1950s Baseball Movie
Fear Strikes Out is based on real people and true events. Jimmy Piersall was a big league center fielder in the fifties and sixties. He played for five major league teams and gained notoriety when playing for the Red Sox. He "fame" came not so much on the field for the execution of plays or his batting average but for his erratic behavior on the field and in the dugout. In 1952, fans watched Piersall have a breakdown during a game. He was committed to a hospital for psychiatric reasons and received treatment there for seven weeks, officially stated for nervous exhaustion. Fear Strikes Out was based on Piersall's book of the same name. Anthony Perkins stars as Piersall and Karl Malden as Piersall's father. Piersall later criticized the movie stating that the movie blames his high pressure father for his mental health issues. I haven't seen this movie in quite awhile but remember being fascinated by the performance of both stars. I recently read that Piersall was later diagnosed with a bipolar disorder. This is now a good look back at the way we perceived mental health problems and the resulting treatment.
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