It Happens Every Spring (1949)

Director:

Lloyd Bacon

Writers:

Valentine Davies (screenplay)
Valentine Davies (story)

Release Date:

8 August 1949 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy | Sci-Fi | Sport

Plot:

A scientist discovers a formula that makes a baseball which is repelled by wood. He promptly sets out to exploit his discovery.

Plot Keywords:

Baseball | Leave Of Absence | St. Louis | Discovery | Professor

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Ray Milland	...	Prof. Vernon K. Simpson aka King Kelly
Jean Peters	...	Deborah Greenleaf
Paul Douglas	...	Monk Lanigan
Ed Begley	...	Edgar Stone
Ted de Corsia	...	Manager Jimmy Dolan
Ray Collins	...	Prof. Alfred Greenleaf
Jessie Royce Landis	...	Mrs. Greenleaf
Alan Hale Jr.	...	Schmidt
William Murphy	...	Tommy Isabell (as Bill Murphy)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Wrigley Field - 1060 W. Addison St., Lake View, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

All the baseball teams are identified by their city but never by their nicknames. Even the home team uniforms, which should have the team nicknames, list the city instead. The reason is because the commissioner of baseball, Happy Chandler, would not sanctioned the movie because of the cheating element in the movie. So 20th Century could not use the the name of the teams or even use cameo baseball player walk ons like the studio wanted to do.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Vernon first discovers that the baseball is repelled by wood, the second piece of wood is two inches from the edge of the counter so that the ball jumps over but then, without being touched, it is six inches from the edge allowing the ball to go around the end of the wood as opposed to jumping over.

Quotes:

Manager Jimmy Dolan: [Kelly has just walked off the field in the middle of a game and Jimmy wants to fine him] Kelly's not indispensable!
Monk Lanigan: I know, but the team can't get along without him.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Sports on the Silver Screen (1997) (TV)

Soundtrack:

I'm Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover

Baseball before...Jackie Robinson, inflated salaries, and "midnight franchise moves"

Thanks to AMC, I've finally seen "the entire game," from fans going through the turnstiles to the return of the hometown hero! This almost Disney-like sports movie says BASEBALL like few other films about The Game. Ray Milland outdoes Robert Redford's "Roy Hobbs" rookie by insulting the front office into a tryout that has the infield and outfield taking a break to watch a game of catch between pitcher and catcher as wood never connects with horsehide. (One wonders what Hollywood or even the clueless Mouse would make of an errant baseball and a mysterious white precipitate, in view of the "Flubber" mess.) And it's all done with primitive SFX, projected backgrounds, and a cast of able actors taking us on a "Walter Mitty" ride into a baseball pennant race. It's a movie that never loses sight of the value of education, even commenting on inflated player salaries versus the real world near the end of the movie. (Perspective is another thing missing from current multi-million dollar epics.) So, batter up! Strike one! Strike two! Strike three! Who's the next hitless wonder? (And who wants to sidestep Rogaine for "King Kelly's Miracle Hair Restorer"?)