Fear Strikes Out
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Movie Reviews of Fear Strikes Out
Movie Review: Fear Strikes Out
Summary: 5 Stars
Perkins plays young Pearsall with just the right vulnerability, and Malden does a breathtaking turn as his driven Dad. An over-looked classic from young Mulligan, who'd go on to direct "To Kill A Mockingbird" five years later.Movie Review: Makes you think twice
Summary: 5 Stars
Excellent movie for all parents with children playing
any sport to watch.
Movie Review: At least a triple
Summary: 4 Stars
"Fear Strikes Out" is a 1957 autobiographical account of the life of Jimmy Piersall, a MLB player. Piersall played for the Boston Red Sox from 1950 to 1958 and then for a variety of teams until his final contract with the California Angels from 1963 to 1967. Along the way he hit more than 100 home runs, batted nearly 300, and had nearly 600 RBIs. He made the All Stars twice (1954, 1956) and won a Golden Glove twice (1958, 1961). Because he came up at the same time that TV started, Piersall got lots of media coverage as one of the most "colorful" MLB players.
The film is based on Piersall's 1955 book and the 1955 TV show starring Tab Hunter as Piersall. Hunter wanted to do the film role, but Perkins got it, which didn't do much for the affair which they were having.
The film came out at a time when Piersall was at the height of his baseball career, but the height of his antics was still in the future. Shortly after the film came out, Piersall was traded to the Cleveland Indians, where he continued to act out.
Anthony Perkins is excellent as Piersall. Perkins is best remembered for his role as Norman Bates in "Psycho" (1960). He was nominated for an Oscar for "Friendly Persuasion" (1957) and won Best Actor at Cannes for "Goodbye Again" (1961), but personally I think "Fear Strikes Out" is his best performance. There are times in the film when Perkins adopts the mannerisms and speech patterns of Karl Malden (demonstrating how Piersall has incorporated his father's values and behavior) so well you think you're watching Malden. It's really a tour d'force for Perkins.
In fact, if you look closely, you'll see that Perkins doesn't exactly throw like a MLB player. That's because Perkins was left handed. To play right-handed Jimmy Piersall, Perkins learned how to throw and bat right-handed. He does it so well, most people never noticed.
It's interesting to note that in this film Perkins plays someone under the domination of his father, while in "Psycho" he is dominated by his mother. Perkins' own father had died when he was a child, and in real life he had developed an unnatural relationship with his mother that eventually drove him to seek psychiatric help about the time this film appeared.
The film is quite unusual for its time. Most films about mental illness were fictional and portrayed the condition as severe. Hitchcock's "Spellbound" (1945), Elizabeth Taylor/Montgomery Cliff's "Suddenly Last Summer" (1959), and "David and Lisa" (1962) were all set against the background of a mental hospital. "Leave Her to Heaven" (1945) portrayed mental illness as a psychotic and deadly phenomenon. Olivia de Havilland's "The Snake Pit" (1948) and "The Three Faces of Eve" (1957) were both based on real cases, and both involved placement in a mental hospital. "Hitchcock's "Psycho" (1960) was also based on a real case, and again the theme of dangerousness is stressed.
Against these, "Fear Strikes Out" is a dramatic change of pace. The main character is both real and dangerous only to himself. The film suggests that Piersall's condition is a result of genetics (there are hints that his mother was institutionalized on multiple occasions) and environment (he has a pushy father, played exceedingly well by an intense Karl Malden), and that when faced with stress (fear of failure), he reverted to childlike antics or the bullying tactics of his father.
Karl Malden does his usual excellent job. He's probably best known as Lt. Mike Stone from TVs "The Streets of San Francisco" or as the guy from the American Express ads, but Malden's career was exceptional. He won an Oscar for "Streetcar Named Desire" (1951) and was nominated for his role as the priest in "On the Waterfront" (1954). He won one Emmy and had 4 nominations, as well as 3 Golden Glove nominations. He could play a villain - Sheriff Longworth in "One Eyed Jacks" (1961), Tom Fitch in "Nevada Smith" (1966) - as well as a hero - General Bradley in "Patton" (1970). As the bullying father he brings an intensity of the film that lets you understand how this pressures must have worked against Piersall.
Adam Williams plays the caring therapist. He is reminiscent of Dr. Kik from "The Snake Pit" (1948). Williams was a busy supporting actor, appearing in over 50 films, usually as a villain - a woman killer in "Without Warning" (1952), a car bomber in "The Big Heat" (1953), a thug who falls from Mount Rushmore in Hitchcock's "North by Northwest" (1959). In the 60s he made the transition to TV where he often played a cowboy.
