The Pride of the Yankees (1942)
The Pride of the Yankees could have been the biggest tearjerker of the 1940s. It could have had every audience member wringing out their handkerchiefs, but when you watch it today it just doesn’t have enough sadness in the story. This is the biopic of baseball legend Lou Gehrig, released one year after his death. The only reason I can think of as to why Samuel Goldwyn didn’t make his production sadder was because the shock and tragedy was so fresh in audience’s minds, he didn’t want to make things any worse. Perhaps he wanted to provide mercy to Mrs. Gehrig, or perhaps he knew audiences would burst into tears no matter what Gary Cooper had to live through on the screen. The end of Lou Gehrig’s life is sad enough, but the movie doesn’t milk it.
Whatever the reason, the movie hardly delves into Lou Gehrig’s mysterious illness. The vast majority of the movie is about his career in baseball, his friendship with his manager, Walter Brennan, and his relationship with his wife, Teresa Wright. Only in the very end does he start to feel unwell. There’s no explanation from the doctors, and no tearful breakdown from anyone in the movie. You’d think, out of anybody, his wife, would burst into tears. Instead, she’s matter-of-fact with the doctor and never even gives her husband an extra squeeze or kiss. I would imagine audiences who loved Gehrig would want to better understand what happened to him, but they’d leave the theaters pretty confused. It felt as though additional scenes were filmed, but were deemed too sad by focus groups and ended up on the cutting room floor. Who knows; maybe that’s what happened.
While nominated for eleven Oscars, it only took home one award for editing. Surprisingly, James Cagney took home Best Actor for his patriotic rah-rah in Yankee Doodle Dandy. Gary won the year before for Sergeant York, but I’m still puzzled as to why the Academy didn’t honor the recently fallen baseball hero. Gary gave the famous tearjerker “I’m the luckiest man on the face of the Earth” speech, but he wasn’t lucky enough to get his second Oscar (until ten years later). If you’re a baseball fan, bring your Kleenexes and plan a double feature with The Babe Ruth Story.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Gary Cooper movies here!
More Teresa Wright movies here!
Whatever the reason, the movie hardly delves into Lou Gehrig’s mysterious illness. The vast majority of the movie is about his career in baseball, his friendship with his manager, Walter Brennan, and his relationship with his wife, Teresa Wright. Only in the very end does he start to feel unwell. There’s no explanation from the doctors, and no tearful breakdown from anyone in the movie. You’d think, out of anybody, his wife, would burst into tears. Instead, she’s matter-of-fact with the doctor and never even gives her husband an extra squeeze or kiss. I would imagine audiences who loved Gehrig would want to better understand what happened to him, but they’d leave the theaters pretty confused. It felt as though additional scenes were filmed, but were deemed too sad by focus groups and ended up on the cutting room floor. Who knows; maybe that’s what happened.
While nominated for eleven Oscars, it only took home one award for editing. Surprisingly, James Cagney took home Best Actor for his patriotic rah-rah in Yankee Doodle Dandy. Gary won the year before for Sergeant York, but I’m still puzzled as to why the Academy didn’t honor the recently fallen baseball hero. Gary gave the famous tearjerker “I’m the luckiest man on the face of the Earth” speech, but he wasn’t lucky enough to get his second Oscar (until ten years later). If you’re a baseball fan, bring your Kleenexes and plan a double feature with The Babe Ruth Story.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Classic Movies Kristine Rose" for posting!
More Gary Cooper movies here!
More Teresa Wright movies here!