The Pride of the Yankees sweeps you up in the nostalgia of the era, while tugging at your heartstrings, in this top-notch biopic anchored by Gary Cooper’s touching Academy Award-nominated performance. Pride follows the shy Lou Gehrig, who signs with the Yankees after sports writer Sam Blake champions him (played by three time Oscar winner Walter Brennan), in order to pay for his mother’s hospital bills. After working his way up through the minors, Gehrig finds himself playing alongside Babe Ruth (played by “The Bambino” himself), and begins an improbable streak of playing in over 2,100 consecutive games, thus earning him the nickname,“The Iron Horse”. Teresa Wright also earned an Academy Award nomination as Eleanor, exuding the charm of Hollywood’s bygone era. Gary Cooper seems to channel Gehrig in the iconic “luckiest man” speech, after being cruelly sapped of his strength by ALS – a disease that would eventually be named after Gehrig. Writer Jo Swerling and legendary scribe Herman J. Mankiewicz’s script builds to a moving ending, as Gehrig’s voice echoes throughout the stadium.
