Vainqueur du destin

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!

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.

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.

After seeing this movie, I went out and bought the Ken Burns documentary on Baseball. It's amazing how nice of a guy Lou Gherig was! He was a true gentleman. He brought his Mom to ALL THE GAMES. He was a true hero as well. I liked this movie and it was very sad to see Lou get stiff toward the end of the movie. Babe Ruth played himself and that was no hard task for him. I bought this movie it was so darn good.

The only reason I don't give this film a perfect 10 is that I think Gary Cooper was a bit too old to be playing Lou Gehrig as a youth. Cooper was 41 when Pride of the Yankees was made. He was two years older than Lou Gehrig actually was.

While not terribly convincing as a college age Gehrig at Columbia University, the part of Gehrig grew into Cooper as Gehrig aged cinematically. And of course his recreation of Lou Gehrig's farewell to baseball got him an Oscar nomination.

Henry Louis Gehrig, child of German immigrants who grew up in the Yorkville section of Manhattan, was arguably the greatest first baseman baseball has ever known. He certainly has very few competitors for the honor. His famous record of 2130 consecutive games was bettered about a decade ago by Cal Ripken, but he still holds the major league record for lifetime grand-slam home runs, 23 and the American League RBI record for a single season, 184. He is one of a select group of ballplayers to have won the Triple Crown, he did that in 1934. His lifetime batting average of .340 is only topped by a handful.

He was as writer Frank Graham put it, baseball's "quiet hero." Until he was forced from baseball by the disease he gave his name to Gehrig played second fiddle to the flamboyant Babe Ruth and then to a graceful rookie named Joe DiMaggio.

The facts of Gehrig's life are somewhat jumbled in this film for dramatic coherency, but the essence of his character is brought out in the script by Paul Gallico. In fact Gallico wrote himself into the film as sportswriter Sam Blake as played by Walter Brennan.

Gary Cooper and Lou Gehrig and Teresa Wright as Eleanor Twitchell Gehrig both received Oscar nominations for their portrayals.

It should also not be forgotten that Lou Gehrig was a German American and I believe one of the reasons the film was made was that at that time we were fighting Germany. The German American Bund had its following and very much so in Lou Gehrig's Yorkville neighborhood. German Americans certainly had other and better role models than the Bund.

I remember as a lad going to Yankee old-timers games and there was always a moment of reverential silence when the Yankee widows, Claire Hodgson Ruth and Eleanor Twitchell Gehrig were always introduced. Both survived their husbands by many years.

In fact when Teresa Wright died this past year when the roll call of former Yankees who had passed on her name was read out among all the ballplayers. It was a fitting tribute to a great actress and a woman who didn't know a thing about baseball before she did this film, but became a devoted fan afterward. I guess that was her private tribute to Lou Gehrig.

There is still no cure for amytrophic lateral sclerosis or now known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. A lot of other noted persons have passed on from it, Jacob Javits, David Niven, Ezzard Charles, Dennis Day and former Vice President Henry A. Wallace. Still we can hope for a dedicated and inspired scientist to find a cure.

Until then we have this inspirational movie and Lou Gehrig's inspired and remembered life.