It Happens Every Spring (1949) User Reviews

Fun movie

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 3 April 2013]

I first saw this film in 1962 on "Saturday Night At The Movies", and it's a pleasure to see it again now 51 years later! I always remembered it as a "fun film", and it still is.

The story is simple: A college professor (Ray Milland) accidentally invents a liquid that repels wood. He's also a lover of baseball, so decides to become a major league pitcher and use the fluid to stymie the batters on the other team and win the pennant. If he makes enough money, he can marry his sweetheart, the daughter of the college's dean. But, who is this mystery man (remember, in 1949 there were only a million television sets in the whole country). And, on the other hand, why did he disappear from the university? Had he become a gangster? I do have to say a word about the special effects here. Not bad. It's the general effects that are a little pathetic. In a number of the shots of Milland pitching, you can clearly see that he's standing in front of a screen since you see his shadow directly behind him. That's pretty sloppy for a major studio! But aside from that, this is a film to savor for its simple fun. And, there's a pretty decent cast here. Ray Milland is perfect as a professor and not bad as a pitcher...that's believable. Jean Peters is suitable as the fiancée. Paul Douglas (no favorite of mine) is wonderfully likable as the catcher who pals around with the professor; this may be his most engaging role. It's nice to see Ed Begley as the baseball club owner -- I used to like him in lots of television shows. And Ted de Corsia is great as the manager (interesting that they named him Jimmy Dolan). And to round out the cast -- Ray Collins and Jessie Royce Landis, both wonderful character actors.

Of course, one thing not brought up in the film is that Milland's character is clearly cheating. Even the baseball commissioner when the film was made called it that, and refused to allow any participation of any baseball players or stadiums in the filming of the production.

But, that aside, it's still just a good fun movie! Enjoy!

Cheaters Always Win

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 25 January 2014]

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.

On the mound

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 8 July 2005]

This delightful comedy is seldom seen on cable. The Fox channel is a great source for these neglected and forgotten films that still produce a lot of fun to viewers, young and old. Lloyd Bacon directed this movie with a lot of flair. There are some insanely funny moments in the film, based on Valentine Davis' screen play.

Chemistry professor Vernon Simpson, working on a small midwest university, discovers as a fluke, that one of his projects produce a rejection of wood when rubbed in an object; that object being the baseball that almost destroys his lab. Professor Simpson's passion is the national pastime, which we see him hearing a broadcast during one of his classes. Simpson is also in love with the beautiful Debby Greenleaf, the daughter of the president of the university.

Vernon decides to try his hand as a pitcher, now that he has the secret, as he feels his beloved Saint Louis Cardinals can use him. As the mysterious King Kelly, Vernon proves to be an asset to his team. The catcher, Monk Lanigan, is his roommate. The two men develop an easy friendship. Lanigan, like anyone else, is puzzled by the way Kelly can pitch, even at his age. When Lanigan wants to know what does King keep in a tiny bottle in his dresser, and he is told it's hair tonic, which he proceeds to use himself, with magical results. He even gives some of it to the manager, not knowing is the secret formula that King uses to throw those magical pitches.

As Vernon/King, Ray Milland makes a wonderful appearance in the film. His chemistry with Paul Douglas, the catcher and roommate, is unique. Both stars are amazing together and this is what makes the comedy a winning and sunny time at the movies because of the fun we experience in watching them perform. Jean Peters is also good as Debby, the girl that conquered Vernon's heart. Ray Collins, Ed Begley and Jessie Royce Landis do excellent supporting work.

"It Happens Every Spring" is a sunny comedy that proves to be a lot of fun.

Hollywood home run

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 27 February 2014]

Sometimes Hollywood gets it right. This is one of those times.

While aiming for the funny bone, this delightful comedy scores a home run. Ray Milland is cast in the lead role as an absent-minded professor who becomes a hit in the world of baseball thanks to a wood-repellent formula he has invented. It prevents batters from getting to first base. Jean Peters plays the love interest, and she manages to get to first base in other ways. There's a good turn by veteran character actor Ray Collins, but the one to watch is Paul Douglas, in a supporting role.

If you like this film, watch Disney's The Absent-Minded Professor starring Fred MacMurray.

Better Things For Better Living -- Through Chemistry.

