The Washington Senators have got heart... miles and miles and miles of heart (and, okay, a deal with the Devil)
Added 11/16/2009
Throw in some baseball and several catchy songs, and dust off that old Faust legend, and you get this breezy 1958 musical from Warner Brothers. Originally a hugely successful Broadway play, DAMN YANKEES returns most of the original stage cast, with Tab Hunter taking over in the lead role. And, having seen the uber-bland, very clean cut Tab Hunter in other films, I probably should've scoffed at his being cast in a showy song & dance flick except that, surprisingly, the man actually unveils a more relaxed, fun-loving side to him. So it all works.
Joe Boyd (Robert Shafer) is a middle-aged, die-hard fan of the Washington Senators, and because the Senators are pretty awful, Joe is also a long-suffering fan. After grousing over another of his team's inept showings on television (with the Senators again getting pummeled by the Yankees), Joe exclaims "One long ball hitter, that's what we need! I'd sell my soul for one long-ball hitter." Moments later, the mysterious dapperly-dressed Mr. Applegate appears on his porch and an infernal bargain is struck: a long ball hitter for a soul. But with an escape clause which allows Joe Boyd to change his mind before a set deadline.
Soon the woeful Senators have a new player on the roster, a 22-year-old powerhouse slugger named Joe Hardy (Hunter), or as one female reporter dubs him: "Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo." Joe Hardy promptly leads his team from the cellar to contention and, ultimately, to a pennant race with the New York Yankees. You'd think Joe Hardy and Mr. Applegate would be ecstatic. But, no.
It's that thing about absence and how it makes the heart grow fonder. Joe Hardy is having second thoughts. He misses the wife he'd abandoned, misses his old life as Joe Boyd. He's wandered back into his old neighborhood and managed to rent a room in his old house, all just so he'd be closer to a wife who's now decades older than him. And, of course, all this is stressing out Applegate. Fearing that he might lose out on this soul, he sics the demonic temptress Lola on Joe (She's irresistible, you fool!).
For old-school folks like me, DAMN YANKEES is great fun. This movie rides on the playful, gleeful performances of Ray Walston and Gwen Verdon, and on the songs, several of which have managed to stick with me even after all this time. I savor them all, from Shafer and Hunter's poignant "Goodbye, Old Girl" and the exuberant "(You've Gotta Have) Heart" and "Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo" to Verdon's seductive showstopper "Whatever Lola Wants." And then there's the mambo treat "Who's Got the Pain" (Erp!), also performed by Verdon and partnered up by noted choreographer Bob Fosse (and also Verdon's hubbie).
So, yeah, this movie is tailored more towards comedy and musical numbers, so the baseball sequences aren't exactly what you'd call gritty or suspenseful. However, I dig the mythic, folklorish quality which Joe Hardy achieves, and I'm even reminded a bit of THE NATURAL's Roy Hobbs. Tab Hunter unexpectedly shows a lighthearted personality, and that doesn't hurt. But Ray Walston is exceptional as the beleaguered Devil, and Gwen Verdon really sells her sexy demoness part. Watching these two actors, I can see how the Broadway show ran for an astonishing 1019 performances.
And, for whatever it's worth, the DVD also includes the theatrical trailer which, by the way, trumpets the title of this movie as "What Lola Wants" with "Damn Yankees" in tiny parenthesis right below it.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Best 10 bucks I have ever spent !
Added 10/3/2009
For a little over $ 10 , I got a piece of my childhood back...I have only seen this movie once in my life, and being a child I didn't see just how wonderful it is....and ALL the talent that was there!!!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Damn Yankees
Added 6/2/2009
This is a classic. My husband really enjoys this movie from his youth. Good storyline and a musical taboot. Very enjoyable Tab Hunter and Ray Walston oldie.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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The Great Gwen Verdon
Added 3/18/2009
Along with Ethel Merman and Mary Martin, Gwen Verdon was one of the great stars of the American Musical Theatre, and like those other legendary ladies, she seldom got the chance to strut her stuff when her Broadway hits were turned into movies.
The one exception was her breakout role in the fabulous musical-comedy DAMN YANKEES!
Along with fellow Tony winner Ray Walston and the rest of the original Broadway cast (with one key exception), Gwen went to Hollywood to recreate her role as the vampy Lola for the 1958 movie, directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen and choreographed by Bob Fosse.
