Customer Reviews

Damn Yankees [VHS]

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Joe Hardy is a fanatic, middle-aged Washington Senators baseball fan who makes a pact with the devil. In exchange for his soul (although there is a small escape clause). he'll become a 22-year-old savior of the Senators, the greatest long ball hitter in history, and he'll lead the team to a pennant. Later, young Hardy shows signs of yearning for the wife he left behind, so the Devil sends in Lola, his vamp supreme. But thanks to Joe's integrity, the escape clause, and after a number of song and dance numbers, things are put right for both Joe and the Senators.

The movie is an almost exact replica of the 1956 Broadway hit. Tab Hunter moved in as the young Joe, but everyone else reprised their stage roles -- and that's the reason to see or buy the DVD. Ray Walston plays Applegate, the devil, with barely contained glee. He's sly, unethical, untrustworthy and very funny. Best of all Gwen Verdon plays Lola, and she hits a home run with every number. She was a great dancer and a magnetic stage presence. I saw her do her stuff on stage once and it's a great memory. She had her big break in Can Can in 1954, then starred in three more shows during the Fifties. She won a Tony for each. She married Bob Fosse, retired, had a daughter, divorced Fosse. In 1966 she starred in Sweet Charity. And at 50, in 1975, she starred in Chicago. Believe me, she hadn't lost a thing. She was not the starlet type. She had a grainy, slightly smoky voice, and a personality that could range from gamin to raunchy. She could bring innocence to the most suggestive lyrics. As you can tell, I'm a fan.

The score for Damn Yankees is, in my view, better than average but not a classic. It includes "Whatever Lola Wants," "Two Lost Souls" and "Heart." Fosse did the choreography and dances with Verdon in one number, "Who's Got the Pain." It's a clever, fast routine and is a great showcase for them both.

When Warners brought Adler and Ross's "Pajama Game" and "Damn Yankees" to the screen, they make a wise choice: they brought most of the shows' original Broadway casts with them, substituting just two photogenic major studio contract players (Doris Day for Janis Paige in "Game" and Tab Hunter for Stephen Douglass in "Yankees") in leading roles. In Day's case it was probably an improvement; Hunter's not great but he's no embarrassment. Stanley Donen (on loan from MGM?) teamed up with the great stage director George Abbott for the films, and (thankfully!) Bob Fosse restaged his original dance numbers. Naturally there had to be some cuts - risque material ("The Game" in "Yankees", "Think of the Time I Save" in "Pajama") was excised - and the shows were tightened. But the spirits of the original shows were better captured than in most Hollywood transfers. The new DVD of "Yankees" arrived today and it's regrettable that there are no bonuses and there's no stereo track (unlike MGM and Fox, Warners apparently didn't believe much in multichannel recording at the time). But the show, though a little dated, is still great fun. Anyone who knows Ray Walston merely from "My Favorite Martian" is due for a special treat. Vernon, whose Hollywood career during her musical prime was far too brief, is ALWAYS a treat, and Lola was one of her signature roles. The Warnercolor transfer looks pretty good for a film nearly 50 years old. I remember Warnercolor veering a little to the dark side of the color palette but that seems to have been compensated for here.

Tab Hunter was as good as any and everyone else in the picture. I liked him. I never saw the show, but I've had the OBC album for years. Three songs were left out and one added (at least it isn't on the cast album, and is a bloodless little thing and is used inexplicably instead of "A Man Doesn't Know" to end the show). The other 2 left out are "Near to You" and "The Game." Maybe "The Game" was meant to be in the movie but the censors got cold feet, because the tune is in the overture/credits. It's a darling cute song and I wish they'd left it in. As near as I could tell, only one song got cleaned up and that was "A Little Brains - A Little Talent." One word (boffola) was changed to something strange, and a few lines were changed. "You've seen the sign that says George Washington once slept here. Well though nobody spied him, guess who was beside him." What they changed it too was just as risque, just more subtle. "When they turned the lamps on, guess who was with Samson." I swore that if they destroyed this Adler/Ross treasure like they did Pajama Game with their puritanical fantacism, I would return the movie (I rented it to watch and kept the one I bought the day it was released unopened). I'll keep it. Changing "bofola" is just pointless, and the rhyme lamps on/Samson is so clever, it's as good as what it replaced. I'd like it if they'd left both in. The dancing was good, the songs were good, the acting was good, the plot had enough kinks in it to keep it interesting and it was just long enough. If you like musicals, I recommend it. And I repeat in flagrant defiance of all other reviewers including Amazon's sarcastic, caustic professional, Tab Hunter did just fine. I personally dislike Ray Walston, but he was a biggie in his time. And Gwen Verdon was a dream. Finally, Edith Bunker deserved bigger billing!

