer. He befriends him and becomes a close family friend. Dan Duryea, as a cynical reporter, is quite effective in a small role. He seems to have it in for Lou but succumbs like everyone else during that famous farewell speech.

What also made this film a classic was the use of Babe Ruth and other Yankees play themselves. Had the Babe lived, he could have been in films.

A definite film detailing the human spirit. When Gehrig meets the boy that he had "hit 2 home runs" for years later, your heart will go out. That scene, along with the farewell speech, was poignant.

In today's era of greedy athletes and their employers, the story of Lou Gehrig seems almost quaint. Here's a young man who by all accounts was selfless, kind-hearted, and rather introverted. And, of course, it didn't hurt that he was also a very good baseball player too. Put him on a lineup card today and he might not be the same player. Up until a few years ago, Gehrig's record of 2,130 consecutive games played was a record, a record that many thought would stand forever. For 16 years he was in the lineup as the Yankees' first baseman, never asking out for any reason. That alone should show you how special a person Gehrig was.

This biography is pretty straightforward. Unlike many of its kind, it doesn't show its protagonist somehow succeeding against all odds. Gehrig didn't have an abusive mother, he wasn't beaten up by kids at school, he wasn't learning-disabled, he didn't have attention-deficit disorder, he didn't come from abject poverty. He was simply a son in a working-class, immigrant family, as many were during the early decades of this century. And that's why Gehrig is so special to so many people - he symbolises their own hopes.

Gary Cooper is aces as Gehrig, and Teresa Wright is wonderful as his wife, Eleanor. If there's anything imperfect about the movie, it's that it is...well, a little predictable. That's something biopics can't avoid, of course, so it's no big problem. But even if most of the film doesn't impress you, the final speech at Yankee Stadium - when Gehrig was suffering visibly from the disease that would eventually be named after him - will move you past tears. And even better, when Gehrig's done his brief speech, he walks offscreen. If that movie were written today, he'd play another game and hit a game-winning home run. It's this film's honesty and sincerity that win you over.

A lot of non-baseball fans still liked this movie a lot, and that's probably because it's more about a nice guy than it is about a ballplayer. New York Yankee great Lou Gehrig is the subject. Gehrig was often in the shadow of the great Babe Ruth, but was tremendous player in his own right and a far better human being.

It's tough to find many nicer movies than this one: a totally inoffensive, sentimental and old- fashioned film about a super-nice guy, played by a popular actor: Gary Cooper. Except for one sportswriter, there were no villains or nasty people in this movie.

Teresa Wright plays "Eleanor Twitchell," who becomes Gehrig's wife and Walter Brennan plays sportswriter and friend, "Sam Blake." The real Babe Ruth played himself, which was nice to see.

Even though Gehrig died at a fairly young age of a disease now named after him, overall this was a feel-good movie of the highest sort. This was so nice a story that even the cynical critics dared not criticize it. It leaves you with tears in your eyes at the end.

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!