A losing baseball team starts losing its players to strange killings, and the team's new pitcher takes a swing at finding the killer.A losing baseball team starts losing its players to strange killings, and the team's new pitcher takes a swing at finding the killer.A losing baseball team starts losing its players to strange killings, and the team's new pitcher takes a swing at finding the killer.
Joe Sawyer
- 'Dunk' Spencer
- (as Joe Sauers)
Ernie Alexander
- Dick
- (uncredited)
Brooks Benedict
- Game Radio Announcer
- (uncredited)
Bruce Bennett
- Man on Ticket Line
- (uncredited)
Red Berger
- Baseball player
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFred Graham was working in the MGM sound department and also playing baseball semi-professionally in his off-time. He was hired to tutor star Robert Young in baseball techniques. He also was hired to double Nat Pendleton in his scenes as a catcher, thereby beginning a nearly 40-year career as an actor and stuntman.
- GoofsWhen the game resumes, after the bad guy is caught, the camera pans across the scoreboard to show that the game is tied, 2-2. The radio announcer then states, "Cincinnati hasn't scored since Kelly threw that ball into the dugout and let the tying run come in." Cincinnati was the visiting team and the last run it scored, in the top of the second inning, would have made the score 2-1 (Cincinnati leading). It would not have been a tying run.
- SoundtracksTake Me Out to the Ball Game
(1908) (uncredited)
Music by Albert von Tilzer
Lyrics by Jack Norworth
Played during the opening and closing credits
Played as background music often
Featured review
Seeing that this film was released in September of 1934 when in real life the St. Louis Cardinals were in a tight pennant race with the New York Giants, it's a wonder that this film didn't give some miscreant the idea of doing in the Dean brothers who were to lead the famous Gashouse Gang to the National League pennant and World Series that year.
The Cardinals are in desperate financial straights this year as owner/manager David Landau and daughter Madge Evans put the team in hock to get star pitcher Robert Young. Madge has a thing for Bob, but other players have a thing for Madge.
In the meantime the rejuvenated Cardinals are screwing up all kinds of gambling interests who don't want to see the long-shot Cardinals win the pennant. They'll stop at nothing including murder to see the Redbirds of St. Louis don't triumph. Murders of three players do occur before the culprit is found.
Nat Pendleton and Ted Healy provide the comic relief as a perpetually quarreling catcher and umpire. Someone did some research for this film or was a fan because legendary umpire Bill Klem who was still active in 1934 had an unbelievable aversion to the name of 'Catfish'. In Healy's case Pendleton calls him 'Crawfish' to get his goat.
Some establishing shots will give you a look at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis which is long gone now. Otherwise the cast MGM put together for this film shot it in and around Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, the minor league park of the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League which also now history.
The ending of the film is the very least bizarre. Nearly the entire cast is suspect at one point, but the guilty party in this baseball mystery comes right out of left field. No, the left fielder didn't do it.
Paul Kelly has a very good role as a sportswriter with a nose for news that serves him well, the scoops he does get in this film.
I might have liked the film better had the ending which I can't reveal been so bizarre. It did give one player an opportunity for a grand piece of scenery chewing.
The Cardinals are in desperate financial straights this year as owner/manager David Landau and daughter Madge Evans put the team in hock to get star pitcher Robert Young. Madge has a thing for Bob, but other players have a thing for Madge.
In the meantime the rejuvenated Cardinals are screwing up all kinds of gambling interests who don't want to see the long-shot Cardinals win the pennant. They'll stop at nothing including murder to see the Redbirds of St. Louis don't triumph. Murders of three players do occur before the culprit is found.
Nat Pendleton and Ted Healy provide the comic relief as a perpetually quarreling catcher and umpire. Someone did some research for this film or was a fan because legendary umpire Bill Klem who was still active in 1934 had an unbelievable aversion to the name of 'Catfish'. In Healy's case Pendleton calls him 'Crawfish' to get his goat.
Some establishing shots will give you a look at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis which is long gone now. Otherwise the cast MGM put together for this film shot it in and around Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, the minor league park of the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League which also now history.
The ending of the film is the very least bizarre. Nearly the entire cast is suspect at one point, but the guilty party in this baseball mystery comes right out of left field. No, the left fielder didn't do it.
Paul Kelly has a very good role as a sportswriter with a nose for news that serves him well, the scoops he does get in this film.
I might have liked the film better had the ending which I can't reveal been so bizarre. It did give one player an opportunity for a grand piece of scenery chewing.
- bkoganbing
- Sep 22, 2010
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- King of the Diamond
- Filming locations
- St. Louis, Missouri, USA(baseball diamond and grandstand backgrounds)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 11 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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