And the Oscar goes to…

February 23, 2008

With the Academy Awards on the horizon, I thought it would be appropriate to mention some of the excellent books that discuss the twin American treasures of baseball and the movies.

Baseball and the movies are like peanut butter and chocolate: they were meant to go together. Baseball is the eternal struggle of man seeking triumphs while rying to retain eternal youth; why else would athletes approaching middle age seek to keep playing a kid’s game (oh, yeh, the money)?

Baseball movies fall into one of several genres: the biopic (Pride of the Yankees, The Jackie Robinson/Monty Stratton Story, Fear Strikes Out, et al.) many of which take great liberty with their subjects, especially those produced before the period of the “anti-hero,” when each subject had to struggle against some adversity to regain lost glory (except in the case of the Lou Gehrig story).

Another is the fictional athlete who enjoys success, is distracted by a love interest, and loses his prowess (on the field, at least) before deciding what’s really important (and amazingly getting his mojo back). One more is the sports version of the western, in which the good guy overcomes the nefarious dealings of the bad guy, usually a gambler, to help his mates win the big game.

For those who wish to explore this topic in more eloquent detail than I can provide, here are s few suggestions:

  • Reel Baseball, by Les Krantz (Doubleday, 2006) looks at video highlights from newsreels and broadcasts
  • Reel Baseball: Essays and Interviews on the National Pastime, Hollywood, and American Culture, edited by Stephen C. Wood and J. David Pincus (McFarland, 2003)
  • Diamonds in the Dark: America, Baseball and the Movies, by Howard Good (Scarecrow, 1997)
  • The Cinema of Baseball: Images of America, 1929-1989, by Gary E. Dickerson (Meckler, 1991)
  • Mr. Deeds Goes to Yankee Stadium: Baseball Films in the Capra Tradition, by Wes D. Gehrig (McFarland, 2005)
  • The Baseball Filmography, 1915 through 2001 (Second Edition), by Hal Erickson (McFarland, (2001)
  • Sports Cinema: 100 Movies, by Randy Williams (Limelight Edition. 2007)
  • Great Baseball Films: From Right off the Bat to A League of Their Own, by Rob Edelman (Citadel Press, 1994)

Pride of the Yankees won the 1943 Oscar for best editing, and received nominations in several other categories, including best picture, Gary Cooper for best actor, and Teresa Wright for best actress.

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