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Talk about dated! However, that's not a knock because dated many times means fun to watch, and nostalgic for some. This is an entertaining film and very likable.

But, if you are a baseball fan or know anything about the game, be prepared. This has the hokiest baseball scenes ever put on film. It's almost like those corny Ed Wood and others sci-fi films of the 1950s that are so bad, so corny that they are good, if you know what I mean.

The actors in here have NO CLUE how to throw a baseball or how to bat. Ray Milland is a pitcher and the star of the show and he has no idea but his catcher, played by Paul Douglas, is worse. He is embarrassingly bad. You remember the expression, "He throws like a girl!?" Well, that's Douglas. You mean with all the actors in Hollywood, they couldn't find ONE who knows how to throw a baseball?

There are so many bloopers in here - like "St. Louis" being replaced by "Chicago" on the jerseys when there are long-distance shots. You could write a novel on all the filming mistakes in here.

Yet, it's just a lighthearted comedy and, if taken in that context, easier to swallow and enjoy. The story is at its funniest when Milland pitches and the ball dispy- doodles around the baseball bats of all the hitters. (He had invented a substance that applied to something makes it avoid touching wood, so applied to a baseball, a bat could never make contact.....and, yes, as one reviewer points out, that is cheating.)

Dumb...but innocent fun and definitely has enough laughs to make it worthwhile watching.

There have been many pitchers in Major League Baseball who were quite adept at doctoring a baseball. Some, such as Gaylord Perry and Burleigh Grimes, were known to add a little saliva or in Perry's case perhaps a little Vaseline. Doing this would cause the ball to suddenly drop when reaching home plate as if the bottom had fallen out of it. Then there was Whitey Ford, who was said to be able to put a few nicks or scratches in the old cowhide causing the laced sphere to do some mighty strange things. None of these players comes close to being as interesting as baseball legend Professor Vernon Simpson.

Professor Simpson was a chemistry professor at a Midwestern college. He was in love with the Dean's daughter, Deborah Greenleaf and hoped that someday they would be married. College professor's salaries being what they were in the late forties, his only hope of being able to financially support Miss Greenleaf depended on an experiment he had devised that would someday change the world. Like all normal American men of his day, Vernon was also known to get caught up in the Rite of Spring better described as the opening of the baseball season. One day while in his lab working intently on his experiment, some of the young college students were outside practicing baseball. Unfortunately, an errant ball came crashing through the window destroying the Professor's experiment and mixing his chemicals into a convoluted mess. Or so he thought.

While cleaning up the destroyed experiment, Vernon accidentally discovered that the mixture of chemicals left behind had the unique ability to resist wood. After testing the formula in his lab, he recruited the young college baseball players to scientifically examine the reaction of this chemical when applied to a baseball. After acquiring enough data to prove to himself that when the formula was applied to a baseball no hitter could touch it, Professor Simpson had no alternative but to offer his services to the St. Louis Cardinals who were themselves in desperate need of pitching. Although skeptical at first, the owner of the Cardinals did give Vernon a tryout to teach him a lesson. It was of course Vernon and his secret formula that taught the manager and the owner of St. Louis the lesson, and they signed him to a contract that would pay Vernon $1,000 dollars for every game he won.

It Happens Every Spring is a whimsical tale of an innocent sports era that has long passed. It's the kind of story one might imagine as a Disney film from the sixties or seventies starring Kurt Russell as The World's Greatest Pitcher or some other lame inappropriate title. I am eternally grateful that Disney never discovered this gem in order to film a plasticized silly remake. It Happens Every Spring is good enough as it is and far better than any of those films about World's Greatest Athletes or Computers in Tennis Shoes.

A large part of its success can be attributed to Ray Milland. As Professor Simpson, he never lets the character sink into the foolishness of Fred MacMurray's Ned Brainard from The Absent Minded Professor films. That is not meant to deride MacMurray's performance in those films, as his character was played as it was written, but the fact that Milland's Simpson appears more scholarly and analytical makes this film work even better. He sees his accidental discovery as a means to achieving two necessary goals: Making enough money to be able to wed Deborah (Jean Peters)and helping the Cardinals win the pennant.

As Deborah, Jean Peters is gorgeous, charming and delightful. After Vernon's mysterious disappearance, she sets out to discover what became of him and through a series of mistaken coincidences believes he has joined the mob. Paul Douglas as Monk Lanigan, Vernon's catcher, has most of the funniest lines and some of the best scenes, one involving him wearing a splint while trying to catch, and another when he uses Vernon's formula as a hair tonic. He's a pure delight in what I consider one of his best roles.

