Damn Yankees

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Damn Yankees

1958

1h 50m

Musical

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

79%

Tomatometer

19 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.

TIME Magazine

As a cinemusical, Yankees manages to steal home by a wide margin.

Mar 16, 2011

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Variety Staff

Variety

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.

Mar 26, 2009

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Tom Milne

Time Out

A musical lumbered with too much plot.

Jan 26, 2006

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Moira Walsh

The Catholic World

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.

Aug 24, 2023

Full Review

Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

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.

Rated: 3/4

Apr 13, 2021

Full Review

Tony Sloman

Radio Times

The problem lies with Tab Hunter in the difficult leading role: to put it mildly, he lacks pizzazz. There's still a lot of fun to be gleaned, though: Gwen Verdon is a knockout as Lola, and Ray Walston is arguably the definitive movie Devil, Mr Applegate.

Rated: 3/5

May 12, 2014

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Alec B

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.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/14/23

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Joel H

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.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

11/07/23

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Joe S

Dreadful plot attempt to parallel "Faust," mugging actors, godawful songs with the exception of "You Gotta Have Heart." Tab Hunter, bless his handsome soul, does his best in this clown show. Bob Fosse dancing is a treat, though in a pointless number that seems to have been desperately inserted in the movie to wake people up. I do not get Gwen Verdon at all. Some very nice location shooting at the old Wrigley stadium in L.A. The live Broadway production had to have been better than this mess.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

08/06/23

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Blobbo X

Why is classic? Not know. Is musical but music mostly bad. Not worth 2 hours of life. Better watching regular boring baseball.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

07/31/23

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Audience Member

My favorite song from this musical is Two Lost Souls because I'll be singing it at the talent show someday.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

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john g

Gwen Verdon takes the movie with her dancing, singing, acting, comedy, etc. Tab Hunter surprises by being much better than you expect. Walston does it like a pro.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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George Abbott

Director

Stanley Donen

Director

Tab Hunter

Joe Hardy

Gwen Verdon

Lola

Ray Walston

Mr. Applegate

Russ Brown

Benny Van Buren

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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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