Fear Strikes Out

Anthony Perkins stars as troubled baseball great Jimmy Piersall in Fear Strikes Out. Based on Piersall's shattering tell-all autobiography, the film traces Jimmy's ascent from the sandlots of Waterbury, CT, to the Boston Red Sox, with his domineering father (Karl Malden) pushing the boy beyond all ...more

Fear Strikes Out gives viewers a chance to appreciate what a fine actor Anthony Perkins was in his prime. Perkins was increasingly typecast after Psycho in roles that didn't allow him to show his range, and many of his latter performances are over the top yet tired, rehashes of things he did better previously. But Fear, a biopic of baseball's Jimmy Piersall, gives Perkins a chance to shine, and shine he does. As a young ball player whose incessant need for approval from his overbearing father ...more