Damn Yankees (1958)
Average Rating: 6.4/10
Reviews Counted: 16
Fresh: 12 | Rotten: 4
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 9/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 1
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.4/5
User Ratings: 2,741
My Rating
Movie Info
Damn Yankees is a frothy, faithful adaptation of the 1956 Broadway hit. In an amusing slant on the "Faust" legend, aging baseball fan Joe Boyd (Robert Schafer) is given an opportunity to lead his beloved Washington Senators to victory by a devilish gent named Applegate (Ray Walston). Boyd is transformed into handsome young "Shoeless" Joe Hardy from Hannibal, Mo. (and in the process, the part is taken over by Tab Hunter, who's better than everyone said he was back in 1958). Joe becomes the
Sep 26, 1958 Wide
Oct 12, 2004
Warner Home Video
Cast
-
Tab Hunter
Joe Hardy -
Gwen Verdon
Lola -
Ray Walston
Applegate -
Russ Brown
Van Buren -
Shannon Bolin
Meg -
Nathaniel Frey
Smokey -
Jimmy Komack
Rocky -
Robert Shafer
Joe Boyd -
Jean Stapleton
Sister -
Albert Linville
Vernon -
Rae Allen
Gloria -
-
Elizabeth Howell
Doris -
Bob Fosse
Mambo Dancer
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Damn Yankees Trailer & Photos
All Critics (16) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (13) | Rotten (4) | DVD (6)
As a cinemusical, Yankees manages to steal home by a wide margin.
Top CriticThe Damn Yankees team, which ran the score high for three seasons in Broadway's legit ballpark, was reassembled to go to bat in this sparkling film version.
A musical lumbered with too much plot.
Not the equal of Stanley Donen's parallel project, The Pajama Game, but a fine and vigorous film of the Broadway musical nonetheless.
Miss Verdon has the sort of fine, fresh talent that the screen badly needs these days.
A lively celebration of baseball as America's pastime set during an era where the game was at its peak.
Terrific, Oscar-nominated score by Jerry Ross and Richard Adler is electric.
This version of the Broadway hit offers a rare opportunity to see most of the stage performers recreating their roles, plus an early glimpse of the genius of Bob Fosse.
One of the better big-budget music-fests ... mainly because it has the devil and some baseball in it.
While watching Damn Yankees offers many pleasures, none compare to the spectacle of Tab Hunter in the prime of his beauty.
hasn't aged very well
The songs are still engaging, the dance numbers are energetic, the characters are fun, and the story line is pleasingly familiar.
The movie's got a team-load of spunk and spirit that go a long way toward entertaining an audience.
Hard to watch, TV-looking filmed stage play with some good songs and Ray Walston.
It might be one of the more implausible spins on the old legend, but it's certainly one of the most entertaining.
Why did and does Hollywood continue to put non-singers in musicals? No one in this movie has a good voice.
Audience Reviews for Damn Yankees
Super Reviewer
[i]Hi Walter![/i]
[i][color=red]Go back to Boston, you bum![/color][/i]
[i][color=#ff0000][/color][/i]
[color=black]Actually, I'm a Mets fan...but more on that later...[/color]
[font=Century Gothic][/font]
[font=Century Gothic]"Damn Yankees" is a musical about a middle-aged fan named Joe who roots for his beloved Washington Senators every day during the baseball season much to the consternation of his loyal wife. He is frustrated by their lack of success until the devil(a very liverly Ray Walston) makes him an offer to turn him into the best baseball player ever, so he could help his favorite baseball team beat the hated Yankees.[/font]
[font=Century Gothic][/font]
[font=Century Gothic]I was entertained by "Damn Yankees"(otherwise known as the "Barry Bonds Story") but I was surprised that it had more to do with an old-fashioned view of marriage(and avoiding the temptations that could lead a husband down the wrong path) than it was about baseball. That having been said, the character of the female sports writer was definitely ahead of the time. Oh and I could not quite buy Gwen Verdon as the all-time seductress but she sure could dance.[/font][font=Century Gothic] [/font]
[color=blue]Oh and the Mets won today 5-1.[/color]
Super Reviewer
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Latest News on Damn Yankees
March 23, 2010:
Damn Yankees Remake Will Feature Jake Gyllenhaal, New SongsSaying he wants it to "feel like 'Jerry Maguire' with songs," writer/director Todd Graff recently...
February 5, 2010:
Carrey and Gyllenhaal are New Line's Damn YankeesAccording to Deadline Hollywood, New Line is prepping an update on the classic musical "Damn...
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