Rawhide

2929. RAWHIDE (1938-USA). With SMITH BALLEW, LOU GEHRIG, EVALYN KNAPP. Bet you didn’t know that New York Yankees’ Hall Of Fame baseball legend Lou Gehrig once starred in a Hollywood movie! Well, here it is! It’s an absorbing western drama which offers a once-in-a-lifetime view of “The Iron Horse.” Gehrig stars as himself. The baseball season has just concluded and Lou proclaims that he is tired of crowds and finished with professional sports. He and his sister Peggy have decided to move out West where they have purchased “a swell ranch in a peaceful valley.” However, Lou is destined to experience little tranquillity as he finds himself going up against a cutthroat racketeer and his henchman who have been cheating the local ranchers out of their hard-earned money. Gehrig is not the story’s sole hero. His character is joined by Larry Kimball (played by popular singing cowboy Smith Balfew), a lawyer who is as adept with his fists as Lou is on the ballfield. Watch how Gehrig applies his baseball skills to thwart the villains. One scene in particular is a standout. Here, Lou tosses pool balls at the outlaws during a brawl. His aim is perfect, he may as well be back in Yankee Stadium throwing balls to a catcher to nail opponents sliding into home plate! Baseball fans in general and Yankee lovers in particular will take special pleasure in watching this film. However, you need not be a baseball nut in order to find it a most diverting entertainment. 59 minutes. Western