Alibi Ike

The Chicago Cubs finally win the pennant! And it takes Joe E. Brown's immortal character Alibi Ike to do it. William Frawley once again is superb in the supporting role, as the manager. Olivia De Havilland shines as the love interest. The rest of the supporting cast which includes Ruth Donnelly and Roscoe Karns are excellent. Director Raymond Enright keeps the film moving along in good fashion. The movie is predictable but it's a lot of fun getting to the end. The ending puts a lasting smile on one's face reminiscent of the movie "Some Like It Hot". This feel good movie hits a home run with this viewer. Take yourself out to the ballgame and enjoy!

Alibi Ike is a mildly amusing baseball comedy based on Ring Lardner's character of a pitcher with an excuse for everything. It's a pretty good example of Joe E. Brown's hayseed type character at the height of his popularity. And of course because A Midsummer Night's Dream was held up in release, Alibi Ike marks the debut of Olivia DeHavilland on the silver screen.

Although Olivia has little enough to do in this film which is strictly a Joe E. Brown show, she's one pretty thing here. She was only 19 when she made this film and would have to wait through another film besides this one and the Max Reinhardt extravaganza before settling into her Warner Brothers niche as crinolined heroine, yearning for Errol Flynn to win her as he did in Captain Blood.

Joe E. Brown took naturally to this role, possibly because he was known as a very big baseball fan in real life. Playing his ever harried manager in Alibi Ike is William Frawley who in real life was also known as a baseball aficionado. Brown's son, Joe L. Brown didn't follow his father into show business, he became a well respected baseball executive best known as general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates world championship team of 1960.

It's worth seeing the film alone to see how Joe E. Brown does that exaggerated windmill windup when he pitches. Funny as all get out, but in real life, a runner with the speed of Ernie Lombardi would have stolen two bases on him. Who's Ernie Lombardi, a Hall of Fame catcher with the Cincinnati Reds during this same period who was a legend for his lack of speed.

For baseball fans, and baseball film fans, make sure you don't miss this.

This movie is a nice, enjoyable way to spend a weekend afternoon. Nothing heavy or terribly dramatic, just the very comical and entertaining Joe E. Brown, backed by an able supporting cast.

Brown is perfect as Alibi Ike, a baseball player who is a chronic liar but somehow manages to be likable despite this rather serious fault. Olivia de Havilland is young, very pretty, and engaging as Brown's somewhat frustrated but ultimately successful fiancé. And it's a treat to see William Frawley -- crusty old Fred Mertz himself -- as the baseball manager. Frawley was a real-life baseball fanatic, so he probably really enjoyed making this movie.

I loved Brown's crazy unique wind-up before pitching the baseball. He seems to be great with physical comedy. I think I read somewhere (can't remember where, so consider this unverified) that in real life Brown was very athletic, and the reason he wore full business suits, long sleeved shirts, and loose fitting baseball uniforms throughout this movie was that his rock hard abs and well-defined biceps conflicted with the loose and easy-going character he portrayed on the screen.

Got a free afternoon or evening? I'd recommend giving this film a try. And thanks to Turner Classic Movies for broadcasting the "uncensored" version of Alibi Ike! (See the Trivia section of the IMDb Alibi Ike site for more information.)

I loved Lardner's short story and didn't really expect movie to have same punch. That said I love this movie; yeah, I'm a sucker for old movies. They didn't go on forever, had good pacing and terrific dialogue. This one fits the category. Joe E Brown is "goshdarnit" fun as Ike and just can't help himself. I've known people like this who have an excuse for everything. Yes, it's one joke but it's a funny one!

I had previously known Joe E. Brown more from brief clips and caricatures than from anything else, and I managed to completely forget the fact that he had done a wonderful job in a small role in "Some Like it Hot". Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise for me to discover that he was much more than just a goofy looking large-mouthed guy yelling "heeeyyyyyyy!". In this film, he does an excellent job portraying Alibi Ike, the small town hot-shot rookie pitcher with an excuse for everything. Even when he does everything right, he's got an excuse for why he didn't do better.

While helping his team win the pennant, he doesn't want to admit to the boys that he's actually fallen for a girl. His teammates, who are fully aware of what is going on, playfully goad him into one crazy excuse after another as he refuses to admit his romance. Brown gets excellent support here from Olivia de Havilland as his love interest and William Frawley ("Fred Mertz") as his grumpy manager, making this a thoroughly enjoyable film.