Copyright 8 April 1938 by Principal Productions, Inc. New York opening at the Globe: 24 April 1938. Released through 20th Century-Fox: 8 April 1938. Australian release: 16 June 1938. 6 reels. 59 minutes. SYNOPSIS: Baseball star buys a ranch.COMMENT: In his first and only Hollywood feature, baseball legend Lou Gehrig (later to be immortalized by Gary Cooper in Pride of the Yankees) understudies the now-forgotten Smith Ballew, a popular singer of the time, who made five "B" westerns for Fox (this is the fourth) in the late 1930s. Although Ballew displays a pleasant voice and personality in the main role, all eyes are on Gehrig in support. He handles himself with a professional finesse (all sports people are actors after all), exhibiting enough individual charisma to lend credence to the assumption that he would have successfully made the transition from sports star to popular character actor had he lived. Although he's allowed only two opportunities to show off his baseball prowess, it's hard to take a great deal of interest in the other players. True, Miss Knapp is an attractive enough heroine, whilst villain Loft does a lot of gabbing and henchman Curtis makes with the scowls. And it's good to see Cy Kendall as the crooked sheriff and Lafe McKee the upright McDonnell. But neither the other actors nor the play (routine in its plot but allowing for a fair amount of location action - some obviously stock) are the thing in this single-focused Rawhide.

Not really perfect, but ...Robert Redford starred in a movie called "The Natural." I read the book; it was stupid; I didn't see the movie. The book was about a baseball player. Well, Lou Gehrig WAS a baseball player, but he was really a natural as an actor.Some other commenter called Gehrig as stiff as his bat. Wrong! Gehrig was so relaxed, so -- that word again -- natural in this cowboy movie, it is more than a shame, more than a tragedy that this was his last year of an active life, that soon after making "Rawhide," Lou Gehrig developed the disease that now bears his name.He appeared in front of a camera as if he'd been doing it for years.The nominal star was that incredibly talented Smith Ballew, possessor of one of the most beautiful voices to appear on screen, especially in Westerns. He was a very tall and good-looking man, with real grace as a cowboy, and genuine singing talent. In fact, he made hundreds of records in several genres.But even Smith Ballew was at least slightly over-shadowed by the great, the legendary Lou Gehrig, one of the most honored baseball players of all time. In "Rawhide," he showed he could have anticipated other baseballers such as Chuck Connors and had a whole career in motion pictures. He is thoroughly likable, very personable and charming, and seems as if he's been performing for years. What a shame he wasn't allowed to keep doing so."Rawhide" is about Lou's retiring to the ranch his "sister" has bought for the two of them. It would have perhaps worked even better if another name had been applied to the character, but it still works well for "Lou Gehrig" and his sister.That sister is beautifully played by the beautiful Evalyn Knapp. She gives such a charming performance here, I am both angered and saddened she didn't become the huge star she obviously was capable of being."Rawhide" works partly because its three stars are so believable and likable, and partly because there are superbly talented co-stars and atmosphere players, and many of them.B Westerns are so much better when there are many smaller parts and especially when they are so excellently performed by such a superlative cast as this movie has."Rawhide" is a special treat because it's Lou Gehrig's only fictional movie talking appearance. He could have been a major star if his life had not taken such a tragic turn.He even looks like John Wayne in some of the stills, with his 10-gallon hat and craggy good looks -- and not like Gary Cooper who played him in the biopic."Rawhide" is available at YouTube in a not-great print, but it's good enough for you to appreciate the clever and well-written story that is very ably directed and that even has some really nice, non-intrusive, music. I highly recommend "Rawhide."

It's always cool to come across an unexpected treat as I did today, looking for a film to view from my collection of 'B' Westerns put out by Mill Creek Entertainment. This one co-starred baseball legend Lou Gehrig along side singing cowboy Smith Ballew, and it was a genuinely fun picture to watch. Gehrig plays himself, heading West to Montana to relax on his sister's cattle ranch. I'm curious how baseball/movie fans of the era reacted when he pronounced early in the picture - "Take it or leave it, I'm through with baseball" - must have been a shock to the system! The plot Gehrig finds himself in is a fairly typical one though. The local Ranchers Protective Association is being run by stand in boss Ed Saunders (Arthur Loft), and he's forcing the locals to join his organization as he and his henchmen take a hefty cut of the rancher profits for themselves. The Gehrig's see no need to join, and when Saunders turns up the heat, they hook up with attorney Larry Kimball (Ballew) who's been anxious to take up the fight against the bad guys with a client willing to go the distance.This is the first film I've seen with Smith Ballew, though I'm familiar with his reputation. A popular singer in the Thirties, he appeared in a number of Westerns doing just that, crooning as a singing cowboy. One of the oft repeated trivia notes attributed to Ballew is that he dubbed John Wayne's singing voice in "Riders of Destiny", but Ballew denied that repeatedly before he died. Wayne's recollection was that it was probably Bill Bradbury (brother of Bob Steele and son of director Robert North Bradbury), who did the singing, with money earned to support his college education.Speaking of John Wayne, it struck me more than once that Gehrig might have shared a passing resemblance to the star, maybe more of a cross between Wayne and another veteran cowboy actor, Tim McCoy. Which is to say that he looked right at home in Western gear and ten gallon hat. Gehrig's portrayal is somewhat self deprecating, as he gets thrown from a horse in the early going, but when things get really wild, he reverts to his baseball wits. In a rousing bar room brawl, Gehrig winds up with a few billiard balls to knock out a bunch of bad guys. Later on, he manages to smash an upper story window of Saunders' office using a bat and ball. I thought only Babe Ruth called his shots like that.It wouldn't have been an era Western without your traditional horse chase scenes, and on that score, it was unusual to see some of the local businessmen in suits high tail it out of town on horseback. Of course, the team of Gehrig and Ballew, with a little help from sister Peggy (Evalyn Knapp), defeat the bad guys and save the day. Gehrig's earlier 'retirement' from baseball comes to an end when he gets a telegram from the Yankees saying that they met his terms. So Gehrig's movie career began and ended with this picture, but while it lasted, it must have been a blast.

RAWHIDE (1938) ** (out of four) After finishing the baseball season, the real Lou Gehrig travels to Montana to visit his sister where he learns an evil banker is stealing all of their land. This really isn't a good movie but it's quite fun seeing the baseball legend act. I wouldn't say he gave a good performance but it's worth watching either way. I'm not sure if Gehrig was acting or just playing himself but he's always got a smile on his face, which is quite charming considering the pain he must have been feeling at the time. There really isn't too much footage out there of Gehrig so this film, warts and all, is pretty important.