The Pride of the Yankees

Some of the greatest names in sports unfortunately become synonymous with something other than the sport that they played, case in point Lou Gehrig. Today more people know his name because its been attached to the disease that he had that eventually ended his baseball career and later his life. This 1942 film, starring Gary Cooper, examines the life that Gehrig lead up to the point of his retirement from the game that brought him so much joy.
Showing a true aptitude for the game of baseball at an early age, Lou Gehrig finally follows his calling in college and after years of playing in the majors he's struck down by a fast ball he doesn't even see coming. This film has so much going for it that its hard to point out just few, but here are some of the highlights. A spectacular cast lead by Cooper, one of the best leading men at the time, this story flows across the screen like it was second nature to every cast member. Directed by Sam Wood this film was shot in a stylish way that didn't play on the fact that Gehrig was going to die of a horrible disease, but of a man who had lived his life and was proud of what he had accomplished.
The immortalization of one of baseball's greatest players turns out to be a story about one of the greatest Americans of the 20^th century. To watch this story and not think about the final outcome that Gehrig faces in the end is hard to do, but seeing how much life and energy that he had in the years leading up to his retirement only breaks your heart even more. There is one thing about this film that makes it stand out from so many others is that of the final scenes. Today those final scenes would have been shot as he slowly died, but here the story ends with his proudest moment, his retirement speech in front of the fans he loved the most. Honestly, I'm not a Yankees fan but this story is not a Yankees story, it's a biographical account of a man who did what he loved to do and personified the American ethic of humility and hard work for the whole world.