Movie · 1942 · Drama, Family · 2h 8m · NR · English
Curator score: 6.3/10 (20K ratings)
Intimate and thrilling drama of a hero of the headlines... the girl who had his love and shared his life, but dared not question his one secret!
Overview
The story of the life and career of the baseball hall of famer, Lou Gehrig.
Ratings
Curator score: 6.3/10
IMDb: 7.6/10
Letterboxd: 3.59/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 94%
TMDB: 7.4/10
Director
Sam Wood
Production
Samuel Goldwyn Productions
Cast
Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, Babe Ruth, Walter Brennan, Dan Duryea, Elsa Janssen, Ludwig Stössel, Virginia Gilmore, Bill Dickey, Ernie Adams, Pierre Watkin, Harry Harvey, Bob Meusel, Mark Koenig, Bill Stern, Addison Richards, Hardie Albright, Edward Fielding, George Lessey, Edgar Barrier
Where to watch
Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A sincere, old-fashioned sports biopic that trades complexity for warmth and emotional payoff. It’s most effective as a tribute to Lou Gehrig’s decency and resilience, with a strong central performance and a famously moving final stretch, even if the pacing is leisurely and the mythmaking is heavy-handed.
Best for
classic Hollywood fans
baseball devotees
viewers who like inspirational biopics
fans of earnest wartime-era dramas
audiences looking for a sentimental tearjerker
Skip if
you want a fast-paced or psychologically layered biopic
you dislike sentimental patriotism or mythic hero worship
you need strict historical accuracy
you’re not in the mood for an old-fashioned studio drama
Overview
The Pride of the Yankees is less interested in the mechanics of baseball than in building a monument to Lou Gehrig’s character. That approach can make the middle stretch feel overly polished and dramatically thin, but it also gives the film a clear emotional purpose: to turn a sports figure into a national symbol of grace under pressure.
Worth noting
Gary Cooper’s performance is a major reason the film still works. He brings a gentle, boyish sincerity that helps sell the movie’s idealized view of Gehrig, and Teresa Wright gives the romance a warmth that keeps the story from becoming pure hagiography. The baseball scenes are sturdy rather than electrifying, but the production’s period detail and sense of reverence remain effective.
Bottom line
What lingers most is the final act, which earns its reputation as one of the great heartbreakers of classic American cinema. If you can accept the film’s simplifications and its broad, inspirational tone, it delivers exactly what it promises: a moving tribute to endurance, humility, and the mythology of the game.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Patrick Willems (3★) · 680 likes
Babe Ruth plays himself in this and he's actually pretty good, which makes me realize we were deprived of a Babe Ruth Space Jam made in the 1940s
theriverjordan (3.5★) · 138 likes
“Pride of the Yankees” is a film less enamored with baseball than it is in adoration of its own American myth making.
Released just 17 months after the death of Lou Gehrig, from a disease that would come to be named after him, “Pride” is emblematic less of its subject’s sport’s team, than it is of Gehrig’s relentless dedication to optimism, despite all odds being against it.
While “Pride” is a heraldic ode to a national baseball legend, it… more
Herb Gallow (2.5★) · 86 likes
Groucho may have had a point with his observation that one can't make a director out of Wood. The Pride of the Yankees commonly shows up on lists of the most inspirational films, the most important baseball films, etc. It ought to be remembered instead as one of the most notable wastes of film talent and resources of the 40s. Anyone with an appreciation for the history of baseball is also ill-served by this huge missed opportunity to immortalize one… more Groucho may have had a point with his observation that one can't make a director out of Wood. The Pride of the Yankees commonly shows up on lists of the most inspirational films, the most important baseball films, etc. It ought to be remembered instead as one of the most notable wastes of film talent and resources of the 40s. Anyone with an appreciation for the history of baseball is also ill-served by this huge missed opportunity to immortalize one… more
Will Sloan · 53 likes
This biopic of Lou Gehrig is the story of a simple man who was good at baseball, loved his gal, was good to his ma, and was adored by all. A small amount of tension is introduced early on when he chooses a career in baseball over his mother's objections, but she quickly comes around (he is Lou Gehrig, after all). There is at least an hour in the middle of this movie where virtually nothing happens, including one scene… more This biopic of Lou Gehrig is the story of a simple man who was good at baseball, loved his gal, was good to his ma, and was adored by all. A small amount of tension is introduced early on when he chooses a career in baseball over his mother's objections, but she quickly comes around (he is Lou Gehrig, after all). There is at least an hour in the middle of this movie where virtually nothing happens, including one scene… more
Gregor Kreyca (3.5★) · 48 likes
I don’t really care and don’t know jack about Baseball. (Even though there are quite a few great Baseball movies I like.) I also never heard of Lou Gehrig. But his story told here moved me. Also, I love Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright (who was nominated for this film but won the Oscar for another movie, Mrs. Miniver) and Walter Brennan all of which are giving strong and heartfelt performances. So yeah, pretty good movie and a thumbs up from me. If you are a Baseball and/or Lou Gehrig fan, might as well add another half-star.