Rawhide (1938)

Amusing western starring baseball legend Lou Gehrig. The Iron Horse plays himself in this as he heads Out West to live on his (fictional) sister's ranch. There he joins forces with singing cowboy lawyer Smith Ballew to battle perennial heavy Cy Kendall and Arthur Loft, who have a nice little protection racket going. Fun stuff, although not always for the right reasons. Simple coloring book-level of intellect and craftsmanship went into this, but I can't say it isn't entertaining in its way. It's a low budget oater with a baseball player as the star. No one should expect Stagecoach.

A couple years before he died, Lou Gehrig (yes, THAT Lou Gehrig) co-starred in an amiable little western called "Rawhide". The title refers to the name of Gehrig's ranch---to which he's retiring. However, when he arrives he finds there is a 'protective association' that controls all the local ranches. What this actually turns out to be is a protection racket run by some mobsters. In other words, if you don't join, 'accidents' happen to your spread and you can't buy needed materials. However, Lou is tough and he and his new buddy (the crooner Smith Ballew) decide to fight instead of knuckling under to their bullying tactics. Much of the rest of the film is a battle of wills and fists between these men.The film had some very nice singing. Ballew had a very good voice and the lyrics were catchy. As for Gehrig, I am pretty sure his singing was dubbed. I also was surprised by his speaking voice, as it was 100% New York--and sounded nothing like Gary Cooper in "Pride of the Yankees". Because of this, it further accentuated the 'fish out of water' aspect of the film with this city boy taking up an odd new life as a rancher! It's all a bit surreal but also pleasant and worth seeing just for its curiosity factor.

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.

...then you must watch this movie. I've been a big fan all my life and have always thought that there just wasn't enough extended film footage on him. There are lots and lots of interviews with Babe Ruth yet it's difficult to find anything like that with Gehrig so I had searched for a long time to get a good copy of Rawhide - Lou's one and only full length movie. Of course this movie was made in 1938 so the quality is not the best, but all and all, the movie was entertaining. Lou plays himself. After finishing the baseball season, he heads out to Montana for some rest and relaxation on his sister's ranch. Well, as it turns out, she is being pressured to join the "association" which provides protection for local ranchers. Yet it's really just a bully organization that bleeds all of the local ranchers of their profits. Gehrig's performance is enjoyable. He's almost giddy in his acting which makes the movie all that more watchable. There's a real good fight scene in the local saloon where Lou takes out his opponents one-by-one by throwing billiard balls at him. And of course, the movie ends on a happy note. Hope you're able to get a copy of this movie. Watch it and enjoy.