The Pride of the Yankees

Plot synopsis:
Lou Gehrig (Cooper) is a young Columbia University student whose old-fashioned mother (Elsa Janssen) wants him to study hard and become an engineer. But the young man has a gift for baseball. A sportswriter (Brennan) befriends Gehrig and persuades a scout to come see him play. Before long Gehrig signs with the team he has always revered, the New York Yankees. With the help of his father (Ludwig Stössel), he endeavors to keep his career change a secret from his mother.
Gehrig works his way up through the minor leagues and joins the Yankees. His hero, Babe Ruth, is at first condescending and dismissive of the rookie, but his strong, consistent play wins over Ruth and the rest of the team. Gehrig is soon joining teammates in playing pranks on Ruth on the team train.
During a game at Comiskey Park, Gehrig trips over a stack of bats and is teased by a spectator, Eleanor (Wright), who laughingly calls him "tanglefoot". Later, they are properly introduced, leading to a relationship, and then an engagement. Gehrig's mother, who still hasn't accepted the fact that her son will not be an engineer, does not take this news well; but Gehrig finally stands up to her and marries Eleanor.
The Yankees become the most dominant team in baseball, and Gehrig becomes a fan favorite. His father and fully converted mother attend games and cheer for him. In a re-creation of a famous (and possibly apocryphal) story, Gehrig visits a crippled boy named Billy (Gene Collins) in a hospital. He promises to hit two home runs in a single World Series game in the boy's honor—then fulfills his promise.
Gehrig is now the "Iron Horse", a national hero at the peak of his career with multitudes of fans, many loyal friends, and an adoring wife. Then he begins to notice, with growing alarm, that his strength is slowly ebbing away. Though he continues to play, and extends his consecutive-game streak to a seemingly insurmountable record, his physical condition continues its inexorable decline. One day, in Detroit, he tells Yankees manager Joe McCarthy (Harry Harvey) that he has become a detriment to the team and benches himself. After an examination, a doctor gives him the awful news: Gehrig has a rare, incurable disease, and only a short time to live.
A year later, at Lou Gehrig Day at Yankee Stadium, an older Billy (David Holt) finds Gehrig and shows him that he has made a full recovery, inspired by his hero's example and the two-homer fulfilled promise. Then, as Eleanor weeps softly in the stands, Gehrig addresses the fans: "People all say that I've had a bad break. But today ... today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth."

Tags: prank

Review:
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.
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.
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.
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".
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 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.
The story of Lou Gehrig, son of German immigrants, who went on to play first base for the Yankees throughout the 20's and 30's and set the then record of playing in 2,130 straight baseball games until he'd be sidelined forever from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the disease which now bears his name.
Gary Cooper and Teresa Wright were undeniably believable as Mr and Mrs Lou Gehrig, and I personally choke up each time I see this movie.
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.
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.
A touching and emotional experience about the life of late-New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig (played brilliantly by the always excellent Gary Cooper, Oscar-nominated).
Sportswriter Walter Brennan (who was always outstanding as well) becomes the biggest supporter of Gehrig, even though Gehrig seems out-of-place in the big city at times and seems more concerned about baseball than anything else (which bothers some inside of the Yankees circle, mainly due to Babe Ruth's famous antics).
York is another.Gary Cooper does a magnificent job as Henry "Lou" Gehrig despite being two years older, for starters; and, several years older (41 playing someone in their twenties) near the beginning of the movie while at Columbia University.Walter Brennan is brilliant as always!
Besides Babe Ruth, until watching this recently on TCM, I didn't realize that other New York Yankees' teammates of Gehrig's were also in the movie as themselves - Bob Meusel; Bill Dickey; and, some others.
To celebrate the 4th of July, I decided to watch this excellent movie about a great American hero, The Pride of the Yankees, which is an account of the life of the late, great baseball player, Lou Gehrig.