[rmax304823 · 7/10 · 24 January 2014]

I haven't followed baseball since I was a child. The only sport that's ever interested me is trying to get out of bed in the morning. But this is a movie that convulsed me as a youth and that I still enjoy watching, along with "The Natural" and "Damn Yankees" (except for Tab Hunter, a black hole in any production).

Ray Milland is quite good as a slightly aged-in-the-wood chemistry graduate student and professor. He loves his work; he loves his girl, Jean Peters. The only problem is that through the Spring and Summer he's distracted by baseball, which he monitors religiously.

One of those lab accidents takes place that produces an unidentifiable mixture of some white fluid -- about a quart -- that is repelled by wood. Scientist that he is, Milland discovers that rolling a baseball around in the stuff makes it impossible for a wooden bat to hit the ball. The ball leaps like a rabbit before returning to its original trajectory. Milland forces his way onto a major league team, leaving everyone to wonder if he's been kidnapped or become a gangster.

It's a raw but engaging comedy. Milland pass off the little bottle of fluid as hair tonic and when anyone borrows it and tries to brush his hair, the hair crackles and tries to escape the brush. Paul Douglas is the catcher who first tries Milland out -- "He ain't got a prayer" -- and then is assigned to keep an eye on him because Milland reads books with titles like "The Atom, The Stars, And The Universe", and "Fundamentals of Ballistics," so he's an odd ball, though a valuable odd ball.

Don't expect subtlety or sophistication and you'll enjoy yourself.

Another 'Miracle' story from Valentine Davies...

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 28 April 2008]

Lloyd Bacon directed this swift, compact major-league fantasy featuring a fine cast. Ray Milland is engaging as a college professor who invents a wood-repelling substance...which he then applies to a baseball. Soon, he's the star pitcher on a professional ball team, and what appears to be a succession of unqualified strike-outs are all due to Milland's little deception. The screenplay (by Valentine "Miracle on 34th Street" Davies) commendably never apologizes for the professor-turned-pitcher's concealment of the truth--it's his secret, and that's as it should be. The movie is simply concerned with being a frothy piece of sports whimsy, and it's enjoyable fluff for the whole family. Terrific supporting cast includes Jean Peters and another flawless tough guy performance from salty-but-sweet Paul Douglas. *** from ****

Thankfully, It Happens Every Spring

[guildf30 · 9/10 · 2 April 2005]

Not quite in the league of "It's a Wonderful Life" or "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," but a great fantasy story of the egghead professor in the hard boiled world of baseball.

Paul Douglas steals the movie as the craggy old pro catcher, Monk Lanigan. Watch for a young Alan Hale, Jr., later to be the Skipper in "Gilligan's Island." Take a look at the writing credits for the writer of this one. Sterling. Also, a great feel for 40's baseball fans, baseball stadiums, just baseball. I loved this film as a kid, still love it now.

This film should be as much a harbinger of spring as the first robin. Don't miss it!

Utterly ridiculous (and a bit stupid) but somehow it still entertains.

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 4 April 2013]

There are so many problems with "It Happens Every Spring" that it's hard to imagine that I'd still recommend it. That's because it's a film you can enjoy IF you turn off your brain and simply enjoy it on a brain-dead level. I apparently could do this, though occasionally nagging problems with the plot reared their ugly heads.

Ray Milland stars as a goofy college chemistry professor. One day while working on a formula for a wood repellent, a baseball flies through the window and smashes his equipment and notes. Oddly, however, it seems that whatever the concoction landed on now repels wood--and I mean REALLY repels wood. When he puts it on a baseball, it cannot be hit! So, he hatches a plan--to brush up on his pitching and earn money for his research by joining the major leagues. Now here is the part that I couldn't understand and I think it was added simply to make the movie formulaic (giving it some contention)--when he is hired by St. Louis to pitch, he uses an alias and doesn't want anyone to know he's a professor. Why isn't really clearly understandable--as the school, when they discovered, wasn't mad in the least he took a leave of absence to play pro ball.

The ball does many insane things when he pitches it--flying about in ways that defy physics. In addition, his using a cloth dunked in the solution to rub on the ball would easily have been discovered. Yet, inexplicably, no one seems to think he's cheating--which he clearly is. Still, despite many logical flaws, Milland is very entertaining (he was a fine actor--and very good in comedy) and the plot is rather cute. As I said above, turn off your brain--otherwise it might be tough to finish.