This is another film which would probably be better rated if it wasn't so slavishly compared to its stage original. It does its job just fine, thank you, but you must remember that stage and film are two different media. In the conservative postwar 50's there was very little controversy shown (or allowed to be shown) in the film and TV media; a Faustian book made into a film musical probably scared the Hays moral office to death! That said, the Abbott-Donen collaboration does a more than competent job of telling the story, and scores an extra base hit retaining most of the Broadway cast of the show in the first place. I've read that the studio tried to lure Marilyn Monroe into playing the Lola role (and assuring box-office returns), but the producers were smart enough to know that the role needed a real dancer-actress combination. In short, it needed Gwen Verdon. It needed her special brand of eccentricity, sexiness, and heartbreak. And it got her. If you're still not convinced, take another look at the exquisite cafe' dance of "Two Lost Souls."

Pardon the expression, but Damn Yankees is funny as hell, filled with devilish humor and great music! I think I like it better even than Cabaret and Chicago, two other great Fosse musicals. Ray Walston and Gwen Verdon sizzle as the horned one and his temptress. They could have done better than Tab Hunter as Joe, but he does a fine job. The movie was made in 1958 but it doesn't seem dated because it's dealing with universal themes. Watch it and laugh and sing!

This is a true document of the original Broadway musical hit with almost all of the original cast (except for Tab Hunter). However, it is very stage-bound, directed without any natural ease and rather claustrophobic about its wide-screen format. Because it seems to wait around for audience applause and moves carefully from scene to scene it can seem dull and plodding at times. Walston is fine but not great as Mr. Applegate (Satan) and Gwen Verdon steals the film recreating her Tony award winning performance as Lola. The score is almost intact - three numbers were cut (A Man Doesn't Know, Near To You and The Game). The latter is a real loss but too "naughty" for film audiences of the mid-fifties. A new song is added to the film "An Empty Chair." Taken as a document of a hit Broadway show and not as a true film per se, it's quite enjoyable. Remarkably the soundtrack is still in print on CD and despite the loss of the above numbers is preferable to the Original Cast in both performance and sound quality.

Ray Walston is perfect as the endearingly likable devil, Gwen Virdon is teriffic as Lola the vamp and Tab Hunter is perfectly believable as Joe Hardy. Great dancing, great songs "Gotta have heart," "Whatever Lola Wants" and "Two Lost Souls" great love story and great actual shots of Mickey Mantle and Gil MacDougald in action makes for a winner.

The wonderful 1958 film version of Gwen Verdon's Broadway smash DAMN YANKEES has finally come to DVD, and it couldn't come too soon. How wonderful that virtually the entire Broadway cast and original score are replicated here for posterity, including Bob Fosse's wonderful choreography.

Tab Hunter replaces Broadway's Stephen Douglass as Joe Hardy, but turns in a terrific performance, maybe one of his best, and makes a perfect foil for Verdon, who lights up the screen.

Don't miss this! It's a gem!

I bought this DVD just because I'm a great baseball fan (hate the Yanks) and music is a very special part of my life. The first time I saw this movie I fell in love with Gwen Verdon who made a flowless and immense job. Do you know why? She owned the whole play. As simple as that!

The film version of Gwen Verdon and Bob Fosse's first success together. With Ray Walston as the devil and Verdon as his muse, Lola, this film can not fail to please. An excellent example of Fosse's early choreography. Unfortunately, its producers thought that they could cut "The Game", a wonderful song sung by the Senators. A must for any musical video collection