the year: 1942
the genre: drama
the cast: Gary Cooper (Henry Louis “Lou” Gehrig); Teresa Wright (Eleanor Twitchell); Babe Ruth (himself); Walter Brennan (Sam Blake)
the plot: A biopic of Lou Gehrig from his childhood in New York until his famous “Luckiest Man” speech on farewell day in 1939.
count: the number of consecutive games played by Lou Gehrig.
check out: sportswriter "Sam Blake" (played by Walter Brennan). He's a great character that was loosely based on writer Fred Lieb, who was one of the Gehrigs' closest friends.
don’t miss: the bracelet worn by Teresa Wright - who played Gehrig's wife Eleanor Gehrig. It was the actual bracelet that Lou gave to Eleanor on their fourth anniversary. Eleanor brought the bracelet to the set to be used in the movie. The bracelet is made up of 17 metal medallions that celebrate the seven World Championships and six All-Star game appearances that Gehrig made. The bracelet is now displayed in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
listen for: “Lou Gehrig, I could learn to like you.”
did you know: Since star Gary Cooper was right-handed and Lou Gehrig was left-handed, and since Cooper's athletic skills were barely passable right-handed let alone left-handed, the close-up baseball scenes were shot with uniforms in reverse type. Cooper would hit the ball and run to third, and the prints would be reversed.
2 comments:
This must be the inspiration and motivation for so many other professionaly athletes to try their hand at show biz. It's all thanks to the Yankees!
Classy Classic. One of the few times I cry watching sports. ;o> I remember the bracelet and love learning the historical tidbits you share! Thanks!
Post a Comment