(For Day 6 of NaPoWriMo, the prompt was to describe a flavor using certain words, and… I wasn’t feeling it, so here’s an off-prompt submission.)

There’s one way to heaven, but many ways to hell,
And if you arise, it doesn’t matter how you fell.
The darkness is sticky, not easy to dispel;
Tragedies stay in it, and those are sure to sell.
But winners find a constant, corny light in which to dwell.
Those are both the options; what story will you tell?
__________________________

MPA rating: Approved (a solid G)

I already knew from The Glenn Miller Story that Jimmy Stewart and June Allyson shared winning chemistry, so it’s no surprise that that held true in the first of their three film romantic pairings The Stratton Story. Based on the life of MLB pitcher Monty Stratton, the film chronicles his early talent in rural Texas that caught the attention of a wandering scout (Barney Wile), his Major League success as he wooed his eventual wife Ethel (Allyson in fine girl-next-door form), and the hunting accident that halted his career but led to an inspiring comeback.

Stewart is never less than appealing as a poor boy making good despite the reservations of his mother (Agnes Moorehead), though the first half of the film alone doesn’t leave much of an impact. The second half, dealing with Monty’s injury and recovery, is painfully realistic in showing his depressive struggle, but the upswing is pure based-on-a-true-story inspiration that won the film an Oscar for Best Motion Picture Story. While not as well-known in the baseball movie pantheon, The Stratton Story deserves to be.

Best line: (Ethel, trying to encourage Monty from his despair) “Nothing’s really changed. You’re still the same fella I’ve always been in love with. I’ve made out much worse than you. You lost your leg, but I lost you.”

Ranking: List Runner-Up

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