My Name is Jason Lockard and I love Classic Cinema…. I love bringing you the readers films that you may have passed over because they are old and are not CGI filled! I am also a huge sports fan, so this month I’m uncovering a sports classic that in my humble opinion is second to none!

The Pride of the Yankees is a 1942 biographical film directed by Sam Wood about the New York Yankees baseball player, first baseman Lou Gehrig, who had his career cut short at the age of 36 when he was stricken with the fatal disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS (more commonly known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease"). The movie was released the year after Gehrig's death.

Gary Cooper stars as the baseball great Lou Gehrig, Teresa Wright co-stars as his wife Eleanor and Walter Brennan (probably known to many for his role as Grandpa Amos in the TV series The Real McCoys) as a sportswriter friend Sam. Also in a special treat for sports fans Yankee greats Babe Ruth, Bob Meusel, Mark Koenig and Bill Dickey all played themselves, as did sportscaster Bill Stern.

The film dwells on Gehrig’s personal relationships, first, with his parents, the sportswriter (Brennan), his "storybook romance" and marriage to Eleanor and his epic yet short career on the baseball diamond!

Many have criticized this film because Gehrig's baseball career are somewhat slighted, represented only by montages of ballparks, pennants and Cooper swinging bats and running bases, but his is a biographical film! If you tried to show every aspect of every part of his life the film would have been ten hours long! So I think the film does a tremendous job in showing Lou’s short but epic life!

Early in the film in a memorable scene, Gehrig visits a crippled boy named Billy (Gene Collins) in a hospital and promises to hit two home runs for him in a single World Series game; Gehrig fulfills his promise, and an older Billy (played by David Holt) attends Lou Gehrig Day and shows Gehrig that he can walk, having made a full recovery inspired by his hero's determination.

The chemistry between Gary Cooper and Teresa Wright is tremendous in showing the love the couple had for one another. The duo play the sports iconic couple perfectly. In a scene at their home in New York Lou and Eleanor are playing around and wrestling when Lou begins to feel ill you can feel the dread permeating Eleanor. She calls the doctor and when the doctor examines Lou, Lou asks “Is it strike three Doc?!” The doctor replies, “It‘s strike three!” Lou tells Sam (Brennan) not to tell Eleanor, he agrees, but when Eleanor talks to Sam she asks how long does he have?! She later tells Sam, “Lou will never know that I know!” The strength Eleanor shows is amazing! She must have been a very strong woman!

Having no other choice The Great Lou Gehrig made his retirement speech at old Yankee Stadium. This was Lou’s actual speech was:

"Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have been in ballparks for seventeen years and have never received anything but kindness and encouragement from you fans.

"Look at these grand men. Which of you wouldn't consider it the highlight of his career just to associate with them for even one day? Sure, I'm lucky. Who wouldn't consider it an honor to have known Jacob Ruppert? Also, the builder of baseball's greatest empire, Ed Barrow? To have spent six years with that wonderful little fellow, Miller Huggins? Then to have spent the next nine years with that outstanding leader, that smart student of psychology, the best manager in baseball today, Joe McCarthy? Sure, I'm lucky.

"When the New York Giants, a team you would give your right arm to beat, and vice versa, sends you a gift - that's something. When everybody down to the groundskeepers and those boys in white coats remember you with trophies - that's something. When you have a wonderful mother-in-law who takes sides with you in squabbles with her own daughter - that's something. When you have a father and a mother who work all their lives so you can have an education and build your body - it's a blessing. When you have a wife who has been a tower of strength and shown more courage than you dreamed existed - that's the finest I know.

"So I close in saying that I might have been given a bad break, but I've got an awful lot to live for."

Why the actual speech in the film was changed I don’t know, but it still captures the hope he had for his future and his delight to make a living playing the game he loved. The statement “Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. ” scored #38 on AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movie Quotes! AFI ranked The Pride of the Yankees #22 in their list of the top 100 most inspiring movies in American cinema. In June 2008, AFI revealed its "Ten top Ten"—the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. The Pride of the Yankees was acknowledged as the third best film in the sports genre.

The Pride of the Yankees was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won for Film Editing! The Nominations were for: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Gary Cooper), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Teresa Wright), Best Art Direction-Interior Decoration, Best Cinematography, Best Effects, Special Effects, Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, Best Picture, Best Sound, Recording, Best Writing, Original Story and Best Writing, Screenplay!

So if you’re a fan of sport movies, if you’re a fan of Biographical films or if you just want to uncover a truly inspiring film go and pick up a copy of The Pride of the Yankees! It will having you shedding a tear and than standing to cheer!

Until next month when we uncover a horror classic for Halloween, this is Jason saying if you want to see a good film pick up a classic!


Moral Rating: Nothing Offensive
Audience: Family
Genre: Biographical
Length: 120 min.
Year of Release: 1942
Our Rating: A+