[.ca] Pride of the Yankees (Full Screen)

Amazon.com essential video:
When people say, "They don't make them like they used to," Pride of the Yankees is just the kind of film they're wistfully remembering. Nominated for 11 Academy awards (winning one for film editing), this handsome biographical drama of baseball legend Lou Gehrig is one of the most finely crafted films ever to emerge from Hollywood. Gary Cooper, that great oak of an American actor, progresses from the awkward and naively shy rookie to the seasoned "Iron Horse" first baseman of the New York Yankees without losing his idealism or modesty. Teresa Wright captures the same slice of Americana with her mixture of girl-next-door sweetness and urban sophistication as his supportive wife, Eleanor. After he's diagnosed with a degenerative neurological disease (known today simply as Lou Gehrig's disease), Cooper delivers Gehrig's famous retirement speech from the mound of Yankee Stadium with the courage and spirit of a winner: "I consider myself to be the luckiest man on the face of the earth." One of the finest sports films ever made, Pride is about more than simply baseball: Gehrig, the hard-working, uncommonly talented son of immigrant parents, is the living embodiment of the American Dream. Walter Brennan and Dan Duryea costar as a Greek chorus of sportswriters, and real-life Yankees Bill Dickey, Mark Koenig, Bob Meusel, and Babe Ruth appear as themselves. --Sean Axmaker

From Amazon.com:
You'll be proud to introduce your kids to this film about virtue, courage, and an indomitable spirit. Like Treasure Island and Tom Sawyer, Pride should be required viewing for every family. Gary Cooper plays Lou Gehrig, the "Iron Horse" New York Yankee first baseman who became a record-setting legend in baseball. Sure, Cooper's a little long in the tooth to play a collegian, and he tries to capture Gehrig's innocence with a kind of eye-batting dopiness. But the last moments of the film, before Gehrig's final, famous farewell, transform the picture. Gehrig happens across a young man whom he had encountered years before in a children's hospital, and with this sequence, Pride becomes something more than a movie about innate talent and athleticism, or a lost era of America, it crystallizes into a film about (gulp!) human will. An absolute must. --Keith Simanton

From NY Immigrants' Child to American Legend:
This was probably my introduction, and for millions of others, to the legend that is Lou Gehrig. And for so many years, I had Gehrig and Gary Cooper completely confused in my mind--they seemed inseparable. But there's good reason for it: the role of the Iron Horse seemed to be made for Cooper. Gehrig was a low-key, almost self-effacing athlete and person, which was just the type of character that Cooper built his career on. Their sizes were just about the same. Cooper nailed down Lou Gehrig's voice, especially for the famous "luckiest man" farewell speech. Hell, Gary Cooper LOOKS like Lou Gehrig! Maybe my confusion is justified, at least on this subject. PRIDE OF THE YANKEES is the grand-daddy of all baseball movies. Cooper's performance, as I can't help but keep mentioning, is stellar. Teresa Wright as his wife helps keep the hankies moist but she is also very spunky and strong. Walter Brennan (who also played opposite Cooper in MEET JOHN DOE where John Doe is a semi-pro pitcher) is in a supporting role here but provides desperately needed comic relief. And perhaps I'm wrong to categorize PRIDE OF THE YANKESS as merely a baseball film. It is about human potential, human frailty, and above all human strength during times of crisis. Lou Gehrig's tragedy occurred during a time of extreme crisis in America, and, I believe, his strong steady public appearances helped the nation through it. PRIDE OF THE YANKEES could easily have been named "Strength of America" in my mind. It's that important a film.

Not Up to Hype, But Good:
This movie is good, but nowhere near where the hype has put it. I am a Yankees fan, so I appreciated many aspects of it. However, some of it was too long (some looong dance sequences that might have been entertaining 50 years ago, but not now). It was good to see Babe Ruth as himself. The story was informative and accurate. The emotional aspect was present but not real strong or overwhelming. Still, it was not up there with other five-star movies.

