Fear Strikes Out (1957)

Powerful

Fantastic!

Admirable film.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

This movie really tells it like it is, I appreciate it as well if the '50s version is made more conservative by being made some decades ago. Someone also said boxing always looks better in black and white, perhaps the same can be said for baseball. Really a lot here to think about, I don't think much is left for our imagination really. Back when it was made, it was a bold undertaking. It's timeless as well. I really do feel it gives a good feel for one undergoing mental problems as well as the relationship to the father. The nature of this film is not limited to appeal to baseball fans. It is more like baseball is a backdrop and an allegory that many of us can relate to.

Adaptation of Jim Piersall's memoir about growing up with an insensitive father, a tirelessly ambitious man with baseball dreams for his talented son--and impossible to please even after his kid is recruited as shortstop for the Boston Red Sox. Piersall's eventual nervous breakdown is mounted in careful yet somehow manufactured terms (when the pressured kid decides to go ice-skating instead of returning home, one can almost comically sense the clouds of doom forming for the next scene), and the "meet cute" with his future wife (possibly the most patient woman alive) is also by-the-numbers. Anthony Perkins does very well as Piersall, although the ludicrousness of Jimmy's behavior--defending his father while resting at "State Hospital"--isn't presented with any irony, and Perkins is too keyed-up to make a success of his showier scenes. As the pushy father, Karl Malden is also good but has a different problem: the character, completely stubborn and unsympathetic, doesn't seem to learn anything, even by the finale (this is partly the director's fault, who hastens to show the father's progress). This tasteful treatment plays very much like a padded "Playhouse 90" TV melodrama (one with baseball park stock-shots), and Jimmy's psychoanalysis is laid out in such generic terms that he may as well have been suffering from migraines. Still, some good dramatic moments ultimately make the picture a worthwhile one, even though it's too workman-like and without any quirky or personal touches. **1/2 from ****

A based-on-fact story of Jimmy Piersall, a major league player of the 1950s who suffered what looks like a major depression with some paranoid ideas. Not much could be done with major league mental illnesses at the time, before the French accidentally discovered anti-psychotic meds. The movie ends, as all such movies do whenever possible, on an up-beat note with Piersall (Tony Perkins) returning to the Red Sox after defeating his demons.I have no idea how closely the movie sticks to the real facts of Piersall's life, but it certainly hews close to the formula line. Basically, everything is blamed on Piersall's father (Karl Malden), who pushed the kid too hard, brutally sometimes, to excel. Nothing would do but that Piersall not only play for the Sox but that he play the OUTFIELD. Shortstop wasn't good enough. Poor kid. While still in the minors, in Scranton, he brags to his pop that he's the third highest hitter in the league. Malden smiles and says, "Well, that's not first." Think about that, next time your kid comes home with a B plus on his report card. You want to drive him nuts? I don't doubt that Piersall's father was pushy about his son's training and career. For all we know there may be as many sports fathers as there are stage mothers. But it seems a bit unfair to make him the sole heavy. It's not easy to drive someone crazy, not as easy as it seems in the movies anyway. It helps a lot, especially with major affective disorders, if you bring something genetic to the party, as numerous studies have shown. Not that genetics explains everything, because one identical twin may "get it" while the other doesn't.Anyway, the movie isn't very satisfying, as a movie. The director, Robert Mulligan, has done better work elsewhere. And Tony Perkins gives a by-the-numbers performance as a madman, with his facial muscles trembling and his eyes bulging. How primitive can you get? He was a much better (if entirely different) kind of psychotic in "Psycho." An improved script might have helped him. Malden is okay as the well-meaning but destructive father whom Perkins finally tells off at the cathartic climax. Perkins' wife's role is underwritten and doesn't contribute much as Malden's potential rival.It would have been nice too if we'd seen a little more about baseball, the sport and the career ladder, and less of the formulaic material on having a breakdown. At least your performance on the baseball diamond is something you can do something about. In the grip of mental illness like Piersall's, you're practically helpless, and that's not too dramatic.

This is an underrated masterpiece in my opinion, as it's really powerful and engrossing, with a brilliant story and Oscar worthy performances!. All the characters are wonderful, and this is now one of my favorite Biography films, plus Anthony Perkins and Karl Malden are simply incredible in this!. It has some pretty good baseball action and the scene with Perkins and his dad Karl Malden in the institution room, was so incredibly powerful and gripping, as it's one scene I will never ever forget!. It's extremely well made and written, and a lot of people had said that they thought Perkins was miscast, and while I respect there opinion, I have to disagree 100% as nobody could have pulled off the role as well he did, he was just so intense, as it's the best performance I have seen since Psycho, plus you will hate Malden's character for pushing Jimmy Piersall too hard!. It really is a shame that this film Doesen't get the recognition it deserves, and the ending really made me happy and put a big smile on my face, plus there is also a very powerful scene when Perkins injures his leg Ice skating and his dad goes ballistic and almost has a heart attack.I was lucky enough to find this at a DVD store pretty cheap, and I must say this went far past my expectations, plus I think Perkins and Malden deserved Oscars for there performances!, in my opinion!. You will really root for Perkins character, and while I could tell Malden really loved his son, he was pushing him way too hard as I seriously cheered when he told him no more at the mental institution!. If your looking for a top notch Biography film look no further then this, and it's also got a great love story in it as well, plus Jimmy Piersall seemed to be a fascinating person and a very good ball player from what I saw in the movie. Norma Moore and Perkins had excellent chemistry together, and there are also quite a few intense scenes as well, plus I was surprised by Perkins athleticism!. This should be even higher then 6.9 in my opinion, and all the characters are very likable for the most part, plus there is not one dull moment. This is an underrated masterpiece in my opinion, as it's really powerful and engrossing, with a brilliant story and Oscar worthy performances, and if you Haven't seen it please do so immediately you shouldn't regret it!.The Direction is outstanding!. Robert Mulligan does an outstanding! Job here with fantastic camera work, adding good atmosphere and keeping the film at an extremely engrossing my space.The Acting is Oscar worthy in my opinion. Anthony Perkins is amazing as always and is incredible here, he gives an Oscar worthy performance, was incredibly intense, and I can't believe the people that said he was miscast, I mean I can't see anybody else playing Jimmy Piersall, we are also able to root for him and hope he gets better, and the scene where has has a mental breakdown on the field was just so emotional and very intense, this is his 2nd best performance next to Psycho, he was simply incredible! (Perkins Rules!!!!!!!). Karl Malden is also incredible here and gives an Oscar worthy performance as well, as the domineering father, you will hate him for pushing Jimmy too hard, however I could kind of see why he was doing it after all he just wanted the best life style for him, he really was incredible!. Norma Moore is excellent as the wife, she was very likable and had good chemistry with Perkins I liked her. Adam Williams is awesome as the Doc in his scenes I liked him a lot. Perry Wilson is fine as the Mom. Rest of the cast are fine.Overall go see it immediately you shouldn't regret it!. ***** out of 5