Simply A Masterpiece

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

An aging baseball fan sells his soul to the Devil for a career with his favorite team, the Washington Senators, currently languishing in seventh place. Ray Walston's Mr. Applegate--a chic, suave Beelzebub, who smiles like a Cheshire cat--is really the only lively aspect of this heavy-spirited Broadway musical adaptation, which in turn was taken from Douglass Wallop's book "The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant". Co-directed by George Abbott and Stanley Donen, with choreography by Bob Fosse, the picture has a better plot (its roots in Faust) than this team's "The Pajama Game" from the year before, but still seems awfully stagy and stagnant, with the song numbers belted towards the rafters. As the protagonist's youthful incarnation, Tab Hunter tries hard but is still too colorless to make a strong impression. ** from ****

First of all, I have to say and this is kind of sad, but I would have watched this movie a lot sooner if I hadn't been under the false impression that it was actually about the NY Yankees. I was greatly relieved to see that it is instead the long defunct Washington Senators who are the focus of the play. Ray Walston is wonderful as the devil, or as he calls himself here Mr. Applegate. Rae Allen also has some nice scenes and songs as an intrusive reporter. But to me there are problems with this film precisely because of it sticking too close to the original play.Gwen Verdon is the major problem for me. She just is not winsome and erotic enough to pull off the famous "Lola" scene on the big screen. I felt kind of embarrassed for her. She has good chemistry with Walston but I didn't sense any sparks flying between her and Tab Hunter at all. I really did enjoy their one big dance scene together though, "Two Lost Souls," that was the highlight of the whole movie for me. Like the previous Donen/Abbott collaboration on "Pajama Game", this film has excellent choreography by Bob Fosse. It seems odd to complain about the presence of the original star in a film, but I just feel that Verdon did not have what it takes to hold down a film. Walston does what he can to basically fill up the space with comedy. The entire picture looks and feels very nice, although you get the feeling that you're looking at recycled sets from a Minnelli movie when they're in Lola's hotel suite. Also whatever potential there was for any kind of drama is thrown away -- in some ways the film is comparable to "Cabin in the Sky" in terms of the supernatural comedy but surprisingly considering one of the show's anthems is "You Gotta Have Heart" this film just has very little of it. Still, it's entertaining and it moves quickly enough. The mediocre nature of this film provides me with still more evidence that Donen was the least important member of the Donen/Kelly partnership.

It may well have been the Devil's cleverest trick to have persuaded us that he does not exist,but it is a relatively recent one.Even 50 years ago when "Whatever Lola wants" was released the concept of an anti - Christ was widely accepted in the West and the possibility of entering into a diabolical bargain for earthly riches and success was not considered seriously - "get thee behind me,Satan",as my Auntie Edie used to say.Now,it appears,almost everybody will do anything to be rich and famous and looking at the richest and most famous of them all it is hard to discern any particular talent or merit they might possess. Accordingly,Faustian compacts may have been entered wholesale thus assuring the Devil an endless supply of souls like Joe Hardy whose relatively harmless vice was the Great American Game. Portrayed by Mr R.Walston as an earthly form with a certain raffish charm and an All-American name "Mr Applegate",the Devil is a" can do" kind of guy.His assistant - Lola - played by Miss G.Verdon is the epitome of feminine seductiveness employed to keep Joe in line. As a Brit to whom baseball is little more than a more butch version of the rather girlie game of rounders the back story and plot of the movie have little cultural significance.It's significance to me is purely based on its merits as a musical - and they are considerable.Certainly Miss Verdon got me very hot under the collar as an 18 year old,and Mr Walston made me laugh a lot.Mr Tab Hunter was very good - looking and had already been in the "Top Twenty" in the U.K. with "Young Love",so it had a whole lot going for it.I had a 78 of "Heart" by the Four Aces and my friends and I had a lot of fun copying the harmony parts so it would be fair to say that I was quite involved in the whole "Whatever Lola wants" experience.Time,sadly,has not been very kind either to me or the movie,and,when I saw it recently only "Heart" moved me as it had done originally,the other songs - although remaining clever - lacked much substance and only the dancing of the wonderful Miss Verdon raised the level to that I remembered .Nevertheless it remains a nostalgic favourite,and a movie with "Heart" - in both meanings.

Gwen Verdon was a Broadway legend with long gorgeous legs and an undeniable stage and screen charisma. Her legendary stage career earned her four Tony Awards, thanks in no small part to her long time Svengali and ex-husband Bob Fosse. Sadly, the only time Verdon was allowed to bring a role she created on Broadway to the big screen was in DAMN YANKEES, a sparkling film adaptation of the Richard Ross-Jerry Adler musical about a middle-aged baseball fan named Joe Boyd (Robert Shafer)who sells his soul to the devil for his favorite team, the Washington Senators, to win the pennant. The devil, apparently in desperate need of converts, appears in Joe's living room in the form of a Mr. Applegate (Ray Walston)and changes Joe Boyd into Joe Hardy (Tab Hunter), a young and unbeatable baseball player who helps lead the Senators to the pennant until he starts to get homesick and Applegate sends in his # 1 agent/witch named Lola (Verdon) to distract Joe. The film is well-mounted by Broadway legend George Abbott and Verdon and Ralston effectively reprise their Tony-Award winning stage roles and Fosse is even showcased, dancing in a rare duet with wife Verdon on "Who's Got the Pain?" and trust and believe, seeing Fosse and Verdon dance together is worth the price of admission alone. Other great songs in the score include "Whatever Lola Wants", "Heart","Those Were the Good Old Days", and "Shoeless Joe From Hannibal Mo". Not the greatest musical ever made, but Verdon, Ralston, and Fosse's brilliant choreography make it worth watching and re-watching.