Nostalgic Eye for the Baseball Guy:
I hate people that can't seem to enjoy an old fashioned good feeling movie and call it sacharine because it has a happy ending. Which is why I am a little embarassed to give Pride of the Yankees just three stars. But the truth is that I really had to fight hard to surpress a smile at the level of schmaltz in this film that I didn't recognize when I saw this as a boy. Gary Cooper plays Lou Gehrig with a childlike naivete which I know was charming in its day but today it feels like you would have to lock someone up who was his age and still that childlike. And I really did want to play along with the most classic scene in the film but found it funnier than any campy parody I have seen over the years. The little boy in the hospital who is sitting by the radio because the Babe and Lou promised him they would each hit home runs form him. "Little Billy" sits in pajamas in the hospital by the radio. He listens earnestly with a expectant vapid open mouth expression waiting. Its as if his ability to ever walk again hung on the success of that hit. Bottom of the sixth Gehrig disappoints by striking out for his second time in a row still one short of the two promised home runs, you can tell the kid is thinking "Damn" but instead says "Golly"! I am glad I wasn't drinking anything at the time because it would shot through my nose trying to hold back the laugh. Pride of the Yankess does hearken back to simpler times but is perhaps so gentle and guileless it crosses the line into accidental comedy. However I did very much enjoy the relationship between the two competing sportswriters who mock each others favorite players much like Statler and Waldorf the two old geezers in The Muppet Show. Walter Brennan plays writer Sam Blake who roots for Lou and does a wonderful job. He is so slender of build here he is almost unrecognizable in this role. I am sure most people will have a fine time enjoying this film and Lou Gehrigs touching farewell speech.

Courage and Heroism in Perfect Form:
"The Pride of the Yankees" is without a doubt one of the best baseball films of all time. Why? Because it isn't just about baseball. It's about a real person seeking that seemingly impossible American dream and capturing it, only to lose it all too soon. Cooper plays Gehrig with so much heart in this film, that the movie almost seems unreal due to the fact that Gehrig was such a good person, both as a human and as a star athlete. There are few professional athletes in the world who show so much character and so much love to others as Gehrig did. He faced death with honor and courage. He was and is a true hero. If you're looking for an athlete for your children to look up to, pick the "Iron Man of Baseball." This film does exceptionally well in capturing the heart and soul of Gehrig. It is a great family film and I highly recommend it. Gehrig might have been in Ruth's(and later, DiMaggio's)shadow, but he was so much bigger than these guys. He was honest, hard-working, and approached people long after the cameras were gone. Add this one to your collection. It's a keeper, even if you don't know the difference between a baseball and a ball of yarn.

"The Luckiest Man..........................":
The Pride Of The Yankees, was released in 1942. A year after Lou Gehrig passed on. Gary Cooper plays 'The Iron Horse' who came up in 1925 and played over 2000 games, never missing one. The film begins with Lou as a boy growing up playing ball. But he is not just any ball player. Right away a talent is recognized, he has power among other things. Lou is the son of immigrated parents who want to see there only living child make it in America. Lou's mother wants him to become and enginer. He can make money, support a family and live a better than average life. Lou doesn't want to, but tries to go with his mothers wish. College is just something in the way of playing for the Yankees. Along the way the film shows Gehrig's transformation from a boy into a fine ball player. He has to deal non-stop with his mother and her DREAM of him going to some kind of university. But his dream is shown to be some place else. Gehrig goes back to the Bronx in 1925 and never looks back. The Babe and Gehrig will go to war on offensive stats (yet share a mutual respect for one another) for the next decade and Lou would go after more when Ruth retires. Along the way in the film we meet Lou's future wife Eleanor. She will be the center of his life and him hers. The film captures the true character of Gehrig and his ups and downs in life. Dealing with everyday opsticles, he does it with class. Walter Brennan plays a always going after it sports writer and several real life Yankee players play themself. Nonetheless no one plays Ruth, except for himself. And does it well. The film captures a life filled with dreams to achieve and that are, a sport that truely is the greatest and a man who shows the true meaning of the human spirit. Gehrig is brilliantly played by Gary Cooper who won an Oscar nomination (and should have one.) Anything less than great would not have done this film and the life of Gehrig justice, yet it does just that. Being a life long Yankees fan, I don't like this film because it deals with the team, although it's a plus. It's the depth that it takes you too. How a man who had nothing early in life, left with it all and no less a great story of Gehrig's wonderful yet short life! Nominated for 11 Academy Awards, it won for Best Editing. It should have won many more, but it doesn't have to win any awards to be effective! Grade:A