The Strange Case of Professor Simpson

[clydestuff · 9/10 · 3 April 2004]

There have been many pitchers in Major League Baseball who were quite adept at doctoring a baseball. Some, such as Gaylord Perry and Burleigh Grimes, were known to add a little saliva or in Perry's case perhaps a little Vaseline. Doing this would cause the ball to suddenly drop when reaching home plate as if the bottom had fallen out of it. Then there was Whitey Ford, who was said to be able to put a few nicks or scratches in the old cowhide causing the laced sphere to do some mighty strange things. None of these players comes close to being as interesting as baseball legend Professor Vernon Simpson.

Professor Simpson was a chemistry professor at a Midwestern college. He was in love with the Dean's daughter, Deborah Greenleaf and hoped that someday they would be married. College professor's salaries being what they were in the late forties, his only hope of being able to financially support Miss Greenleaf depended on an experiment he had devised that would someday change the world. Like all normal American men of his day, Vernon was also known to get caught up in the Rite of Spring better described as the opening of the baseball season. One day while in his lab working intently on his experiment, some of the young college students were outside practicing baseball. Unfortunately, an errant ball came crashing through the window destroying the Professor's experiment and mixing his chemicals into a convoluted mess. Or so he thought.

While cleaning up the destroyed experiment, Vernon accidentally discovered that the mixture of chemicals left behind had the unique ability to resist wood. After testing the formula in his lab, he recruited the young college baseball players to scientifically examine the reaction of this chemical when applied to a baseball. After acquiring enough data to prove to himself that when the formula was applied to a baseball no hitter could touch it, Professor Simpson had no alternative but to offer his services to the St. Louis Cardinals who were themselves in desperate need of pitching. Although skeptical at first, the owner of the Cardinals did give Vernon a tryout to teach him a lesson. It was of course Vernon and his secret formula that taught the manager and the owner of St. Louis the lesson, and they signed him to a contract that would pay Vernon $1,000 dollars for every game he won.

It Happens Every Spring is a whimsical tale of an innocent sports era that has long passed. It's the kind of story one might imagine as a Disney film from the sixties or seventies starring Kurt Russell as The World's Greatest Pitcher or some other lame inappropriate title. I am eternally grateful that Disney never discovered this gem in order to film a plasticized silly remake. It Happens Every Spring is good enough as it is and far better than any of those films about World's Greatest Athletes or Computers in Tennis Shoes.

A large part of its success can be attributed to Ray Milland. As Professor Simpson, he never lets the character sink into the foolishness of Fred MacMurray's Ned Brainard from The Absent Minded Professor films. That is not meant to deride MacMurray's performance in those films, as his character was played as it was written, but the fact that Milland's Simpson appears more scholarly and analytical makes this film work even better. He sees his accidental discovery as a means to achieving two necessary goals: Making enough money to be able to wed Deborah (Jean Peters)and helping the Cardinals win the pennant.

As Deborah, Jean Peters is gorgeous, charming and delightful. After Vernon's mysterious disappearance, she sets out to discover what became of him and through a series of mistaken coincidences believes he has joined the mob. Paul Douglas as Monk Lanigan, Vernon's catcher, has most of the funniest lines and some of the best scenes, one involving him wearing a splint while trying to catch, and another when he uses Vernon's formula as a hair tonic. He's a pure delight in what I consider one of his best roles.

In the cynical sports world of today, one has to wonder if a remake of this film would even work. Much of what occurs is able to happen because it came from a time when there were no multi-million dollar athletes, no wall to wall TV coverage on ESPN and no cynical sports analysts to dissect every play. One of the major plot lines in this film has to do with Vernon being able to hide his identity, and any redo of this film would just have to dispense with that possibility altogether. In the time in which this film occurs, it works marvelously, and is a joy to watch. If set in the year 2004, one doubts that it could be the same enjoyable experience. It Happens Every Spring may not be the most remembered or notable films about baseball, but it one of the best. And when you are one of the best you get my grade which for It Happens Every Spring is an A. Batter Up!!!!

Entertaining But Brutally Bad Baseball

[ccthemovieman-1 · 7/10 · 23 December 2005]

Talk about dated! However, that's not a knock because dated many times means fun to watch, and nostalgic for some. This is an entertaining film and very likable.

