Movie Time: "The Pride of the Yankees" (1942)

                                         

I had mentioned while discussing 1949's "The Stratton Story" that it was directed by Sam Wood, who had directed thee another baseball biopic "The Pride of the Yankees" from 1942.

"The Pride of the Yankees" is a regarded as a classic, perhaps the best and most famous baseball-related movie from the classic Hollywood era.

So, it it deserving of that status? Does it hold up?

Short answer: Yes!

For those who don't know, it's the story of Lou Gehrig, the all-time great first baseman of the New York Yankees (boo!!!), who succumbed to ALS at the age of 37.

I think the main strength of the film is Gary Cooper as Gehrig. I think Coop is great anyway, but this role suits him so well, as he imbues Lou Gehrig with as much class and dignity and everything you'd want in an American hero.

He's supported by Teresa Wright who provides a tremendous amount  of appeal as Lou's wife Eleanor. The love story of the Gehrigs was promoted quite a bit in contemporary advertising to draw in non-baseball-loving moviegoers.

Baseball fans, though, no doubt enjoyed seeing some of Gehrig's teammates portraying themselves, especially Babe Ruth, who is quite engaging! 

Gary Cooper (left) and Walter Brennan in "The Westerner" (1940)

And we can't sleep on the solid performance of the versatile Walter Brennan as Lou's sportswriter mentor. Brennan had appeared with Gary Cooper in a few movies before, including his Oscar winning (his third!) role as Judge Roy Bean in 1940's "The Westerner." You'd hardly know it was the same guy!

Speaking of the Academy Awards, "The Pride of the Yankees" was nominated for a ton of them (11!) but only won one for best editing. That actually makes sense when one considers how they had to work new footage of Gary Cooper batting in with tock baseball footage.

Gary Cooper was nominated for Best Actor, but he had just won the year before for "Sergeant York" and he was up against James Cagney for "Yankee Doodle Dandy."

Teresa Wright (left) and Greer Garson in "Mrs. Miniver" (1942)

Teresa Wright was nominated for Best Actress, losing to Greer Garson for "Mrs. Miniver," but she did take home the Best Supporting Actress for "Mrs. Miniver" herself!

Teresa Wright was on fire at the beginning of her career, up through 1946's "The Best Years of Our Lives," but her later movies weren't up to her earlier standards. She was a lovely and intelligent actress, though.

"Mrs. Miniver" also won awards for Best Picture and Best Director (William Wyler). "The Pride of the Yankees" had been nominated for Best Picture, but Sam Wood was not nominated for Best Director, although he was nominated for "Kings Row," so there's that!

In any event, here's a trailer for "The Pride of the Yankees":

I'm a Red Sox fan, by the way, so it feels funny saying good things about something Yankees-related, but the statute of limitations is up after 80 years!