In the cynical sports world of today, one has to wonder if a remake of this film would even work. Much of what occurs is able to happen because it came from a time when there were no multi-million dollar athletes, no wall to wall TV coverage on ESPN and no cynical sports analysts to dissect every play. One of the major plot lines in this film has to do with Vernon being able to hide his identity, and any redo of this film would just have to dispense with that possibility altogether. In the time in which this film occurs, it works marvelously, and is a joy to watch. If set in the year 2004, one doubts that it could be the same enjoyable experience. It Happens Every Spring may not be the most remembered or notable films about baseball, but it one of the best. And when you are one of the best you get my grade which for It Happens Every Spring is an A. Batter Up!!!!

It Happens Every Spring (1949)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Hilarious baseball movie has chemist professor Vernon Simpson (Ray Milland) coming up with a formula that will repel wood. He then decides to fulfill a life long dream of playing professional baseball so he ends up pitching for the St. Louis Cardnials and plans on leading them to the World Series with his magic trick. This film has gotten pretty rave reviews all around but there was a part of me that felt a bit off going into the movie because I was curious to see how a comedy was going to work when the main guy was basically cheating at a sport. Well, purist will have no trouble because the fact that he's cheating never comes into play because the viewer will be too busy laughing. After watching this film I couldn't believe that it wasn't better known consider it's about baseball, features a wonderful, Oscar-winning actor and most importantly it's incredibly funny. You'd think the joke of a baseball magically moving around a bat would wear thin after the first time but it doesn't and in fact it keeps getting funnier as the movie moves along. I'm not too certain how they did the special effect of the baseball moving in all sorts of wacky directions but there's no doubt it's one of the funniest things in any sports movie. What also makes it work so well is that Milland is, as no shock, excellent in the role. He's a very serious actor and he plays the part here very seriously and this adds to the charm and even helps us believe the events that are going on. He doesn't look or feel like a baseball player but that's pretty much the point of the story as he walks off the streets and becomes the greatest pitcher in baseball history. Jean Peters does a nice job as his girlfriend with Paul Gouglas, Ed Begley, Ted de Corsia and Alan Hale, Jr. adding great support. Apparently MLB wouldn't allow any real teams or real player cameos in the film because of the cheating but it's their loss considering how wonderful the film turned out and in fact there's really no need for any famous faces to show up as the film is strong enough not to need them. Bacon's direction is top-notch throughout as he perfectly handles the rather screwball moments but most importantly is Milland and the fact that you like him and want to see this scheme work.

This delightful comedy is seldom seen on cable. The Fox channel is a great source for these neglected and forgotten films that still produce a lot of fun to viewers, young and old. Lloyd Bacon directed this movie with a lot of flair. There are some insanely funny moments in the film, based on Valentine Davis' screen play.

Chemistry professor Vernon Simpson, working on a small midwest university, discovers as a fluke, that one of his projects produce a rejection of wood when rubbed in an object; that object being the baseball that almost destroys his lab. Professor Simpson's passion is the national pastime, which we see him hearing a broadcast during one of his classes. Simpson is also in love with the beautiful Debby Greenleaf, the daughter of the president of the university.

Vernon decides to try his hand as a pitcher, now that he has the secret, as he feels his beloved Saint Louis Cardinals can use him. As the mysterious King Kelly, Vernon proves to be an asset to his team. The catcher, Monk Lanigan, is his roommate. The two men develop an easy friendship. Lanigan, like anyone else, is puzzled by the way Kelly can pitch, even at his age. When Lanigan wants to know what does King keep in a tiny bottle in his dresser, and he is told it's hair tonic, which he proceeds to use himself, with magical results. He even gives some of it to the manager, not knowing is the secret formula that King uses to throw those magical pitches.

As Vernon/King, Ray Milland makes a wonderful appearance in the film. His chemistry with Paul Douglas, the catcher and roommate, is unique. Both stars are amazing together and this is what makes the comedy a winning and sunny time at the movies because of the fun we experience in watching them perform. Jean Peters is also good as Debby, the girl that conquered Vernon's heart. Ray Collins, Ed Begley and Jessie Royce Landis do excellent supporting work.

"It Happens Every Spring" is a sunny comedy that proves to be a lot of fun.

Not quite in the league of "It's a Wonderful Life" or "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," but a great fantasy story of the egghead professor in the hard boiled world of baseball.

Paul Douglas steals the movie as the craggy old pro catcher, Monk Lanigan. Watch for a young Alan Hale, Jr., later to be the Skipper in "Gilligan's Island." Take a look at the writing credits for the writer of this one. Sterling. Also, a great feel for 40's baseball fans, baseball stadiums, just baseball. I loved this film as a kid, still love it now.

This film should be as much a harbinger of spring as the first robin. Don't miss it!