Although there have been several biographic or historic films about baseball this one may be the most notable as a film biography. Lou Gehrig was (unforutnately) always in the shadow of his fellow Yankee, Babe Ruth, due to Gehrig being a quiet gentleman type (rather like Christy Matthewson, a great baseball pitcher of thirty years earlier). Ruth was like a parade, always generating excitement wherever he went. It was not until Ruth left the Yankees in 1935 that Gehrig finally came into his own as the leading team member. But ironically he would have only four years to enjoy his "reign".
The best place to start with Gehrig is actually the biography by Ray Robinson, IRON HORSE: LOU GEHRIG IN HIS TIME. Coming from a poor background, Gehrig had the grades to reach Columbia University. The film captures the snobbery he met there quite well (his mother cooked for the fraternity, and he was their waiter) and his membership in the fraternity never seemed to matter. But he was soon signed by the Yankees. And after a year he was out of their farm team and in the stadium. He became part of the 1927 "Murderer's Row" team which won the World Series.
The film traces his gradual meeting with Eleanor Twitchell of Chicago (Theresa Wright) and their marriage despite problems from his controlling mother. There is also the issue of the Ruth-Gehrig "feud" here shown by two sports writers (Walter Brennan for Gehrig, Dan Duryea for Ruth) arguing over who is the better baseball draw.
And it all culminates with the illness that ends his streak of 2,130 consecutive games that he played in (a record that was only broken by Cal Rifkin ten years ago), and the discovery that he had amyothropic lateral sclerosis, a disease that even today is still fatal. It is a particularly cruel illness because not only is the sufferer losing control of his body, but he is also fully in control of his or her faculties to the end, and so knows he or she is dying. It all culminates here with the final day at Yankee Stadium where Gehrig was honored amidst thousands of fans and many dignitaries. His eloquent and sincere speech of thanks became one of the memories of the 1930s we all recall, culminating in the words I put in the summary line.
The direction of Sam Wood is up to his best standards, keeping the movie going and holding our attention. It is the performances of Cooper, here really playing an American hero or quiet style, and Wright as his lover and wife and helpmate, realizing how soon she will lose all so quickly (and - in real life - living over half a century after him as a living part of Yankee history). Cooper got nominated for an Oscar, but lost to Jimmy Cagney for YANKEE DOODLE DANDY, another biography of an American figure of note (George M. Cohan). As Cohan was a baseball fan he probably would have enjoyed the irony here.
According to Robinson the speech of Gehrig's became a matter of unexpected importance to Cooper. Cooper was constantly asked by fans to repeat the Gehrig farewell speech. He eventually memorized it word for word so that he could repeat it whenever asked.
The best place to start with Gehrig is actually the biography by Ray Robinson, IRON HORSE: LOU GEHRIG IN HIS TIME. Coming from a poor background, Gehrig had the grades to reach Columbia University. The film captures the snobbery he met there quite well (his mother cooked for the fraternity, and he was their waiter) and his membership in the fraternity never seemed to matter. But he was soon signed by the Yankees. And after a year he was out of their farm team and in the stadium. He became part of the 1927 "Murderer's Row" team which won the World Series.
The film traces his gradual meeting with Eleanor Twitchell of Chicago (Theresa Wright) and their marriage despite problems from his controlling mother. There is also the issue of the Ruth-Gehrig "feud" here shown by two sports writers (Walter Brennan for Gehrig, Dan Duryea for Ruth) arguing over who is the better baseball draw.
And it all culminates with the illness that ends his streak of 2,130 consecutive games that he played in (a record that was only broken by Cal Rifkin ten years ago), and the discovery that he had amyothropic lateral sclerosis, a disease that even today is still fatal. It is a particularly cruel illness because not only is the sufferer losing control of his body, but he is also fully in control of his or her faculties to the end, and so knows he or she is dying. It all culminates here with the final day at Yankee Stadium where Gehrig was honored amidst thousands of fans and many dignitaries. His eloquent and sincere speech of thanks became one of the memories of the 1930s we all recall, culminating in the words I put in the summary line.
The direction of Sam Wood is up to his best standards, keeping the movie going and holding our attention. It is the performances of Cooper, here really playing an American hero or quiet style, and Wright as his lover and wife and helpmate, realizing how soon she will lose all so quickly (and - in real life - living over half a century after him as a living part of Yankee history). Cooper got nominated for an Oscar, but lost to Jimmy Cagney for YANKEE DOODLE DANDY, another biography of an American figure of note (George M. Cohan). As Cohan was a baseball fan he probably would have enjoyed the irony here.
According to Robinson the speech of Gehrig's became a matter of unexpected importance to Cooper. Cooper was constantly asked by fans to repeat the Gehrig farewell speech. He eventually memorized it word for word so that he could repeat it whenever asked.