Kill the Umpire (1950)

Ex-baseball player Bill Johnson (William Bendix' ), failing at many jobs when his ball-playing days are over, reluctantly takes the advice of his father-in-law, Jonah Evans (Ray Collins), a... See full summary »

Director:

Lloyd Bacon

Writer:

Frank Tashlin (story)

Stars:

William Bendix, Una Merkel, Ray Collins

Cast

Cast overview:
William Bendix	...	Bill 'Two Call' Johnson
Una Merkel	...	Betty Johnson
Ray Collins	...	Jonah Evans
Gloria Henry	...	Lucy Johnson
Jeff Richards	...	Bob Landon (as Richard Taylor)
Connie Marshall	...	Suzie Johnson
William Frawley	...	Jimmy O'Brien
Tom D'Andrea	...	Roscoe Snooker

Storyline

Ex-baseball player Bill Johnson (William Bendix' ), failing at many jobs when his ball-playing days are over, reluctantly takes the advice of his father-in-law, Jonah Evans (Ray Collins), a retired umpire, and enters an umpire-training school. Assigned to the Texas League, he does fine until the championship play-offs when a riot develops over one of his calls. The involved player is knocked unconscious in the proceedings and cannot verify that Bill made the correct call. Despite lynch mob plans to at least tar-and-feather him, Bill's family - his daughters Lucy (Gloria Henry and Susan (Connie Marshall ) and his wife Betty (Una Merkel) - help Bill reach the ballpark safely the next day through a series of hair-raising encounters.

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Plot Keywords:

umpire | baseball | texas | baseball game | ballpark | 

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Taglines:

what a guy! what a lug! what a hero! what a bum!

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Genres:

Comedy | Sport

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 April 1950 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Wrigley Field - 42nd Place & Avalon Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Released three years before William Bendix's The Life of Riley TV sitcom debuted, the cast also includes future Riley regulars Tom D'Andrea and Henry Kulky.

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Goofs

Mountains are clearly visible at the St. Petersburg, Fla stadium. There are no mountains anywhere near St. Pete.

User Reviews

Classic old baseball movie

This is one of the great early movies about baseball. William Bendix is the perfect "Two Call Johnson" and William Frawley is outstanding as the owner of the umpire school. While it has several slapstick-style sight gags, it captures a man's love for the game. There's nothing brilliant about the storyline, but it rates as the Swiss chocolate of mind candy.

I only wish it were available on DVD.