Damn Yankees (1958)

Jack and I both loved this musical about a middle-aged frustrated baseball fan who makes a deal with the devil so his team can beat the New York Yankees. It's dear to my heart for a lot of reasons, including that the songs and dancing are brilliant. I was a child in a Yankees-loving Manhattan family when I saw it on Broadway and this version came out a few years later with Gwen Verdon as Lola, Ray Walston as Mr. Applegate, Robert Shafer–who has a great singing voice–as the older Joe Boyd, and Jean Stapleton can be seen and heard (her Edith Bunker voice is unmistakable to those of us of a certain age) as Sister Miller, reprising their Broadway roles. Tab Hunter, who was a "dreamy teen idol" of the time, steps into the film version as young Joe Hardy.

Bob Fosse, who choreographed, dances with Verdon in one number, Who's Got the Pain, and someone says, "That was terrific, Fosse," at the end of it. You don't need to rent the whole movie to watch that dance because it's on YouTube. They were married for a while and I have blogged about Fosse/Verdon, the series that was based on their relationship.

Stanley Donen co-directed with George Abbott, who wrote the screenplay, which was adapted from the book of the 1955 musical, co-written by Abbott and Douglas Wallop, and the show won Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Actor (Walston), Best Actress (Verdon), Best Choreography, and more. That musical's book was based on Wallop's 1954 novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant, which was, in turn, based on the 1808 book Faust: Part I by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. 

The original Broadway songs are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross and I do love them. You can stream them on Apple Music and, no doubt, elsewhere, but you will find several other versions so take your pick!

Besides being fans of this score and of baseball in general, we reached so deep into movie archives for this selection because we had tickets to see the updated revival of the musical, which ran for a few months in Washington DC. It was spectacular and is, hopefully, headed to Broadway.

Besides her copious stage work (four Tonys and two other nominations) Verdon (1925-2000) is best known for The Cotton Club (1984), Cocoon (1985) and its sequel (1988), and Marvin's Room (1996). Walston's (1914-2001) long resume includes The Sting (1973), Popeye (1980), Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), 107 episodes of My Favorite Martian (1963-66), and 81 of Picket Fences (1992-96). This was Shafer's (1908-1981) only feature. Stapleton (1923-2013) had a few credits before her 206 episodes of All in the Family and dozens after. Hunter (1931-2018) had many credits as well, including 32 episodes of his own The Tab Hunter Show (1960-61). Fosse (1927-1987) choreographed seven other features and directed four of them, winning the Oscar for directing Cabaret (1972) and nominated for directing Lenny (1974) and All That Jazz (1979), the latter of which was based on his own life story. 

Among Donen's other pictures are the musicals Singin' in the Rain (1952), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), and Funny Face (1957), and the romantic thriller Charade (1963). Abbott (1887-1995) worked as a writer for both stage and screen, including a similar situation with the Broadway (1954) to Hollywood  (1957) adaptation of The Pajama Game, which was also scored by Adler (1921-2102) and Ross (1926-1955). Each of the songwriters was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in the early 1980s.

Damn those Rotten Tomatoes audiences, averaging 69%. Its critics were more forgiving at 79. We watched it on Apple TV on October 24 (we couldn't rent it; only purchase was available, for about $10). It can also be streamed for free with ads on a few platforms. I use justwatch.com to determine where to stream movies and TV.