Grimerlana Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Candida It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

MartinHafer Perhaps I liked this film a bit more than a lot of folks because I grew up cheering for the hapless Washington Senators--a team that hadn't been in the World Series since 1933 (and they lost!). All I know is that I enjoyed the film.The film begins with middle-aged Joe Boyd doing what he loves most--watching his beloved Senators on television. Like any Senators fan, he's miserable because, as usual, the team's losing and they haven't a prayer. Out of frustration, Joe blurts out that he'd sell his soul if the team could win the American League pennant. And, just like that, the Devil (Ray Walston) appears and offers him just that. He'll make Joe the greatest player in history for only a minor price...his soul! But Joe is too smart to just agree to this and negotiates an escape clause--a clause his new friend has no intention of honoring. Although Joe (now called Joe Hardy and is played by Tab Hunter) IS a sensation and the team does seem destined to win it all, this is when the dirty tricks begin--and the first dirty trick is Lola (Gwen Verdon)--a vamp who will destroy him. Can Joe survive with his soul intact and/or the team win it all? The plot of this musical is a reworking of the old Faust story (by the likes of Marlow and Goethe). And, if you're familiar with these tales, you might anticipate how it all ends. Regardless, the film is a lot of fun with a silly and enjoyable performance by Walston (who not once is referred to as Satan--just Mr. Applegate). The musical numbers are mostly very good, though several of the singers really could not sing--and is a bit reminiscent of "Paint Your Wagon" in that department. While most of the songs are great, "Who's Got the Pain" is irrelevant to the plot--completely irrelevant. "Two Lost Sheep" is not as irrelevant but a bit weak. Better songs are "Whatever Lola Wants" and "A Little Brains, A Little Talent" (both by Gwen Verdon). Overall, a very enjoyable film that kept me entertained from start to finish. Not great but very good.

dimplet Turn the clock back 54 years, to 1958. Dwight Eisenhower is President, and the Yankees have hitter Mickey Mantle, pitcher Whitey Ford and catcher Yogi Berra. If anyone has made a pact with the devil, to some it would seem to be these immortal Yankees. There are only eight teams to a MLB league, so the dominant Yankees can certainly frustrate other American League fans.In the 1950s, musicals, movies and TV shows could be a bit silly and escapist, and Damn Yankees! is consistent with this genre. To those who say the acting is not realistic, remember this is a musical, and the storyline is hardly realistic, so it is natural to twist the realism dial pretty far from plumb. Aside from Rodgers & Hammerstein, that's the way most musicals were made. The core theme is what makes this so appealing: An aging man who dreamt of playing major league baseball gets his chance, along with the opportunity to best the hated Yankees. Add in the classic pact with the devil plot, which, while some here point to the Faust legend and Goethe, also has its American roots in Washington Irving's "The Devil and Tom Walker," and Stephen Vincent Benét's "The Devil and Daniel Webster," which employs a sort of escape clause. From a more modern perspective, we see echoes in "The Natural," and the sadly realistic pact with illegal steroids. So the storyline is strong.As to the choice of Gwen Verdon, who was 33 years old at the time, and on our digital versions and by today's standards looks even older, all I can say is she looked pretty good to me when I was a kid watching on an old TV. Perhaps they didn't want to overdo the sexual aspect with someone truly hot, as this was the 1950s and intended as family fare. After all, Joe does give up baseball and Lola to go back home to his old wife in the end. A modern viewer expects more sexual tension here, and in a scorcher remake might not be surprised to see Joe stick with his Lola. Perhaps the most interesting performance, retrospectively, is the introduction of Edith Bunker, I mean Jean Stapleton. What a character! Gwen Verdon resurfaces as a surprisingly hot dance therapist in a senior citizen's home in Cocoon. Ray Walston and Russ Brown also appeared together in the 1958 musical "South Pacific." The most artistic performance is the mambo with Verdon and Bob Fosse. It hearkens back three decades to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers numbers, while having a modern twist. However, it has no real connection to the story. The rest of the choreography is weak. Compare the singing-dancing baseball players here to those in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. I don't know what viewers expect from the music, but this was above average for the 50s, rising above most mechanical Broadway musical fare. I think there are some memorable numbers here. But this was a different musical era. And it's not The Music Man or The Sound of Music. Clearly, some modern viewers are not going to like this movie because of the corny acting. But if you like old musicals or old TV shows, or are a baseball fan, Damn Yankees! is worth seeing. Just don't look at it too critically.

