Episode 38: Damn Yankees (Fossepocalypse #4)

Gwen Verdon…DAMN, son Jazz Hams! This week’s episode is the exact same production team delivering the goods – yet again – in DAMN YANKEES. This time with a heaping helping of Gwen Verdon! (SIDENOTE: Mike’s mic has a weird echo and we do apologize for the odd audio – it eventually corrects.) Jack Warner made a two-picture deal with George Abbott to bring THE PAJAMA GAME and DAMN YANKEES to the screen faithfully from Broadway (with the help of the inimitable Stanley Donen of the Freed Unit). And god bless him, because this is the only film performance we have of Gwen Verdon at the height of her substantial powers. Neither Mike nor Vinnie had seen this before, so this was a revelation to both, and a good compare/contrast to THE PAJAMA GAME. With such classics as “Heart,” “Shoeless Joe from Hannibal Mo,” and (of course) “Whatever Lola Wants,” DAMN YANKEES won’t bring the pain – we promise! I’ve got a pain just looking at that move. Also – Verdon & Fosse together! Damn Yankees (1958) Rating: 7.0/10 (3,537 votes)Director: George Abbott, Stanley DonenWriter: George Abbott, Douglass Wallop, Johann Wolfgang von GoetheStars: Tab Hunter, Gwen Verdon, Ray WalstonRuntime: 111 minRated: ApprovedGenre: Comedy, Musical, RomanceReleased: 28 Dec 1958 Plot: A frustrated fan of the hopeless Washington Senators makes a pact with the Devil to help the baseball team win the league pennant. The post Episode 38: Damn Yankees (Fossepocalypse #4) appeared first on A Reel Education: The Musical!.