Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

BeSummers Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Scott LeBrun Producer Alan J. Pakula and director Robert Mulligan fare well in this early effort that tells the real-life story of baseball star Jimmy Piersall. Starting in his childhood, Jimmy is relentlessly prodded by his loving but pushy father John in the pursuit of success as a major leaguer. Unfortunately, all this prodding has made Jimmy a nervous wreck. He acts out on the field, ultimately having a meltdown and requiring a stay in a mental institution.The compelling material is sensitively handled by Mulligan, Pakula, and the two stars, young Anthony Perkins (playing Jimmy) and Karl Malden (playing John). Perkins, in what was surely good training ground for his later Norman Bates performance, is appealing. You feel for this character and want to see him not only succeed as a ballplayer but be able to exorcise his demons. The supporting performances are decent, from Norma Moore as Jimmy's wife Mary, Perry Wilson as his mother, and Adam Williams as the caring psychiatrist Dr. Brown. But this film truly belongs to Malden. Commendably, his John Piersall may not be the most understanding or sympathetic father in the world, but we can see that he just wants what he feels is best for his son.There really isn't much baseball action in "Fear Strikes Out", as the film concentrates on the drama taking place off the playing field. Both Elmer Bernsteins' music score and the cinematography by Haskell B. Boggs aid greatly in creation of the mood. The filmmaking is very straightforward and to the point, letting the script and the acting ultimately do the really heavy lifting.Worth seeing, although it may have more value for people who aren't baseball fans; those who are take issue with the lack of prowess that Perkins displays.Eight out of 10.

classicsoncall My favorite series of baseball cards as a kid was the 1958 Topps set, and I remember having a Jim Piersall in the mix. So that was two years after this film came out, and I never knew about Piersall's struggle with mental illness until a little while ago, prompting me to seek out this picture. Once the story gets under way, it reveals a rather simplistic yet very real trauma in the life of young Piersall, a domineering father vicariously living his dreams through the efforts and success of his son. Karl Malden and Anthony Perkins effectively portray their respective characters, and the story pretty much see-saws it's way between Jimmy's attempts to live up to his father's expectations and generally failing to meet them. When Jimmy proudly declares he's third in the minor leagues in hitting, Dad's response is "Well, that isn't first". There's only so much of that you can take.Interestingly, there were understated references to the idea that mom Piersall (Perry Wilson) was also troubled with bouts of depression and mental illness. Her frequent absences from home and family was mentioned a couple times, and I took that as a subtle hint that young Piersall might have been prone to his condition by virtue of heredity and reinforced by the demands of the father. Another reviewer mentions this, and though I haven't verified it myself, it was something that crossed my mind while watching the film.One thing that could have been handled better by the film makers would have been to put the story into a historical time line. As I mentioned earlier, I can place Piersall in context playing baseball during my own youth, but it would have been helpful if the movie offered places and dates with on screen graphics. For example, Piersall reached the Majors in 1950 after signing on with the Red Sox organization a couple of years earlier. No mention of teammates or well known opposing players was ever mentioned, thereby missing an opportunity to depict how others around him were reacting to his behavior. We did get that one fight near the dugout and the climb up the fencing to set up his hospitalization but a little more context would have been helpful.I thought Anthony Perkins was pretty effective in his portrayal here; he gets those spooky eyes every now and then like the time he found himself alone at night in the empty stadium. I could see how it was the sort of thing that would recommend him for the role of stuffing birds in Hitchcock's "Psycho". As for the real life Jimmy Piersall who's still alive, he went on to a fairly successful big league career encompassing seventeen seasons. It was with a bit of whimsical insight that he wrote in his autobiography - "Probably the best thing that ever happened to me was going nuts. Who ever heard of Jimmy Piersall, until that happened?"

MARIO GAUCI This is one of a myriad sporting biopics made by Hollywood around this time – and whose appeal didn't really travel to other countries because the sport involved (or, for that matter, the star player whose life story we're supposed to be viewing) is only appreciated by Americans: in this case, Jim Piersall and baseball. Anyway, while not exactly better than similar biopics, the film is sufficiently different (and therefore interesting) in view of its inherent psychological elements dealing as it does with Piersall's mental breakdown.The pre-requisite Method performances ensure a rather melodramatic approach and I'm quite surprised how Anthony Perkins' excellent central performance did not win him any accolades, whereas director Mulligan was nominated for the Directors' Guild Award for his work here when, in hindsight, I cannot help thinking how much better the film would have been in the hands of, say, Elia Kazan or Nicholas Ray. His handling is competent but predictable – down to the inspirational final shot; as for the the scenes at the mental institution, these don't garner as much power as they ought to, since it's made obvious from the start that Piersall's problem lies in his troubled relationship with his bullying father (Karl Malden). Even so, Elmer Bernstein's fine score is a definite asset to the film.

bkoganbing As a previous reviewer said Anthony Perkins did not exactly look like Frank Merriwell out on the field during the baseball scenes, but the film is about the true story of Boston Red Sox centerfielder Jimmy Piersall who sustained a nervous breakdown and then came back to have a pretty respectable major league career.Showing the personal road Piersall took towards that breakdown is where Anthony Perkins gives one of his great film performances. This film is a lot like I'll Cry Tomorrow where Jo Van Fleet was pushing the career of her daughter Susan Hayward as Lillian Roth so she could have the success that her daughter had vicariously.That's where the other great performance in the film comes in. Karl Malden is the baseball father, someone with the same dreams, that his son become a major league ballplayer. Malden's success involved being on his factory team, he wanted more and when he couldn't have it drove his son relentlessly to learn the skills and make the grade. But it was some price for Piersall to pay.I remember Jimmy Piersall as a player when I was a lad. He played for the Red Sox in the years of the Casey Stengel Yankee juggernaut. He was a good contact hitter, didn't hit much for power, but played a flawless centerfield. The Red Sox in the Fifties had little to cheer about. There was a pitching staff of Mel Parnell and a bunch of nobodies. There infield was from hunger with the exception of third baseman Frank Malzone who came up in 1956 the last year Parnell played. But the outfield gave New England something to cheer about with Piersall in center, Jackie Jensen in right, and Ted Williams playing with his back to the Green Monster in left. Piersall covered so much ground in center field he made it real easy on both Williams and Jensen. The Red Sox let him go to the expansion Los Angeles Angels in 1961 where he finished his career. Still he's a Red Sox legend.The story had been previously done on TV's Climax Theater with Tab Hunter as Piersall. In his recent memoirs Tab said that he had hoped to do the screen version. At the time he was involved in a relationship with Anthony Perkins. Unbeknownst to Hunter, Perkins lobbied and got the part in the film. That sort of put a damper on the relationship.I also echo other reviewers in wishing that some of Piersall's teammates and others in the Red Sox organization had been portrayed. Only Joe Cronin who was the General Manager at the time is shown on the screen. Legendary owner Tom Yawkey is not portrayed and that is a pity.Interestingly enough Piersall may have gotten his chance with the Red Sox because of Joe Cronin's racist policies. The Red Sox were the last team in the major leagues to integrate. I remember that very well when Pumpsie Green became their first black player two years after Fear Strikes Out was released. Fear Strikes Out is unfortunately a two person show with Perkins and Malden the only really developed characters in the film. But those are two very talented persons indeed.