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Damn Yankees

Play trailer Poster for Damn Yankees 1958 1h 50m Musical Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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80% Tomatometer 20 Reviews 69% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Joe Boyd, an aging Washington Senators fan, would sell his soul for the Senators to beat the New York Yankees and win the pennant. Enter Applegate (Ray Walston), who offers to turn Boyd into Joe Hardy (Tab Hunter), a powerful young baseball player, in exchange for his soul. When Boyd agrees, he becomes Hardy and leads the Senators on a winning streak. When he starts to miss his wife, though, and questions the deal, Applegate sends temptress Lola (Gwen Verdon) into the mix.

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Damn Yankees

Critics Reviews

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TIME Magazine 03/16/2011
As a cinemusical, Yankees manages to steal home by a wide margin. Go to Full Review
Variety Staff Variety 03/26/2009
The 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. Go to Full Review
Tom Milne Time Out 01/26/2006
A musical lumbered with too much plot. Go to Full Review
Nick Rogers Midwest Film Journal Feb 25
3/5
An uncharacteristically restrained point-and-shoot that at least often points at greatness. It may not be a perfect game, but Ray Walston, Gwen Verdon and Bob Fosse make it a quality start. Go to Full Review
Moira Walsh The Catholic World 08/24/2023
The baseball jokes are funny, the lyrics apt, the players expert and, most important, the mood fast and unpretentious The sexy dancing and demeanor of Gwen Verdon are in a class by themselves. Go to Full Review
Mattie Lucas From the Front Row 04/13/2021
3/4
While the film's proscenium blocking keeps it from from reaching the heights of Donen's Singin' in the Rain, Bob Fosse's choreography is allowed to unfold organically with minimal directorial interference. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Scott R @ScottR Dec 1 NYT 1000 movies list. A fun musical about a selling your soul for your baseball team to win the pennant. I loved that it was the DC Senators. I only wish they were still called that. Most of the wholesome entertainment was good, but it fell short with most of the musical numbers and dancing. The vixen witch was an odd character who was supposed to be enticing, but came off flat. It was harmless, so maybe that’s for the best? Saw on tubi. See more Alec B @Alec97 12/14/2023 Deserves more attention for it's unflinching weirdness. Yeah, Tab Hunter is kind of a drag but Gwen Verdon and Ray Walston more than compensate for him. See more Joel H @RT47793553 11/03/2023 Damn Yankees wasn't at all like I expected it to be. I honestly didn't know that the story was centered around baseball. I had supposed it was going to be something regarding the north versus the south. I also didn't expect the plot, songs, and dance numbers to be so goofy. However, it's an enjoyable kind of goofy. I was particularly amused by the choreography, which, of course, was done by the legendary Bob Fosse. This musical is a unique take on Faust, though this story doesn't take itself too seriously. It's a stage production on film, set in an innocent era, with a devilish sense of humor. See more Blobbo X @Blobbo 07/31/2023 Why is classic? Not know. Is musical but music mostly bad. Not worth 2 hours of life. Better watching regular boring baseball. See more Rachel K @RT17304933 07/10/2022 My favorite song from this musical is Two Lost Souls because I'll be singing it at the talent show someday. See more Autumn M @RT26919073 01/31/2022 I went into this movie blind, not knowing more than I had managed to glean from a blurb from a book on musicals. Damn Yankees, however, is not your typical light, musical from the mid-century. Full of adult themes, it has more in common with the modern musicals of Sweeney Todd and Chicago than the Rodger and Hammerstein hits from this era . The plot revolves around a baseball-obsessed fan of the Washington Senators who wishes that his favorite team could beat the Yankees. The devil in the form of Mr. Applegate appears to grant him his wish in exchange for his soul and hijinks ensue. The music was very forgettable, with the exception of Lola's numbers, and the last half of the movie dragged on with unnecessary complications. I would pass on this one. See more Read all reviews
Damn Yankees

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Movie Info

Synopsis Joe Boyd, an aging Washington Senators fan, would sell his soul for the Senators to beat the New York Yankees and win the pennant. Enter Applegate (Ray Walston), who offers to turn Boyd into Joe Hardy (Tab Hunter), a powerful young baseball player, in exchange for his soul. When Boyd agrees, he becomes Hardy and leads the Senators on a winning streak. When he starts to miss his wife, though, and questions the deal, Applegate sends temptress Lola (Gwen Verdon) into the mix.
Director
George Abbott, Stanley Donen
Producer
George Abbott, Stanley Donen
Screenwriter
George Abbott
Production Co
Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Genre
Musical, Comedy
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 26, 1958, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
May 31, 2019
Runtime
1h 50m
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