The Pride of the Yankees (1942)

Directed by Sam Wood. Starring Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Walter Brennan, Elsa Janssen, Ludwig Stössel, Babe Ruth, Dan Duryea, Ernie Adams, Virginia Gilmore, Hardie Albright, Pierre Watkin, Harry Harvey.

Biopic of beloved NY Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig, put into production mere months after his tragic early death, is about as reverent (if not fawning) as they come, but he certainly didn’t seem like the sort of fella wrestling with many demons. Cooper is aptly cast as the modest, soft-spoken athlete, even if the actor can’t help but inject his “aw, shucks” demeanor into the early scenes (and seeing as how he was older at the time of filming than Gehrig was when he died, looks downright ridiculous trying to pass himself off as a college student); Wright is more than capable as wife, Eleanor, demonstrating the tenderness and decency needed to attract the devotion of the “Iron Horse.” Screenplay credited to Herman J. Mankiewicz and Jo Swerling has its fair share of cornball moments and jumbles the facts/legends, but the writing is clear-eyed and unpretentious in its celebration of the humble subject, even more of a love story than a sports picture; in fact, there’s very little onscreen baseball action, even with ex-teammate Babe Ruth on hand to play himself. Daniel Mendell’s editing won an Oscar. In addition to the Sultan of Swat, a few other people appeared as themselves here, including ballplayer Bill Dickey and sportscaster Bill Stern.

70/100