Mr. Deeds Goes to Yankee Stadium: Baseball Films in the Capra Tradition

Celebrated film director Frank Capra was an architect of the "feel good" movie genre now known as populism, which celebrates traditional American icons such as small town or pastoral life and baseball.This book examines eight Capraesque baseball films, starting with the all-important Pride of the Yankees (1942), which one admiring critic has called "Mr. Deeds Goes to Yankee Stadium." Individual chapters are devoted to the populist legacy from Will Rogers (Capra's mentor) to Capra, and to The Pride of the Yankees, The Stratton Story, Angels in the Outfield, The Natural, Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, Frequency and The Rookie.