Babe Ruth is actually in this movie. And you know what, he’s not half bad. He has a moment when he barks at the waiter behind a buffet table: “Gimme some pork chops.” He goes to sit down, then comes back to bark again: “And some mushrooms.” He has a nice sense of timing, it’s a funny moment.
The delectable Teresa Wright plays the perfect girl baseball fan (and then – the perfect baseball player’s wife). She’s like me. She knows the game. She is really into it. But she’s still allll girl. Beautiful.
I love this moment: Gehrig’s immigrant parents who wanted him to be an engineer are generally horrified that he is taking up this baseball thing. It seems pointless to them. Especially the mother. But finally Gehrig signs with the New York Yankees, and they go to see him play.
The mother is completely baffled. They watch the field being set up.
Mother: (in thick German accent) What are those pillows?
Father: (in thick German accent) Those aren’t pillows, Mama. Those are bases.
Mother: (baffled) Bases?
Father: Yes, Mama. You slide into them.
Mother: (look of shock on her face) I slide into them??
There is a long LONG pause.
Father: Just watch the game, Mama.
Eventually, the mother is a massive baseball fan. They’re watching Gehrig play … the father says, to himself, “Why doesn’t he bunt??” The mother, in her old-lady hat, gives her husband a look of utter contempt and says, “Bunt. 3 runs behind and you want him to bunt.”
Cooper is playing the growing awareness that something is wrong with him so well. How frightening. To lose control of your body like that. Cooper underplays everything. Never ever goes for the sentiment.
Here’s the actual text of the speech Gehrig made that day. The last line is killer. (You can also listen to a snippet of Gehrig himself at that link.)
The Yankees retired his jersey number (#4), the first major league baseball player to have his number retired.
Some cool quotes about Lou Gehrig (I think the last one is my favorite):
“I would not have traded two minutes of the joy and the grief with that man for two decades of anything with another.” – Lou Gehrig’s wife, Eleanor
“He was a symbol of indestructibility a Gibraltar in cleats.” — columnist Jim Murray
Gehrig had one advantage over me. He was a better ballplayer.” — baseball player Gil Hodges hahahahaha
I cannot even hear ONE phrase of that speech without blubbering like a fool.
Random trivia:
Instead of making Gary Cooper bat left-handed, they sewed Gehrig’s number and name on backwards, filmed him batting right-handed, then flipped the film in editing.
Oops! Sorry. Didn’t read the comments on the other post; tex covered it already.
I know. what a speech, right? To be able to say he was lucky … GULP. True class.