Fear Strikes Out

Amazon.com

From its early scenes of a young Jimmy Piersall literally suffering his father's abusive determination that the boy should play baseball, Robert Mulligan's 1957 Fear Strikes Out becomes more about mental health than love of the game. But this is a compelling drama about the real-life Piersall's gradual breakdown one season before a national audience, the legacy of his domineering dad's overbearing ways. (Karl Malden plays Piersall's father.) Mulligan (To Kill a Mockingbird) brings his usual, civilized mix of poignancy and dramatic urgency to the proceedings, keeping any viewer (sports fan or not) involved. Perkins looks out of place on the field and is meant to appear that way; his fragility and intensity underscore the sad tale of Piersall's woes. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Makes you think twice.......2007-04-01

Excellent movie for all parents with children playing
any sport to watch.

Pretty good movie about baseball, and then some........2006-10-13

Karl Malden and Anthony Perkins make a good pair for the father and son Piersall in this movie. Malden had a slew of movies like this where he played a heavy, in this flick the domineering dad that sends Perkins over the edge. And to say Perkins isn't Gary Cooper or Piersall not Gehrig. Well, duh! Not the point of this movie to make a warm loving character study as that of Gehrig in "Pride of the Yankees." And in that effort this movie is totally successful. Not all baseball stories end in warm touching moments, or the game winning walk-off home run that sends the fans a frenzy. Malden is excellent as Piersall's dad. And Perkins plays an edgy Piersall that can only garner the empathy of the viewing audience. I pesonally asked Jimmy Piersall if ths movie was an accurate depiction of how things actually occurred. He responded by saying that everything except for the scene where he climbed the backstop- the scene where he went over the edge and on his way to treatment- was pretty much on the money. And he said so with the humility that only Jimmy Piersall could respond with. He also chuckled when i asked if there was a deleted scene where Malden stopped him on his way out the door and said, "Jimmy. Here's your glove. Don't leave home without it." All that aside, this is a good movie, albeit an uncomfortable one to watch.

Not "Pride of the Yankees".......2006-07-05

Starring Tony Perkins perfectly miscast as a major league ballplayer. What can you say? The Red Sox have Jimmy Pirsall, Tony Perkins and "Fear Strikes OUT". The Yankees have Lou Gehrig, Gary Cooper and "Pride of the Yankees".

Fear Strikes Out.......2005-08-12

Perkins plays young Pearsall with just the right vulnerability, and Malden does a breathtaking turn as his driven Dad. An over-looked classic from young Mulligan, who'd go on to direct "To Kill A Mockingbird" five years later.

A Perfect Bookend to "Field of Dreams".......2003-05-11

For every person who has a warm fuzzy memory of playing catch with Dad, there is the ying-yang expereince of those abused by fathers living vicariously through their sons' little league experiences. Such is the essence of "Fear Strikes Out".
I first saw this movie on late night TV about 20 years ago. It scared the bejeezus out of me. Carl Malden gave a truly frightening performance. However, he was matched scene-for-scene by Anthony Perkins. I remember one early scene in the movie where young Jimmy Piersall is playing catch, rather poorly, with his father. Carl starts yelling. I was getting a pain in the pit of my stomach. Young Jimmy goes behind a shed, I think, to fish out the passed ball he just missed. Tony Perkins stops, his face contorted in angst. This scene stayed with me much like the Flying Monkees in the "Wizard of Oz" or the head-turning scene in "The Exorcist".

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