It Happens Every Spring

Director: Lloyd Bacon Lloyd Bacon

Overview

Lloyd Bacon's baseball comedy stars Ray Milland as Vernon Simpson, a chemist who develops a product which repels wood. Signing on with a major league team as a pitcher, he throws screwballs doctored with his solution, becoming a sensation who strikes out every batter he faces.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/20/2012
UPC:	0024543852612
Original Release:	1949
Source:	ALLIED VAUGHN
Presentation:	[B&W, Full Frame]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:27:00
Sales rank:	1,770

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Ray Milland	Prof. Vernon K. Simpson/King Kelly
Jean Peters	Deborah Greenleaf
Paul Douglas	Monk Lanigan
Ed Begley	Edgar Stone
Ted de Corsia	Dolan
Ray Collins	Prof. Greenleaf
Jessie Royce Landis	Mrs. Greenleaf
Alan Hale Jr.	Schmidt
William Murphy	Isbell
William E. Green	Prof. Forsythe
Edward Keane	Bell
Gene Evans	Mueller
Al Eben	Parker
Ruth Lee	Miss Collins
John Butler	Fan
Jane Van Duser	Miss Mengalstein
Ray Teal	Mac
Don Hicks	Assistant to Announcer
Mickey Simpson	Policeman
Johnny Calkins	Boy
Harry Cheshire	Doctor
Ward Brant	Baseball Player
John McKee	Baseball Player,Baseball Player
Debra Paget	Alice
Mae Marsh	Maid
Tom Hanlon	St. Louis Broadcaster
Sam Hayes	New York Announcer
Douglas Spencer	Conductor
Pat Combs	Messenger Boy
Robert Patten	Cab Driver
Alan Hale	Schmidt
Grandon Rhodes	Professor
Harry V. Cheshire	Doctor
Harry Seymour	Clerk
Robert Williams	Reporter
Charles Flynn	Reporter
Leigh Harline	Composer

Technical Credits

Valentine Davies

Shirley W. Smith

Lloyd Bacon	Director
Valentine Davies	Screenwriter
William Perlberg	Producer
Shirley W. Smith	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

In this little gem of a comedy, Ray Milland has a ball -- a baseball -- and what he does to it turns the whole sports world topsy-turvy and sets high standards for later sports films about athletes with secret weapons. Milland portrays mild-mannered chemistry professor Vernon Simpson. One day, he accidentally makes a concoction that repels wood. What would happen if he rubbed his brew on a baseball and threw it to a batter? He experiments and discovers that a treated ball dips under or vaults over swinging bats. In a scene foreshadowing Roy Hobbs' batting tryout in The Natural, Simpson tries out as a pitcher for a major-league team of smirking skeptics. But nobody can hit him. Simpson then becomes King Kelly, the unhittable pitcher, carrying his team to victory after victory. What is so good about this film is that it keeps its tongue in its cheek, allowing the clever script, special effects, straight-faced acting, and goofy scenarios to work their magic. In one hilarious scene, catcher Monk Lanigan (Paul Douglas) mistakes the wood repellant for hair cream, rubs some on, and tries to coif himself with a wooden comb. Walt Disney's Flubber, good as it is, cannot match It Happens Every Spring for wacky creativity and low-key humor. The film earned an Academy award nomination for its script, then disappeared into the limbo of unpublicized films. Giving strong performances in supporting roles are Jean Peters as Milland's fianceé, Ed Begley as the team owner, and Ted de Corsia as the team manager. The final scene of the film is delightful: In the most crucial game of the year, Simpson/King Kelly runs out of his chemical concoction. He must pitch on his own, creating his own leaping fast balls. Who wins? The audience, of course. It Happens Every Spring is one of the finest sports films ever made -- in a quiet, unassuming way.

All Movie Guide - Mike Cummings