Dizzy & Daffy (1934)

A half-blind minor league pitcher meets, and nicknames, Dizzy and Daffy Dean, who go on to play for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Director:

Lloyd French

Writers:

Jack Henley (screenplay), Dolph Singer (screenplay)

Stars:

Dizzy Dean, Paul 'Daffy' Dean, Roscoe Ates

Cast

Cast overview:
Dizzy Dean	...	Dizzy Dean (as Jerome Dean)
Paul 'Daffy' Dean	...	Daffy Dean (as Paul Dean)
Roscoe Ates	...	'Call-'Em-Wrong' Jones, the Umpire
Shemp Howard	...	Lefty Howard
Richard Cramer	...	Nick, Farmers Baseball Team Manager (as Dick Cramer)

Storyline

One baseball fan is excited that Lefty Howard, straight from the big league, is playing for the Farmer White Sox. Another wonders why, if he is so good, the big league let him go. Meanwhile, in the locker room, Lefty Howard brags about his baseball prowess and tries to show off by demonstrating his "fade away." The half-blind Howard throws the ball and breaks a mirror instead of the empty bottle he was aiming for. Two other players - Jerome Dean and his brother, Paul - look on. Jerome shows up Howard by knocking over the ball himself. The day's game goes badly. Even with his coke-bottle glasses, Howard can't tell the difference between a picture on a billboard and an actual player in left field. The umpire, "Call 'Em Wrong" Jones, does neither team any favors by calling a strike when he can't stutter past the word "ball." Things improve when Jerome takes over the pitching. Both brothers get a publicity boost when Lefty nicknames them: Dizzy and Daffy Dean. Later, a scout for the St. ...

---

Plot Keywords:

baseball | brother | st. louis cardinals | umpire | coke bottle glasses | 

---

Genres:

Short | Comedy | Sport

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 December 1934 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vitaphone Corporation, The, Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

18 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Vitaphone Production Reels #1805-1806.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Baseball Fan: [off-screen] Oh, boy, with Lefty Howard, Farmer White Sox are going to sew up the pennant in no time.

---

Soundtracks

"The Gridiron"
(uncredited)
Music by Arthur Willard Pryor

User Reviews

It's all about Shemp!

When Shemp Howard could no longer deal with Ted Healy's bullying and drinking, he left the team that would become "The Three Stooges", once Healy was out of the picture. (His place in the team was taken by his younger brother Jerome.) Until brother Jerry had a stroke and brother Moe asked Shemp to return to the team, Shemp had a respectable solo career. He starred or had substantial roles in a number of "Big V - Vitaphone Comedies" shot in New York. This short may have been made to show off Dizzy and Daffy Dean's baseball skills, but it is Shemp who steals the show as the near-sighted pitcher, "Lefty" Howard. He is given plenty of footage and shows what a fine physical comedian he is. Without Shemp, this short would be a slow moving curiosity showing off the non-acting abilities of the Deans and the annoying and politically incorrect stuttering comedy of Roscoe Ates. Shemp makes the short a tolerable, mediocre Vitaphone effort.