Fear Strikes Out (1957)

People are voting emotionally.

Don't listen to the negative reviews

Absolutely Fantastic

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

This is one of a myriad sporting biopics made by Hollywood around this time – and whose appeal didn't really travel to other countries because the sport involved (or, for that matter, the star player whose life story we're supposed to be viewing) is only appreciated by Americans: in this case, Jim Piersall and baseball. Anyway, while not exactly better than similar biopics, the film is sufficiently different (and therefore interesting) in view of its inherent psychological elements dealing as it does with Piersall's mental breakdown.The pre-requisite Method performances ensure a rather melodramatic approach and I'm quite surprised how Anthony Perkins' excellent central performance did not win him any accolades, whereas director Mulligan was nominated for the Directors' Guild Award for his work here when, in hindsight, I cannot help thinking how much better the film would have been in the hands of, say, Elia Kazan or Nicholas Ray. His handling is competent but predictable – down to the inspirational final shot; as for the the scenes at the mental institution, these don't garner as much power as they ought to, since it's made obvious from the start that Piersall's problem lies in his troubled relationship with his bullying father (Karl Malden). Even so, Elmer Bernstein's fine score is a definite asset to the film.

Outstanding biography detailing the life of Boston Red Sox slugger Jimmy Piersall.The late Anthony Perkins depicted the appropriate temperament in his portrayal of this baseball legend. Driven by a domineering, obsessed with perfection father, Perkins is outstanding in his portrayal. He is equally matched by Carl Malden, terrific as the father.From childhood Perkins is seen as being driven by his father to achieve perfection. Nothing less will satisfy the compulsive driven father.The scene where Perkins goes berserk during a game is memorable.His recovery is well staged as well. My diagnosis would have been to keep his father away but to make sure that the viewers see this wonderful film.

Jimmy Piersall (Anthony Perkins) was a major league baseball player, an exceptional outfielder and a lousy hitter. He had an overbearing perfectionist for a father (Karl Malden), was socially awkward, suffered from severe bipolar disorder and paranoid delusions, and fought with his teammates. That is pretty much where the similarities between "Fear Strikes Out" and reality end.The story takes place in the early 1950s. Little was known about mental illness, and there were few if any psychiatric medications. There wasn't much beyond talk therapy and electro-convulsive therapy (then known as electro-shock treatment). Unfortunately, Jim responded to neither. He spent most of his rookie year in a psych hospital.In one chilling (although probably invented) scene, psychiatrist Dr. Brown asks if he wants to watch a ball game. Jim doesn't respond, so the doctor flips on a game. A hitter doesn't extend a double into a triple, a play which Jim comments that his father would never approved of. As the conversation moves from baseball to Jim's father, Jim realizes "If it wasn't for my father, I wouldn't be where I am today!" The film ended in typical Hollywood fashion, with Piersall returning to the team in 1953. I thought the roll of his wife Mary, played ably by Norma Moore, was badly underwritten. There was no mention of the fact that his mother also suffered from mental illness.As a study of mental illness and its effects on a man, his family, his co-workers, and his career, "Fear Strikes Out" is a very good movie. Trouble is that it is so loaded with historical inaccuracies, mistakes, and "dramatic license" that the person upon whose experiences the story is based distanced himself from the movie.

I don't find movies about illnesses whether they are physical or mental, real or fictitious, to be entertaining, maybe informative or educational, so I am approaching my criticism of this movie from the baseball aspect. Jimmy Piersall was quite a character. He overcame a mental breakdown to become one of the greatest outfielders in baseball history. He was a real crowd pleaser with his fielding and antics, but his hitting left a lot to be desired. He just about ruined his arm showing off how far and hard he could throw the ball. When he hit his 100th homerun, he ran the bases backwards. Living near Boston, I saw him play ball on many occasions and I met him in person at a First National Supermarket opening in Lawrence, Mass. He signed a baseball and a photograph of himself for me, but I had to buy two bags of potato chips (Cains, I think it was) beforehand. As a kid, I could barely afford it, but more than fifty years later, I still have the ball and photo. What a thrill it was! I remember him as being handsome and big and strong, not a skinny guy like Anthony Perkins. As far as the movie goes, it was good, but not very accurate. Did you notice the obvious padding to Perkin's shoulders to make him look bulky? He looked like he never played baseball in real life, he was so awkward. (Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig and William Bendix as Babe Ruth also looked pretty bad in their baseball movies). Did you notice that the stock footage was of Fenway Park but whenever Perkins was playing they showed some minor league park? Just look at the outfield background, that's not Fenway. What really bothers me is that they only mention one real life Red Sox person, Joe Cronin, and that was wrong, it should have been Pinky Higgins. What happened to Ted Williams, Jackie Jensen (my all time favorite Red Sox player), Dom Dimaggio, Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky, and a bunch of others who played on the team with Piersall? Ted's career was actually extended because Piersall was so good as a fielder that he used to run from center to left to catch flyballs so that Williams didn't have to tire himself out trying to get to them. Piersall was eventually traded to another team, so all his euphoria about playing for the Bosox didn't last. Still with all its' faults and disappointments, this movie is well worth watching, especially for baseball fans.