Norma Moore plays the loving wife. This was her first credited film role, although she had been on TV and continued mostly as a TV actress. She does a great job in this film, and one can only wonder why she only did 8 more films.
The film is fast paced and entertaining. It was the first film for director Robert Mulligan, who went on to acclaim in later years with "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962) and "Summer of 42" (1971). Mulligan and Perkins had worked together before in a 1951 TV production of the Goodyear Television Playhouse.
It was also the first film for producer Alan J. Pakula who was more interested in the psychology behind the story than the sports theme (Pakula had considered becoming a psychoanalyst). Virtually every sports film prior to this (e.g., "The Pride of the Yankees" in 1942, "The Jackie Robinson Story" in 1950) and almost every one since, were focused on the sports theme, but Pakula took it in a different direction. Baseball is merely a backdrop to the father/son story. Pakula would go on to produce a half dozen films that Mulligan directed - "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962), "Love with the Proper Stranger" (1963), "Baby the Rain Must Fall" (1963), "Inside Daisy Clover" (1965) - before he turned to directing, where he did such memorable films as "The Sterile Cuckoo" (1969), "Klute" (1971), Sophie's Choice" (1982), "All the President's Men" (1976), and "The Pelican Brief" (1993).
Movie Review: Tense and dramatic from beginning to end
Summary: 4 Stars
Both Perkins and Malden turn in possibly the greatest performances of their illustrious careers in this story of the gifted but troubled center fielder. Perkins is truly brilliant in the role, and its hard to imagine anyone at this point who could have done a better job in the role. Maldon is relentless as the overbearing sports dad, who does love his son and wants him to do well, but whose love is truly a two-edged sword. The rest of the cast is excellent as well, the movie has a fine script, and the film is taughtly directed by Robert Mulligan. One minor quip I did have was that the wife's part, played capably by Norma Moore, could have been bigger. Coincidently, I attended the Norma Moore private school my last two years in high school. :-)
Overall, it's a fine movie about a great baseball player's descent into mental illness and his struggle to return to normalcy, but be aware that it does take some artistic license with the facts. In the film, Piersall's disorder is portrayed as an "anxiety disorder characterized by obsession and occasional auditory hallucinations," (from the Wikipedia article on Piersall), rather than bipolar disorder, which was how it was actually diagnosed. These inaccuracies eventually led Piersall to disown the film. Also, the movie makes no mention of the fact that Piersall's mother was diagnosed with mental illness.
A little trivia note, he became a professional baseball player at only age 18 with the Red Sox, after having been an outstanding high school basketball player. In a career marked by bizarre behavior and various antics, he celebrated his 100th career home run by running the bases running backwards, as promised (although in the right order). He had a career batting average of .272, led the American League in doubles with 40 in 1956, was elected to the American League Hall of Fame in both 1954 and 1956, and earned Golden Glove awards in 1958 and 1961.
Interestingly, Piersall and Perkins, who last names both begin with P, share their first and middle names, since Piersall's middle name is Anthony. Finally, in his autobiography, Piersall once said, "Probably the best thing that ever happened to me was going nuts. Whoever heard of Jimmy Piersall, until that happened?"
Movie Review: The Classic Tale Of Pushy Parents
Summary: 4 Stars
I still remember seeing this as a Little League-age kid in the theater as our family was vacationing in Florida.
When I saw it again, some 40 years later, parts of the film were still very familiar, a testimony to how powerful some of these scenes were. I never forgot them.
This was a based-on-a-true-life account of major league baseball player Jimmy Piersall, a very talented player who suffered a nervous breakdown. The enormous pressure to succeed that was driven into him by his never-satisfied father was pictured as the cause which made him snap.
Anthony Perkins, who plays Piersall, and Karl Madlen, who portrays his dad, are both excellent, riveting characters. Some say this was Malden's best performance ever. Perkins was no slouch, either. This is the classic sports story of an overzealous parent living his or her dreams through their child.
The baseball segment of this film ended about halfway through. From that point, after Perkins breaks down at the park, climbing the backstop fence in a horrifying scene, the film actually gets even more interesting with everyone in the film contributing although the cast, after Perkins and Malden, is a pretty much an unknown-name one.
The only unrealistic part of the film, typical of sports films until the 1980s, was seeing an actor play a ballplayer when he "throws like a girl," as the old expression went. The younger actor playing Piersall as a kid was no better than Perkins in this regard. Neither had a clue how to a throw a ball. It looks corny nowadays.
Oh, well. That wasn't the focus of the story, anyway. As powerful as this film was, it apparently didn't have much of an effect as pushy parents in sports still exist and probably always will, taking the fun out of sports for a number of kids.
It's still a memorable film and worth your time today, especially if you have never seen it.