Damn Yankees (1958 film)
| Damn Yankees | |
|---|---|
 1958 movie poster | |
| Directed by | George Abbott Stanley Donen |
| Written by | George Abbott (play) Douglass Wallop (play & novel) |
| Produced by | George Abbott Stanley Donen Harold Prince (Associate Producer) Robert E. Griffith (Associate Producer) |
| Starring | Tab Hunter Gwen Verdon Ray Walston |
| Cinematography | Harold Lipstein |
| Music by | Richard Adler Jerry Ross |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release dates | September 26, 1958 |
Running time | 111 min. |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
Damn Yankees is a 1958 musical film made by Warner Bros., a modern version of the Faust legend set in 1950 involving the New York Yankees baseball team. The film is based on the 1955 Broadway musical of the same name.
The film version was directed by George Abbott, as he did the earlier stage version, with assistance from Stanley Donen. With the exception of Tab Hunter in the role of Joe Hardy (replacing Stephen Douglass), the Broadway principals reprised their stage roles. The film is very similar to the stage version. A notable difference between film and stage versions, however, was Gwen Verdon's performance of the song, “A Little Brains”. For the film version, Verdon’s suggestive hip-movements (as choreographed by Bob Fosse and performed on stage) were considered too risqué for a mainstream American film in 1958, and so, in the film , she simply pauses at these points.
Cast (principals)
- Joe Hardy -- Tab Hunter
- Lola -- Gwen Verdon
- Mr. Applegate -- Ray Walston
- Benny Van Buren -- Russ Brown
- Joe Boyd -- Robert Shafer
- Mrs. Meg Boyd -- Shannon Bolin
- Sister Miller -- Jean Stapleton
- Mambo Dancer (uncredited)-- Bob Fosse
- Uncredited in archive footage: Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Moose Skowren, and other New York Yankees baseball players, Art Passarella (umpire)
Song list
- "Six Months out of Every Year" -- Joe Hardy, Meg Hardy and chorus
- "Goodbye, Old Girl" -- Joe Boyd and Joe Hardy
- "Heart" -- Baseball players (Smokey, Benny Van Buren, Rocky, Vernon)
- "Shoeless Joe From Hannibal, Mo"--Gloria Thorpe and Baseball players
- "There's Something About An Empty Chair"--Meg Boyd
- "A Little Brains, A Little Talent""--Lola
- "Whatever Lola Wants"--Lola
- "Those Were The Good Old Days"--Mr. Applegate
- "Who's Got the Pain"--Lola and Mambo dancer (Bob Fosse)
- "Two Lost Souls"--Lola and Joe Hardy
- "There's Something About An Empty Chair (reprise)--Joe Boyd and Meg Boyd
Awards and nominations
- Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture--Ray Heindorf (nominated)
- BAFTA Film Award
- Most Promising Newcomer -- Gwen Verdon (nominated)
- Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (nominated)
- Best Motion Picture - Musical (nominated)
- Best Written American Musical--George Abbott (nominated)