hdr93 I'm sorry but I don't understand why this film has as high a rating as it does. This is one of the worst films I've ever seen. The songs were lame, the dancing was horrible and the acting went beyond bad. Now, I really don't have anything against musicals, in fact there are many musicals I love, but this crossed the line between stupid and just unbearable. I don't suggest this film unless you enjoy dumb predictable stories, bad acting, boring dancing, and a plain bad movie experience. The only reason I gave it 2 stars is because it made me laugh once. Thats pretty bad. The rest of the humor was extremely stupid and unfunny. I don't get how it got all those good votes. It deserves much much lower. It was one of those film that while watching it you realize, oh my god, there was no effort at all put into this film

bkoganbing Damn Yankees was one of two Broadway shows written by the team of Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, the other being The Pajama Game which got made into films almost immediately upon the cessation of the Broadway run. Damn Yankees ran in the 1955-1957 season for 1019 performances and both Gwen Verdon and Ray Walston continued their roles from Broadway. However the protagonist Joe Boyd/Joe Hardy part, the middle aged real estate salesman who is a fanatic baseball fan of the lowly Washington Senators, was played by Tab Hunter in the Joe Hardy persona. As in that other Broadway film My Fair Lady it was felt that one of the leads should go to a bona fide movie name in that case Audrey Hepburn in this one Tab Hunter.In his memoirs Hunter said that he was apprehensive about taking over a musical lead because he admitted he was no singer. But the arrangements were certainly done to accommodate his limited range and he acquits himself well. He certainly does look well in the baseball scenes and even keeps up with Gwen Verdon.Gwen Verdon like Mitzi Gaynor came along in the Fifties just when Hollywood was slowing down with the making of musicals due to the decline of the studio system. Gwen did such other leads on Broadway as Sweet Charity, New Girl in Town, and Redhead, but only with Damn Yankees was she allowed to go to Hollywood and repeat her stage performance. Gwen like Mitzi was a fabulous dancer and in the Thirties and Forties she would have become acclaimed film name.Ray Walston got his career break in the part of Mr. Applegate the devil's identity for this film. Back when I was a lad and first saw Damn Yankees in the theater, I was enthralled by Walston's performance and became a fan until the day he died. Walston plays the devil like a spoiled child and there might just be some theological justification for that.The big hit songs from Damn Yankees was Gwen Verdon's seduction number and dance, Whatever Lola Wants. Few people ever on stage and screen could move like her.The second and even bigger hit was Heart, sung her by Russ Brown and some of the other actors playing hapless Washington Senator players under their eternally optimistic manager Brown. The song was a big million seller for Eddie Fisher who was at the height of his vocal career then.Damn Yankees the film was released in 1958. In 1960 the original Washington Senators played their last year in Washington, DC. For the poor fans of the Senators it was a double blow. The team was just beginning to jell as a contender and in 1965 they did in fact in their new home in Minneapolis/St.Paul as the Minnesota Twins did win the American League pennant as the Yankee dynasty crumbled at last.In their place came another new Washington Senator franchise which continued in the second division ways that Washington knew so well and that fans like Joe Boyd were used to. They played their last season in the capital in 1971 and the capital was without Major League baseball until 2005 when the Montreal Expos moved and became the Washington Nationals. I'm afraid we may never see the name Senators attached to a Washington team again. The Texas Rangers have the name copyrighted.Still the Nationals in the other league are doing their best to hold up the Washington tradition of first in war, first in peace and last in now the National League East. Washington saw three pennants in 1924, 1925, and 1933 and one World Series winner in 1924.They might just need another Joe Hardy to move the team. Let's hope someone doesn't have to make an arrangement with Mr. Applegate to make it possible to beat those Damn Yankees.