SYNOPSIS

Rising from the sandlots of Waterbury, Connecticut to the Boston Red Sox, baseball player Jimmy Piersall must contend with his domineering father whose fierce ambition drives Piersall to a nervous breakdown. Through psychiatric counseling Jimmy is able to confront the deep-seated reasons for his mental collapse and begin the road to recovery.

Director: Robert Mulligan
Producer: Alan J. Pakula
Screenplay: Ted Berkman, Raphael Blau
Based on a story by James A Piersall and Albert S. Hirshberg
Cinematography: Haskell B. Boggs
Editing: Aaron Stell
Music: Elmer Bernstein
Cast: Anthony Perkins (Jimmy Piersall), Karl Malden (John Piersall), Norma Moore (Mary Teevan), Adam Williams (Dr. Brown), Perry Wilson (Mrs. John Piersall), Peter J. Votrian (Jimmy Piersall-as a boy), Dennis McMullen (Phil), Gail Land (Alice), Brian G. Hutton (Bernie Sherwill), Bart Burns (Joe Cronin), Rand Harper (Radio Announcer), Howard Price (Bill Tracy), George Pembroke (Umpire), Morgan Jones (Sandy Allen).
BW–100m.

Why FEAR STRIKES OUT is Essential

There are enough films about baseball and famous ballplayers in the American cinema to constitute its own subgenre but Fear Strikes Out (1957) is a special case that stands alone. Based on the autobiography by James A. Piersall, the former outfielder and shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, and Albert S. Hirshberg, the film is less about Jimmy Piersall's brilliant though erratic career and more about his struggle against bipolar disorder (also known as manic-depressive illness).

Fear Strikes Out was one of the first films to depict mental illness as something that could strike anyone - even someone as unlikely as an all-American athlete. It was also bold in its portrayal of a father whose ambition was so great that he drove his own son to a mental collapse and stands as a cautionary tale for parents who pressure their children to succeed.

In many ways, Fear Strikes Out is a true reflection of its era where moviegoers' emerging interest in psychology and mental aberrations were being channeled by Hollywood directly to the screen in such movies as Autumn Leaves (1956), The Bad Seed (1956), The Three Faces of Eve (1957), Lizzie (1957) and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959).

Long before Psycho (1960) linked him forever to Norman Bates, actor Anthony Perkins was being groomed as Paramount's new leading man. Some saw him as a natural successor to James Dean with his brooding intensity and quirky mannerisms and Fear Strikes Out gave Perkins a chance to demonstrate his range as an actor.

The film is equally important as the feature directing debut of Robert Mulligan and the feature producing debut of Alan J. Pakula. It was a collaboration that led to their successful teaming on six more features together including To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) before they both went on to extremely successful solo careers.

by Andrea Passafiume & Jeff Stafford