Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Boring

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Ray Milland although an academy award winning actor always plays a dour, serious kind of actor. This film is sort of an aberration for Milland taking part in this baseball fairy tale comedy. Milland plays a college professor Vernon Simpson who is a baseball fan. One day while running an experiment in his lab, a baseball crashes through his window breaking beakers and glassware. The fluids combined with a fictitious substance methylethylpropylbutyl creates this holy grail that only major league pitchers were looking for in the quest of greatness, a chemical that repels wood. The mild mannered Vernon takes leave from the university and goes into obscurity. Vernon immediately tries out for the St. Louis club as a pitcher. On first impression by the owner and coaches was not a good one despite his slow delivery and lack of velocity until the teams top slugger was whiffing at ball soaked pitches after pitch. Catcher and second banana Paul Douglas plays the room mate Monk to the green Major Leager/ professor King Kelly as his alias. Meanhile back at the Campus Vernon's fiancé Deborah (Jean Peters) is worried as there's no word on his whereabouts. Our new phenom King Kelly is making headlines across the country setting strikeout records and victories using a sponge inserted in his catching glove. Reporters try to find out where he's from. Protected by Monk, King Kelly's personal catcher who is constantly harassed by his wife via the telephone borrows that formula mistaking it for hair tonic. The results are astounding as at one point the hair goes one way and the opposite way when using a wooden brush. This baseball fantasy plays itself out and in 9 beautiful innings.

Fun baseball comedy starring, of all people, Ray Milland. There's so many things about this that shouldn't work yet it does. Milland plays a college professor who also happens to be a brilliant scientist working on a formula for a coating on wood that will make it repellent to things like bugs and mice. Through an accident he discovers his formula, when put on a baseball, will make it impossible to hit. So he does what any scientist would do and decides to become a major league pitcher. He becomes a big success, cheating like the dickens the whole way. This was back in the day when things like fair play and honor were valued. Yet here this guy is cheating his way to the World Series and, amusingly, the movie passes no judgment on it. Now, anybody who knows baseball knows some pitchers back in the day were not above using various techniques to doctor the balls they threw. Like spitballs, for example. Still, such things weren't openly endorsed by Major League Baseball and they wouldn't have anything to do with the movie because of the cheating. This is why they use fake teams in the film instead of real ones, which was more commonplace at the time.Milland is excellent and proves that personable, talented actors can often rise above miscasting. Paul Douglas is great fun as Milland's catcher. It's a role Douglas could play in his sleep and he's perfect in it. Gorgeous Jean Peters plays Milland's girlfriend. Besides good looks, she brings charm and humor to the part. She retired from acting in the mid 50s and married Howard Hughes. It's a very pleasant, enjoyable comedy. Far-fetched and often ridiculous, yes, but still fun.

It Happens Every Spring (1949) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Hilarious baseball movie has chemist professor Vernon Simpson (Ray Milland) coming up with a formula that will repel wood. He then decides to fulfill a life long dream of playing professional baseball so he ends up pitching for the St. Louis Cardnials and plans on leading them to the World Series with his magic trick. This film has gotten pretty rave reviews all around but there was a part of me that felt a bit off going into the movie because I was curious to see how a comedy was going to work when the main guy was basically cheating at a sport. Well, purist will have no trouble because the fact that he's cheating never comes into play because the viewer will be too busy laughing. After watching this film I couldn't believe that it wasn't better known consider it's about baseball, features a wonderful, Oscar-winning actor and most importantly it's incredibly funny. You'd think the joke of a baseball magically moving around a bat would wear thin after the first time but it doesn't and in fact it keeps getting funnier as the movie moves along. I'm not too certain how they did the special effect of the baseball moving in all sorts of wacky directions but there's no doubt it's one of the funniest things in any sports movie. What also makes it work so well is that Milland is, as no shock, excellent in the role. He's a very serious actor and he plays the part here very seriously and this adds to the charm and even helps us believe the events that are going on. He doesn't look or feel like a baseball player but that's pretty much the point of the story as he walks off the streets and becomes the greatest pitcher in baseball history. Jean Peters does a nice job as his girlfriend with Paul Gouglas, Ed Begley, Ted de Corsia and Alan Hale, Jr. adding great support. Apparently MLB wouldn't allow any real teams or real player cameos in the film because of the cheating but it's their loss considering how wonderful the film turned out and in fact there's really no need for any famous faces to show up as the film is strong enough not to need them. Bacon's direction is top-notch throughout as he perfectly handles the rather screwball moments but most importantly is Milland and the fact that you like him and want to see this scheme work.

Yes it's corny, as corny as they come. The baseball scenes aren't the best, but are still very interesting. It's a simple movie and it's hard to believe it could be on someones all time top 10 list. However, that is exactly where it sits for me. I remember a time when it was on once a year in the early spring. One would have to scan the TV guide throughly or risk missing it and having to wait another year. We are so spoiled now. I always judged the wealth of a movie by how it made you feel when it was over. It Happens leaves me feeling.... well.... giddy, happy, full of life, full of what could be possible. I throw it in the VCR a couple of times a year now and always watch it just before the new season begins. Ahhhh, hope springs eternal....If you haven't seen it yet, There's always next year. Mike