Even though you know the eventual fate of Lou Gehrig you cant help feeling that somehow he would get better.My favorite scene was after his marriage to Eleanor and they were in the car driven by Walter Brennan heading to Yankee Stadium.
The story of baseball legend Lou Gehrig gets the saccharine treatment in this biopic of his life.If you are looking for a realistic depiction of Gehrig's life you'd do right to skip this film,but it is brilliantly made and served the movie-going public what it wanted during the war.
Gary Cooper is magnificent in the title-role and is matched all the way by Teresa Wright as his wife.Wright was perhaps one of the best unsung actresses of the forties.Gehrig's legendary teammate Babe Ruth plays himself,which he does very well.There's competent support by Walter Brennan and Dan Duryea as sportswriters.As Gehrig's parents Ludwig Stossel and Elsa Janssen were a bit annoying.The highlight of the movie is Cooper's performance of Gehrig's farewell speech at the time he was suffering from the disease, that bears his name,which killed him.
So well before the end you know there is something special in this man's life, maybe something to learn from or emulate.At the same time, there are some obvious movie-making tricks at work here, some corny side characters, some simplifications, and some filler (like the two dance numbers, which get a big credit in the titles but which are pretty lame, even if you like the music of the period as much as I do).
Gary Cooper is Lou Gehrig in "The Pride of the Yankees," a 1942 film also starring Teresa Wright, Babe Ruth, Walter Brennan and Dan Duryea.
One nice, accurate touch - the bracelet Lou gives to Eleanor is the actual bracelet that Mrs. Gehrig received from her husband, and she lent it to the film.Despite criticisms, the film gives us the essence of Lou Gehrig, in large part thanks to the script by Paul Gallico (the Brennan character), the direction by Sam Wood, and the performance of Gary Cooper.
She was actually the fourth actress to be nominated twice in the same Oscar season, following Janet Gaynor, Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo, and was succeeded four decades later by Jessica Lange, Sigourney Weaver, Holly Hunter and Emma Thompson (Garbo, Weaver and Thompson all failed to take home the statuette in those years.) Although Gehrig saw many of his records broken, including the "iron man" record of 2,130 consecutive games, nobody has yet to beat Teresa's three-peat of Oscar nominations at the beginning of a film career, which is a bit of an "iron woman" mark to rival Lou Gehrig's once "unbreakable" record.
The movie balances Gehrig's athletic career with his personal life, focusing more on his relationships with his mother and his wife and his humble approach to fame, and less on his numerous achievements on the field.Babe Ruth got most of the publicity, but Lou Gehrig was an all-time great talent in his own right.
"The Pride of the Yankees" was a great film about one of the greatest baseball players of all-time who's life and career ended much too early.
Lou Gehrig's life and struggles with his muscular disease are told very well in this film and Gary Cooper, one of the greatest actors in Hollywood history, plays the character of Gehrig perfectly.
In one of his best roles, Gary Cooper portrays Lou Gehrig, the famous Yankee who played in 2,130 straight games.
The supporting cast includes Theresa Wright as Lou's lovely wife Eleanor and Walter Brennan, a co-star in so many Cooper films, as the local sports writer.
Check out Ray Liotta's ungainly effort as Shoeless Joe Jackson in "Field of Dreams," or Tom Beringer's wimpish swings in "Major League," or almost all of the supporting cast of New York Knights in "The Natural."  Kevin Costner seems the only actor who looks like he's actually played some ball in his life, and the crucial athletic realism in any of his sports films is heightened because of it.
Cooper is probably best known for his memorable portrayals of Marshall Kane and other tough heroes, but he might be even better playing a man like Gehrig who keeps his great strength under complete restraint.Gehrig seems to be one of the very few sports legends whose lives are wholly admirable, or at least nearly so.
Even for the many baseball fans who have a hard time being enthusiastic about Yankee successes, Gehrig is a character who is easy to root for.Cooper seems very natural in the role, both in the way he handles Gehrig's rise to fame and in Gehrig's memorable farewell speech.
