Fear Strikes Out

Excellent film. One of my favorite baseball/sports film. Here is how I reviewed the film on the old boards.

Fine performances by Anthony Perkins and Karl Malden are featured in this bio-pic of Boston Red Sox veteran Jimmy Pearsall. Pearsall played 17 seasons as a major leaguer but battled mental health problems during that time. The movie blames this on his impossible to please father (Malden). When Pearsall says, “I’m batting third in the league,” his dad says, “Well, it’s not first.” Further pressure is added when he is told that to make the Red Sox, he has to switch from the outfield to shortstop. He finally cracks in the middle of a game. After getting an inside the park home run, he starts screaming “Was that good enough?” while charging the stands and attempting to climb the backstop to get at where his father is sitting. Confined to an institution, Pearsall has to reorder his thinking and mental processes. Perkins has never been my favorite actor, but that may change. He is flawless as Pearsall. Even at his most hysterical, he keeps the performance real without going over the top or Acting! Thank yaw! Malden also keeps it grounded as the clueless father who wants the best for his son but doesn’t know when to stop.