DAMN YANKEES! is the Faust legend transferred to a baseball setting. An aging Washington Senators fan sells his soul to the Devil (Walston) in order to play for his team. Turned into a 22-year-old (a poorly cast Tab Hunter), the "old guy" becomes the star player and, but then the Devil enlists the services of Lola to keep him in line.
Verdon is nothing short of terrific. She steals the film.
"Heart," "Who's Got the Pain?" and "Whatever Lola Wants" are among the show's memorable songs.
© Michael B. Druxman
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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One of the greatest musicals ever made ! ! ! ! !
Added 9/9/2008
I was so ecstatic to see this movie! I'm 50 years old and hadn't seen this classic since I was a kid (years after on t.v.) I truly recommend this movie young and old alike, a timeless love story.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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The Washington Senators have got heart... miles and miles and miles of heart (and, okay, a deal with the Devil)
Added 11/16/2009
Throw in some baseball and several catchy songs, and dust off that old Faust legend, and you get this breezy 1958 musical from Warner Brothers. Originally a hugely successful Broadway play, DAMN YANKEES returns most of the original stage cast, with Tab Hunter taking over in the lead role. And, having seen the uber-bland, very clean cut Tab Hunter in other films, I probably should've scoffed at his being cast in a showy song & dance flick except that, surprisingly, the man actually unveils a more relaxed, fun-loving side to him. So it all works.
Joe Boyd (Robert Shafer) is a middle-aged, die-hard fan of the Washington Senators, and because the Senators are pretty awful, Joe is also a long-suffering fan. After grousing over another of his team's inept showings on television (with the Senators again getting pummeled by the Yankees), Joe exclaims "One long ball hitter, that's what we need! I'd sell my soul for one long-ball hitter." Moments later, the mysterious dapperly-dressed Mr. Applegate appears on his porch and an infernal bargain is struck: a long ball hitter for a soul. But with an escape clause which allows Joe Boyd to change his mind before a set deadline.
Soon the woeful Senators have a new player on the roster, a 22-year-old powerhouse slugger named Joe Hardy (Hunter), or as one female reporter dubs him: "Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo." Joe Hardy promptly leads his team from the cellar to contention and, ultimately, to a pennant race with the New York Yankees. You'd think Joe Hardy and Mr. Applegate would be ecstatic. But, no.
It's that thing about absence and how it makes the heart grow fonder. Joe Hardy is having second thoughts. He misses the wife he'd abandoned, misses his old life as Joe Boyd. He's wandered back into his old neighborhood and managed to rent a room in his old house, all just so he'd be closer to a wife who's now decades older than him. And, of course, all this is stressing out Applegate. Fearing that he might lose out on this soul, he sics the demonic temptress Lola on Joe (She's irresistible, you fool!).
For old-school folks like me, DAMN YANKEES is great fun. This movie rides on the playful, gleeful performances of Ray Walston and Gwen Verdon, and on the songs, several of which have managed to stick with me even after all this time. I savor them all, from Shafer and Hunter's poignant "Goodbye, Old Girl" and the exuberant "(You've Gotta Have) Heart" and "Shoeless Joe from Hannibal, Mo" to Verdon's seductive showstopper "Whatever Lola Wants." And then there's the mambo treat "Who's Got the Pain" (Erp!), also performed by Verdon and partnered up by noted choreographer Bob Fosse (and also Verdon's hubbie).
So, yeah, this movie is tailored more towards comedy and musical numbers, so the baseball sequences aren't exactly what you'd call gritty or suspenseful. However, I dig the mythic, folklorish quality which Joe Hardy achieves, and I'm even reminded a bit of THE NATURAL's Roy Hobbs. Tab Hunter unexpectedly shows a lighthearted personality, and that doesn't hurt. But Ray Walston is exceptional as the beleaguered Devil, and Gwen Verdon really sells her sexy demoness part. Watching these two actors, I can see how the Broadway show ran for an astonishing 1019 performances.
And, for whatever it's worth, the DVD also includes the theatrical trailer which, by the way, trumpets the title of this movie as "What Lola Wants" with "Damn Yankees" in tiny parenthesis right below it.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Best 10 bucks I have ever spent !
Added 10/3/2009
For a little over $ 10 , I got a piece of my childhood back...I have only seen this movie once in my life, and being a child I didn't see just how wonderful it is....and ALL the talent that was there!!!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Damn Yankees
Added 6/2/2009
This is a classic. My husband really enjoys this movie from his youth. Good storyline and a musical taboot. Very enjoyable Tab Hunter and Ray Walston oldie.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
