The Pride of the Yankees

Based on the life of New York Yankees' first baseman Lou Gehrig, The Pride of the Yankees is hands-down one of the finest biographies of a sports legend ever filmed. Gary Cooper is magnificent as the shy southpaw who is spotted by reporter Sam Blake (Walter Brennan) at Columbia University (where he's studying for an engineering degree), and eventually signed by the Yankees. In Chicago, Gehrig meets his future wife, Eleanor (Teresa Wright), and much of the film is devoted to charting their charming courtship. Gehrig's fame rises during the '20s and '30s, until he goes into a severe batting slump in 1939, and is diagnosed as having amytropic lateral sclerosis (known today as Lou Gehrig's Disease). In a moving speech given in Yankee Stadium, Gehrig tells his fans: "Some people say I've had a bad break, but I consider myself to be the luckiest man on the face of the earth." Nominated for Best Picture, Actor (Cooper), Actress (Wright), Screenplay, and Cinematography, MGM's no-frills release of Sam Wood's 1942 b&w inspirational classic has been given a less-than-sterling DVD transfer, with some dirt and scratches and soft edges throughout. Even so, until the Criterion folks give this the red carpet treatment it deserves, this is still highly recommended. (R. Pitman)[DVD Review—Mar. 18, 2008—MGM, 128 min., not rated, $14.98—Making its second appearance on DVD, 1942's The Pride of the Yankees (Collector's Edition) sports a fine transfer. DVD extras include an eight-minute “making-of” featurette, “The Man Behind the Iron Horse” featurette on Lou Gehrig (6 min.), and segments on “Lou Gehrig's Disease: The Search for a Cure” (6 min.), “Always: The Story Behind the Song” (6 min.), “What He Left Behind” (5 min.), and “Curt Schilling: A Legend on a Legend” (3 min.). Bottom line: a solid extras package for a classic biopic.]