Fear Strikes Out (1957)

the leading man is my tpye

Waste of time

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

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.

i found this inspired by true events movie based on the life of Jimmy Piersall,baseball player for the Boston Red Sox to be quite compelling.it charts his life(briefly)as a boy with a love for baseball and dreams of making the big leagues.he plays the game from high school league up,all the while being criticized by his Father for not being good enough and having it drilled into his head that nothing he does is good enough.even making the big leagues doesn't solves his problems. Anthony Perkins plays young Jimmy Piersall as an adult and Karl Malden plays his father.Perkins puts in a terrific performance.for me,Fear Strikes Out is an 8/10

FEAR STRIKES OUT dealt with a theme not often portrayed in films of the '50s--mental illness--and is a shattering example of how a father's insistence on perfection can have a significant effect on the well being of a sensitive individual unable to meet his father"s expectations. Marketed at time of release as a baseball movie, it's really a relationship movie about a father and son--that is the real heart and soul of the story.Based on the real life story of Jim Piersall, a well known American sports figure for the Boston Red Sox, as taken from his own account of his life. Slowly the picture emerges of the kind of stress he was under to achieve his goal of playing in the majors, the kind of guilt he felt whenever he did something that aggravated his father--as in simple disobedience when he didn't come straight home after work and then broke his ankle at an ice skating rink.Even in the midst of achievements, his father finds flaws to criticize. "Wish me luck," he pleads with his father when the Red Sox signs him. "No, luck won't do it. You've got to be thinking and planning all the time."And later on in the film, after his breakdown and he lands in a mental asylum, he defends his father to his psychiatrist with, "If it hadn't been for him pushing me and driving me, I wouldn't be where I am today!" Chilling words and the scene is the turning point in Piersall's progress toward recovery and the root cause of his problems.It's the sort of film everyone can relate to, sports minded or not, because it does reveal the danger of parents who expect too much from their children, with tragic results. The scene where Malden tries to take him from the hospital before he's ready to go, is a chiller.Both ANTHONY PERKINS and KARL MALDEN give the kind of performances that merited at least Oscar nominations--solid and superb.Summing up: A satisfying, mature drama that takes a penetrating look at the danger of pressure-driven father/son relationships in the sports world where winning is the only thing that counts.

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.