Even though there were casting problems in all the movies made about them, the quality of "Pride of the Yankees" and of "A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story" is superb on both counts.
Cooper plays Gehrig as a rightie (take note of how he signs everything); a sportswriter (?), not his wife or parents are with Lou when he finds out he's dying (what an ego Gallico had); and Babe Ruth makes sure he's in the frame at the start of Gehrig's final address to the fans at Yankee Stadium (what a jerk!).
This is a biopic of famed baseball player Lou Gehrig (Gary Cooper) from his working class roots to his famous Luckiest Man speech following his disability from ALS.
Obviously you don't make a movie about baseball legend Lou Gehrig, played by Hollywood legend Gary Cooper, in 1942 when America was the latecomer of the then-roaring Worldwide conflict without the best intentions of the world.The film even opens with a disclaimer reminding us of the quiet heroism showcased by the "Iron Horse", the New York Yankees first baseman who achieved one of the greatest legacies of the history of baseball (with more than 2000 consecutive games) and died prematurely from a rare condition he gave his name to.
Cooper does make the scene work and it's genuinely sad (it was the original speech that prompted Samuel Goldwin to green light the project), this is an outcome that could have worked better with the proper set-up."The Pride of the Yankees" deals more with the romantic and domestic life of Lou Gehrig than any other element and what saves it from sheer dreadfulness stands in two names: Teresa Wright.
The Pride of the Yankees is an old fashioned biopic of Lou Gehrig, the legendary baseball player played by Gary Cooper.
As a young man working his way through school as a waiter, studying to become an engineer, Lou (Gary Cooper), a baseball athlete for Columbia University, is discovered by sportswriter, Sam Blake (Walter Brennan), who eventually signs him as player for the New York Yankees.
As time progresses with Blake and Hank Hannerman (Dan Duryea) watching and reporting first baseman Gehrig making baseball history from the press box, "The Iron Man" as he would be called, would not only rank along with Babe Ruth (Babe Ruth) as one of the greatest sports figures, but become a true pride of the Yankees.
All this would change after Lou faces something that would put an end to his powerful sixteen year career.In one of the finest sports movies ever made, THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES, became producer Samuel Goldwyn's only biographical film, and one of his most admired.
Gary Cooper, having already won his Academy Award as Best Actor playing SERGEANT YORK (Warner Brothers, 1941), an American war hero, gets another home run here by the Academy once again for his portrayal of an American sports hero, Lou Gehrig.
There's also female vocalist on platform singing the classic Irving Berlin tune, "Always," that to become the Gehrig's personal love songAside from Teresa Wright's sensitive portrayal during its second half, and Walter Brennan, sporting glasses and mustache, as the sports writing friend, no scene comes close to Cooper's heartfelt closing speech on that historic Tuesday, July 4th, 1939, day at Yankee Stadium that would not only stay in memory long after the film is over, but prove his Lou Gehrig to be "the luckiest man on the face of the earth."Even if THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES strays from the truth at times, it's every sports buff's dream to actually get to see such baseball legends of the past portraying themselves, Bill Dickey, Mark Koenig and Robert Meusel.
Gary Cooper plays New York Yankees star first baseman Lou Gehrig, whose career and life were cut short by a disease that now carries Gehrig's name.
Cooper gives a great performance (everyone thinks he won the Oscar for this _ he didn't, he took home the gold for "Sergeant York, and again for "High Noon"") and appearances by real-life ballplayers (pictured: Cooper with Babe Ruth, Gehrig's former teammate, during filming) give the picture a feel of authenticity.
