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Damn Yankees

Play trailer Poster for Damn Yankees 1958 1h 50m Musical Comedy Play Trailer Watchlist
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76% Tomatometer 21 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
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Mar 21
2.5/4
The mise-en-scenes are often found wanting (almost certainly from calls made by stage director Abbott rather than film director Donen). 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
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Audience Reviews

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eabate3 T @RT96217111 12h If you like movie musicals this is a must-see. Gwen Vernon won 4 Tony awards including one for this show. This score is chock full of great songs. See more 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 @786Joel 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 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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