The Pride of St. Louis

Jerome Hanna 'Dizzy' Dean from the Ozarks has the gift of gab. He's also a pretty good baseball player. He would rise up to be a Hall of Fame pitcher for almost two decades in the Major Leagues and later as a broadcaster after a career ending injury. He pursues Patricia Nash who becomes his wife. During an early outing, he almost gets a perfect game but for one home run. After the home run, the opposing team taunts him as Dizzy.

Dizzy is well before my time. I've heard of the guy but don't know anything about him. It's an amiable character but the drama is extremely low. It's a lazy, easy day at the park just like watching baseball nowadays. I can certainly understand his appeal with his friendliness. The audience who love Dizzy would love this movie. As a person who knows nothing, it's a rather flat drama with a likeable lead.

The life story of Jerome Herman "Dizzy" Dean is the subject matter of this amiable baseball movie. The opening caption tells us that we are going to meet "one of the most colourful characters of our time", and certainly Dean, ace pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, is quite an entertainer.

Dan Dailey barnstorms it as the droll hayseed with bags of charm and a disarming grin. We follow him along the usual star trajectory as Dean is discovered in an Arkansas hick game, then rises inexorably through the Texas League and into the big time, winning the World Series with the Cardinals and smashing all pitching records on the way. A sports injury leads to decline, and the downward slide begins, but Dizzy is irrepressible. He overcomes life's disappointments and learns how to make his zany charm work for him in a new career.

"You're a child, Diz - a sweet, kind, generous child," says his wife Patricia, played admirably by Joanne Dru. His boyish enthusiasm captures the hearts of the Cardinals fans, who are just as likely to see Dizzy ushering them to their stand seats or working in the ticket booth as winding up his arm on the mound. He even sings with the jazz combo during the interval. However, this very childlike quality is Dean's fatal flaw - he is impulsive and undisciplined, and when his career starts to slide he lacks the maturity to deal with the diasppointment.

From the Cardinals he plummets in quick succession to the Chicago Cubs and then back into the Texas League. He takes to drinking and gambling, and neglects his adoring wife. The fight in the poker den is his lowest point. Getting knocked to the floor is the visual representation of his moral fall.

Baseball is his life, and baseball comes to his rescue. A characteristic act of kindness brings him into contact with Johnny Kendall (Richard Hylton), a rich young entrepreneur who happens to be a baseball nut and Dean's biggest fan. Kendall sees that Dean's intimate knowledge of the game and his quirky, homespun talking style will make him a natural as a radio commentator. The hunch is borne out triumphantly. The baseball-listening public loves him. Dailey is great, pouring out the malapropisms thick and fast ('confidential' for 'confident, 'respectable' for 'respective'). Pat has left her husband and made a new life for herself, but when she hears that familiar rustic drawl over the radio, she falls back in love with him.

To call "The Pride Of St Louis" a 'baseball movie' is something of a misnomer, because the film isn't really about baseball as such and doesn't attempt to get to grips with the sport. Repetitive shots of Dean's deliveries, filmed monotonously from behind the plate, form the standard fare. Wrigley Field is a mere back projection, and even the World Series is rapidly glossed over. The film's focus is Dizzy, and Dan Dailey delivers him.

This is the story of Jerome 'Dizzy' Dean, Hall of Fame pitcher of the St. Louis Cardinals. An injury caused early retirement, a bout with drinking and gambling; but his down home manner led to another career...baseball radio/tv announcing.

Dan Dailey is kind of ho-hum in his attempts at Dean's hayseed mannerisms. Richard Crenna plays Paul Dean, Dizzy's brother, who also pitched for the Cardinals.

Very little actual baseball action, but the movie is interesting and fun to watch. All little boys that have an interest in baseball should watch this along with PRIDE of THE YANKEES and the BABE RUTH STORY.

Also in the cast are Richard Hylton, Joanne Dru, Stuart Randall and Hugh Sanders. Remember to take a good whack and don't forget to slud into second.

Dan Dailey gives a sincere and colorful performance as the great Dizzy Dean. His handling of the character is very true to life and captures the flavor of Dean's background and limited education. The film of course centers around Dizzy Deans rise to fame and his sudden trip to the sidelines with an injury he chose to ignore, much to his regret. His wife is splendidly portrayed by Joanna Dru who gives a very down to earth quality to the woman who loved and supported the ballplayer who rose to a "dizzying height" so quickly. The portrayal of Dizzy's later career as a sportscaster is honest and unflinching, reflecting his troubles which stemmed from his poor education and his colorful language both on and off the air. Dizzy was quite a character and Daily has breathed life into his story with admirable skill. If you enjoyed this film, I recommend the comedy "Kid from Left Field" (1953) wherein Daily plays a down and out has-been ballplayer idolized by his young son (Billy Chapin). Daily again fleshes out a ballplayer in a completely satisfying manner. I heartily recommend Pride of St. Louis to baseball fans everywhere.

I remember "Ol Diz" broadcasting those Saturday games with partner Pee Wee Reese, the former Dodger and teammate of Jackie Robinson. It was so much fun to listen to him butcher the English language (for example, "He slud into third base). But we forget that he was a great pitcher for the notorious St. Louis Cardinals. He was known for being a bit hard to control, doing things his own way. He also had a reputation for being a bit less than intellectual. The famous story after he was struck by a lie drive, led with the headline, "Doctors Examine Dean's Head. Find Nothing." This is a charming little movie with a good performance by Dan Dailey. The title is much like the great Lou Gehrig's tribute, "The Pride of the Yankees." Obviously, this one didn't gain the foothold that that one did, but then Dean wasn't the tragic figure Lou was. This is a nice movie with a quirky guy making it big. Dean will always be one of my favorites and I'm glad there is a movie about him.