THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES

The story of the life and career of famed baseball player Lou Gehrig.

Sunday's first screening will be followed by a conversation with New York Times journalist Richard Sandomir, author of The Pride of the Yankees: Lou Gehrig, Gary Cooper, and the Making of a Classic.

“Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” So said baseball legend Lou Gherig in his farewell speech from Yankee Stadium on July 4, 1939. Three years later, that speech would provide the tearjerking culmination of The Pride of the Yankees, with Cooper giving one of his most treasured performances as the famed player just one year after his death from the disease that would soon bear his name.

More than a tribute to Gherig’s heartbreaking story, though, Pride of the Yankees is a celebration of the energy and excitement at the center of the ultimate great American pastime. Featuring Babe Ruth and several other real-life Yankee legends as themselves, director Sam Wood’s heartfelt story doubles as a document of baseball culture in all of its intricacies, from rookie season hazing rituals to Gherig’s rousing home-run sensations. Teresa Wright’s poignant performance as Gherig’s lifelong love, Eleanor Twitchell Gherig, adds additional depth to a movie rich with affection for its subject and the legacy of his impact that lasts to this day.

Other Films in The GARY COOPER FESTIVAL

THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES | Get Tickets

BALL OF FIRE | Get Tickets