Damn Yankees
Overview
An exciting mix of rough-and-tumble baseball with lively song-and-dance numbers makes this musical a home run. When middle-aged Joe, number one Washington Senators fan, gets a deal from the devil and is transformed into a hotshot rookie baseball player, the Senators have their first real chance to beat the Yankees and capture the pennant. But the devil's secret agenda is to pull the rug out from under the fans' feet just before the Senators win, hopefully sparking massive depression. Joe's yearning for his wife throws a wrench into the devil's devious works, encouraging the devil to call in Lola, the best vamp in his staff. Joe and Lola warily dance around each other, he fascinated by her physical charms, she mesmerized by his honest goodness. With so much pressure on him, can Joe hold it together long enough to beat those damn Yankees, win the pennant for the Senators...and keep his soul?
Awards:
Main Cast & Crew:
Tab Hunter
Ray Walston
Details
- Format: Blu-ray (Full Frame, Amaray Case)
- Run Time: 111
- Color Format: Color
- UPC: 883929719617
- Genre: MUSICALS & CAST RECORDINGS
- Rating: Not Rated
- Release Date: March 2021
Movie Reviews
Synopsis:
Joe, the Washington Senator's middle-aged number one fan, agrees to let the devil fulfill his dreams by turning him into a young, handsome slugger who could help the Senators finally capture the pennant. As the Senators climb higher in the standings, questions arise about the mysterious home-run hitter from nowhere while Joe finds his fidelity tested by the devil-employed seductress, Lola. Put-upon wives of baseball fans, the Senators themselves, and the devilishly lovely Lola belt out the film's hit songs, including "Heart," "Whatever Lola Wants," and "Two Lost Souls," while strutting their stuff to Bob Fosse's marvelous choreography.
Notes:
DAMN YANKEES ran for three very successful years on Broadway in its original incarnation (most of the Broadway cast was used in the film), which was followed up by a successful revival in the late 1990s.
The film's memorable "Whatever Lola Wants" mambo number is danced by star Gwen Verdon and the film's choreographer, Bob Fosse, who were married at the time. Fosse continued to do stage and screen choreography but also went on to win the 1972 Best Director Academy Award for CABARET and to direct his own autobiographical film ALL THAT JAZZ in 1979.
Reviews:
"...Bob Fosse, who choreographed, has one great on-screen number with Verdon..." - 04/13/1990 USA Today, p.3D
"[T]here are still reasons to revisit this musty old treasure..." - 10/22/2004 Entertainment Weekly, p.79
"[The film] has baseball as its theme, but numbers like 'Whatever Lola Wants' will entertain even non-sports fans." - 08/14/2018 Los Angeles Times
Customers Also Bought
- 1
