Rating: NR
Genre:
Drama
Release Date: 03/04/2003
SubTitles: English
Dubbed: English/French
Sound: DD1
Run Time: 100 Minutes
Flags: Questionable for Children
Distributor/Studio: Paramount
Anthony Perkins stars as troubled baseball great
Jimmy Piersall in
Fear Strikes Out. Based on
Piersall's shattering tell-all autobiography, the film traces
Jimmy's ascent from the sandlots of Waterbury, CT, to
the Boston Red Sox, with his domineering father (
Karl Malden) pushing the boy beyond all reasonable limits. Unable to withstand the pressure,
Piersall suffers a nervous breakdown and is confined to a mental institution. Through a long period of therapy,
Jimmy realizes that he has excelled in baseball not for his own gratification but to please his father. This film was preceded by a 1956 TV version starring
Tab Hunter.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide