☰
Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Fear Strikes Out

Play trailer Poster for Fear Strikes Out Released Apr 20, 1957 1h 40m Biography Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
83% Tomatometer 24 Reviews 76% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Ever since Jimmy Piersall (Anthony Perkins) was a boy, his baseball-obsessed father (Karl Malden) has pushed the sport on him. Trying to live vicariously through his son, the elder Piersall makes Jimmy eat, sleep and breathe baseball with destructive determination. But once Jimmy achieves his father's goal and makes it to the major leagues, he begins to unravel. After Jimmy suffers a breakdown, it is unclear whether he will ever be able to play the sport again.
Watch on Fandango at Home Stream Now

Where to Watch

Fear Strikes Out

Fear Strikes Out

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Based on the true story of troubled baseball star Jimmy Piersall, Fear Strikes Out is an emotionally compelling drama featuring excellent performances from Anthony Perkins and Karl Malden.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More (24)
Richard Brody The New Yorker [Mulligan] reflects an intense sensitivity, a romanticism of vulnerability and innocence that flashes a political edge. Apr 5, 2019 Full Review Ty Burr Entertainment Weekly Fear holds up well, and the climactic showdown between father and son offers a tremendously appealing resolution. Rated: A- Mar 4, 2011 Full Review TIME Magazine Fear Strikes Out rolls Frank Merriwell and Sigmund Freud into a ball and then lines it out for a solid hit. Mar 4, 2011 Full Review Clyde Gilmour Maclean's Magazine Anthony Perkins, Hollywood's most ballyhooed new star since James Dean, justifies most of his press agents' blurbs by the power and sincerity of his performance here... Oct 29, 2019 Full Review Tony Sloman Radio Times Director Robert Mulligan's feature film debut is a harrowing and intense biopic of Boston Red Sox baseball star Jim Piersall, superbly portrayed by Anthony Perkins. Rated: 4/5 May 6, 2014 Full Review Michael E. Grost Classic Film and Television Harrowing look at pressures on a young ballplayer. Aug 16, 2012 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More (44)
Steve D Solid acting horrible script. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 07/08/23 Full Review Audience Member The best sports movie ever made! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Great acting from Anthony Perkins and Karl Malden, but otherwise it wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be. Just an OK biopic drama that is worth seeing once. (First and only viewing - 4/10/2018) Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review ashley h Fear Strikes Out is a decent film. It is about the life of Jimmy Piersall, who battled mental illness to achieve stardom in major league baseball. Anthony Perkins and Karl Malden give good performances. The screenplay is a little slow in places. Robert Mulligan did an alright job directing this movie. I liked this motion picture because of the drama. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Great GREAT acting and stuck pretty well to the original story. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Audience Member Pretty darn good! Malden is great as the overbearing sports dad! And Perkins really owns his role and flashes a bit of his Norman Bates to come! Poor kid! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Fear Strikes Out

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

View All

Robert Mulligan

Director

Anthony Perkins

Jim Piersall

Karl Malden

John Piersall

Norma Moore

Mary Piersall

Adam Williams

Doctor Brown

Perry Wilson

Mrs. John Piersall

More Like This

View All
Somebody Up There Likes Me 86% 86% Somebody Up There Likes Me Watchlist The Wings of Eagles 40% 56% The Wings of Eagles Watchlist Man of a Thousand Faces 80% 78% Man of a Thousand Faces Watchlist The Long Gray Line 90% 73% The Long Gray Line Watchlist The Stratton Story 89% 79% The Stratton Story Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

Fear Strikes Out

Fear Strikes Out (1957) Fear Strikes Out (1957) Fear Strikes Out (1957) Fear Strikes Out (1957) Fear Strikes Out (1957) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Ever since Jimmy Piersall (Anthony Perkins) was a boy, his baseball-obsessed father (Karl Malden) has pushed the sport on him. Trying to live vicariously through his son, the elder Piersall makes Jimmy eat, sleep and breathe baseball with destructive determination. But once Jimmy achieves his father's goal and makes it to the major leagues, he begins to unravel. After Jimmy suffers a breakdown, it is unclear whether he will ever be able to play the sport again.
Director
Robert Mulligan
Producer
Alan J. Pakula
Screenwriter
Ted Berkman, Raphael Blau
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Paramount
Genre
Biography
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 20, 1957, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 10, 2016
Runtime
1h 40m
Most Popular at Home Now