{"id":44013,"date":"2019-07-22T10:56:57","date_gmt":"2019-07-22T17:56:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=44013"},"modified":"2022-05-22T22:52:26","modified_gmt":"2022-05-23T05:52:26","slug":"fear-strikes-out-1957","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=44013","title":{"rendered":"Fear Strikes Out (1957)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;You want them to call you yellow? If that&#8217;s what you want, you&#8217;re no son of mine.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Poster-198x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-44014\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Poster-198x300.jpg 198w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Poster-85x128.jpg 85w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Poster.jpg 661w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nPromising baseball player Jim Piersall (Anthony Perkins) is mentored by his ambitious and hard-driving father (Karl Malden) until he makes it to the Red Sox &#8212; but despite the love and concern of his new wife (Norma Moore), Piersall heads steadily towards a mental breakdown.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Anthony Perkins Films<\/li>\n<li>Baseball<\/li>\n<li>Biopics<\/li>\n<li>Father and Child<\/li>\n<li>Karl Malden Films<\/li>\n<li>Mental Breakdown<\/li>\n<li>Robert Mulligan Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review:<\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that this &#8220;interesting but dated adaptation of the first [best-selling] autobiography by controversial baseball player <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jimmy_Piersall\">Jimmy Piersall<\/a>&#8221; depicts his &#8220;mental collapse&#8221; as &#8220;the result of trying to live up to his father&#8217;s impossibly high expectations for him as a player.&#8221; He notes that &#8220;in effect, this film is rooted in the youth-problem pictures of the fifties: it is the reverse of <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5513\"><em>Rebel Without a Cause<\/em><\/a>, in which a troubled boy can&#8217;t express to his <em>weak<\/em> father his desperate need to receive some fatherly advice for once&#8221;, while &#8220;in Piersall&#8217;s case, he can&#8217;t express to his <em>strong<\/em> father his desperate need to stop being barraged with fatherly advice.&#8221; Peary adds that &#8220;with his display of nervous energy, emotional instability, paranoia, pent-up rage and finally, strait-jacketed catatonia&#8221;, Perkins &#8220;may well have been using Piersall to prepare himself for Norman Bates&#8221; in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5177\"><em>Psycho<\/em> (1960)<\/a> &#8212; indeed, his performance here remains potent evidence of his capacity to take on that role of a lifetime. Like Norman, Jimmy is severely (psychotically) hampered by parental pressure &#8212; though in this case, he emerges sane and whole after support from both his wife and consistent medical care. While the biopic storyline (naturally) plays fast and loose with the facts, the narrative is tightly constructed and refreshingly respectful of mental illness; Malden&#8217;s figure (purportedly exaggerated for the sake of dramatic tension) isn&#8217;t demonized, but rather presented as someone unable to see beyond his own vision of success for his son. While Peary (an enormous baseball fan) argues that the &#8220;film looks flat and phony, especially during the baseball scenes&#8221;, most film fanatics likely won&#8217;t be bothered by this. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Anthony Perkins as Jimmy Piersall<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Perkins.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Perkins.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-44015\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Perkins.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Perkins-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Perkins-300x165.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Karl Malden as John Piersall<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Malden.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Malden.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-44018\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Malden.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Malden-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Malden-300x165.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Norma Moore as Mary Piersall<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Moore.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Moore.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-44019\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Moore.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Moore-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Moore-300x165.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Haskell Boggs&#8217; cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Cinematography2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Cinematography2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-44017\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Cinematography2.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Cinematography2-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Cinematography2-300x165.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"352\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-44016\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Cinematography.png 640w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Cinematography-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Fear-Strikes-Out-Cinematography-300x165.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for Perkins&#8217; performance and as a fine film overall. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Noteworthy Performance(s)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0050383\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s732fear.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1957\/03\/21\/archives\/screen-truelife-story-of-jim-piersall-fear-strikes-out-has-debut-at.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/74701\/fear-strikes-out#articles-reviews\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;You want them to call you yellow? If that&#8217;s what you want, you&#8217;re no son of mine.&#8221; Synopsis: Promising baseball player Jim Piersall (Anthony Perkins) is mentored by his ambitious and hard-driving father (Karl Malden) until he makes it to the Red Sox &#8212; but despite the love and concern of his new wife (Norma Moore), Piersall heads steadily towards a mental breakdown. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Anthony Perkins Films Baseball Biopics Father and Child Karl Malden Films Mental&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=44013\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44013"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44013\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84302,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44013\/revisions\/84302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}