The Pride of the Yankees (1942)

THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES  (1942)  ¢ ¢ ¢ 1/2
    D: Sam Wood
    Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Walter Brennan,
    Elsa Janssen, Ludwig Stössel, Dan Duryea,
    Babe Ruth, Bill Dickey, Ernie Adams
Lou Gehrig's name might be more famous now for the disease he died from than for anything he did playing baseball, but what he did playing baseball was pretty amazing. As the first baseman for the great Yankees teams of the '20s and '30s, Gehrig played an incredible 2,130 consecutive games, till the physical toll from an incurable illness forced him to leave the field. Gary Cooper was about 40 when he made this, and he looks a little old to be playing Gehrig as an undergraduate at Columbia. Beyond that, it's hard to imagine any other actor playing the part, or being better cast. As sports heroes go, Gehrig was the real deal, and Cooper's affecting performance is iconic. By the end, when he delivers Gehrig's famous echoing farewell at Yankee Stadium, there's not a dry eye in the house.