Of course, I would never say that The Pride Of The Yankees was the worst movie ever made about the sport of Baseball, but, then again, I'd definitely never admit that it was the best, either.Yes. I do fully realize (much to my dismay) that this 1942 picture was clearly intended to be MGM's respectful homage to honour one of baseball's greatest and beloved stars, Lou Gehrig (who sadly died only one year before this film's release) - But, the thing is, I personally think that the revered memory of an idolized man like Gehrig certainly deserved so much better than the likes of this less-than-satisfying "rush job".One of this film's biggest and most detrimental deficits was the casting of one of Hollywood's dreariest and utterly non-charismatic actors of the 30s & 40s, Gary Cooper.Not only was Cooper (at 42) way too old for the part of playing a man 15 years his junior, but I also found Cooper to be such a totally forgettable non-entity in his part as Gehrig that it teetered on the very edge of being downright insulting and disrespectful.Gary Cooper clearly didn't have the capacity to bring any reasonable depth or life to his floundering character.
Gary Cooper is superb as Lou Gehrig, and is matched only by Teresa Wright's portrayal of his loving spouse, you don't have to be a baseball fan to be moved by this true story..
The movie tells the life story of a Yankees legend, Lou Gehrig who is considered to be one of the greatest first basemen of all time.
Gary Cooper gives a solid performance as Lou Gehrig and Teresa Wright lights up the screen as his wife.
So I was only slightly aware if I'm being honest of the Lou Gehrig story, the great New York Yankees batsman and fielder who made a record number of consecutive appearances before being stuck down by the AFS disease which curtailed his life at only 37 years old and which still bears his name in the States.With Gehrig being, by all accounts a modest, family man and dedicated team player, Gary Cooper was probably a natural choice to play him on screen.
The Pride of the Yankees' broad title suggests an all-encompassing look, or even history, into the renowned franchise, but its focus, while broad and far-reaching, profiles a wonderful life, and the film itself features tremendously engaging performances to compliment its story.Starring: Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Babe Ruth, Elsa Janssen, and Ludwig Stössel.
Everyone Loved Lou Gehrig, the Deservedly Famous Yankee First Baseman that was Cut Down in His Prime by a Devastating, Debilitating Disease, and This is a Fitting and Loving Tribute to a Great Baseball Player Who was Something Even More Difficult and Rare, a Great Man.So, Yes it's a Love Story, but it Wasn't Made "For the Love of the Game".
Even Yankee Haters Cannot Hate Lou. He Did His Job with Pride and No Prejudice, Obeyed the Rules, Unlike His Teammate Babe Ruth (played in the Film by The Babe Himself), Not Just the Rules of Baseball but the Rules of Life.Gary Cooper, it is Well Documented, Couldn't Hit the Broadside of a Barn and Was a Terrible Athlete, but Manages to Make Up for it by with an Endearing Performance.
The Movie has Added Bona Fides Like a Matching Great Role by Teresa Wright as Lou's Wife and a Memorable Walter Brennan as Gehrig's Sport's Writer Friend.A Few Real-Life Yankees Show Up for an Interesting Inclusion as Does the Real-Life Yankee Stadium.
Gary Cooper becomes Lou Gehrig in one of the best sports movies..
This movie is essentially a biography of Lou Gehrig, who was known mainly for his great work ethic, and his talent as a hitter, which resulted in his record 2130 consecutive games with the Yankees from 1923 through 1939.
Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth in the same movie, what a treat for baseball fans!
But he still played on many World Series teams.The baseball part of the movie is really secondary as the purpose is to present the love story between Lou and Eleanor (Teresa Wright), his beloved and understanding wife.
Cooper and Teresa Wright were unsurpassable as Lou and Eleanor Gehrig and after a while the baseball element was incidental to their enduring love.
Lou Gehrig had been dead less than two years when The Samuel Goldwyn Company produced a biographical account of the New York Yankees' first baseman's life with Gary Cooper cast as 'the Iron Man.' "Kings Row" director Sam Wood and "It's A Wonderful Life" scenarist Jo Swerling with "Citizen Kane" scribe Herman J.
Some big examples are how Lou Gehrig (Gary Cooper) played the game.
The Life of Lou. Young Lou Gehrig (Gary Cooper) wants to play baseball, but his mom wants him to become an engineer like uncle Otto.