Damn Yankees is a 1958 film that doesn't stray far from the 1956 Broadway stage production.
Baseball's New York Yankees thoroughly dominated the American League for most of the 1950s, and Damn Yankees addresses that fact, with a devilish twist. A long-suffering Washington Senators fan, Joe Boyd, after yet another loss to the hated Yankees, claims (off-the-cuff, or so he thinks) that the devil could have his soul in exchange for a winning team. Almost immediately, the Devil himself, in the guise of a slick con man, appears and offers to not only grant Boyd's wish, but also to restore his youth so that Boyd can become Washington's baseball hero.
Excellent choreography and superb musical numbers keep Damn Yankees moving briskly along, and standout performances by a stellar cast including Gwen Verdon, Tab Hunter and Ray Walston make this one of the better "stage-to-film" productions of the era.
Best Baseball Movies