But, if you are a baseball fan or know anything about the game, be prepared. This has the hokiest baseball scenes ever put on film. It's almost like those corny Ed Wood and others sci-fi films of the 1950s that are so bad, so corny that they are good, if you know what I mean.

The actors in here have NO CLUE how to throw a baseball or how to bat. Ray Milland is a pitcher and the star of the show and he has no idea but his catcher, played by Paul Douglas, is worse. He is embarrassingly bad. You remember the expression, "He throws like a girl!?" Well, that's Douglas. You mean with all the actors in Hollywood, they couldn't find ONE who knows how to throw a baseball?

There are so many bloopers in here - like "St. Louis" being replaced by "Chicago" on the jerseys when there are long-distance shots. You could write a novel on all the filming mistakes in here.

Yet, it's just a lighthearted comedy and, if taken in that context, easier to swallow and enjoy. The story is at its funniest when Milland pitches and the ball dispy- doodles around the baseball bats of all the hitters. (He had invented a substance that applied to something makes it avoid touching wood, so applied to a baseball, a bat could never make contact.....and, yes, as one reviewer points out, that is cheating.)

Dumb...but innocent fun and definitely has enough laughs to make it worthwhile watching.

Glorifies Cheating

[hr2 · 1/10 · 28 October 2007]

This movie disappointed me even when I saw it as a very young kid, in a movie theater, in the late 50s. The older I got, the more I disliked the way it glorified cheating and the more I became disgusted with the way critics glorified the movie. I wonder how many kids watching that movie grew up to be cheaters in their work.

The only real saving grace of this movie is at the end, when the cheater actually wins a game on his own. Even then, he shows no remorse for his having gotten to the "big" game by cheating. The win seems only to justify his earlier cheating.

In short, this movie does nothing more than sell the notion that the end, in this case winning the world series, justifies the means used to reach that end, cheating.

I'm sorry that old Ray Milland, a great actor, stooped to the level required to star in this loser of a movie.

One of the best baseball flicks

[movietom-2 · 9/10 · 17 August 2000]

A hilarious comedy as well as one of the best baseball films. Ray Milland has one of his best roles as Vernon/King Kelly, and there are great supporting turns from the likes of Paul Douglas. What I truly enjoy about "It Happens Every Spring" is that it celebrates, tongue in cheek, one of the great "unspoken" traditions of the Great American Game -- cheating! (Spitballs, corked bats, steroids -- they all fall into the same category as Kelly's wood-repellant serum.) What other baseball movie does that? Good goofy fun.

Sports and Sci-fi combine in this fun family fantasy

[SimonJack · 7/10 · 10 October 2020]

From the time of this film - in the mid-20th century, one might guess that the milieu of "It Happens Every Spring" might be baseball. Well, some of us in the senior generations and younger folks who know something of history would make such a guess - and be right. With so many other pastimes, sports, entertainments and interests in the 21st century, the lure of baseball isn't what it once was to the youth of America.

But, this film has one more aspect that provides the comedy and makes for a fun and entertaining film. If it can please my grandchildren, it must still have something going for it. That other thing is a sci-fi plot in which the male lead, Ray Milland is a professor who accidentally discovers a powerful chemical that repels wood. It happens when the chemistry research project he is working on is demolished by a baseball that crashes through his lab window.

Prof. Simpson just happens to be a big baseball fan himself, and may have dreamed of being a great pitcher when he was a child. Well his discovery of the baseball that was soaked in his chemicals making detours around wood items on his counter sets the stage for an entertaining film. He uses his discovery to win a pitching spot on the St. Louis Cardinals who are in the pennant race. He takes a difffernet name and becomes known as King Kelly, an overnight sensation who wins 37 games and takes the Cards to the World Series.

It's all a lot of fun, with Paul Douglas as Monk Lanigan providing the back up for the king. There isn't a lot of funny dialog, but the scenes are fun when batters swing and miss the ball that makes jerking detours above and under their bats. This is a fun little fantasy film that most of the family should enjoy.

Repels everything made of Wood except Natalie!

[thejcowboy22 · 5/10 · 11 May 2017]

I recall my first little league experience. I started in left field. A ball was hit to me and it hit off the heal of my and rolled forever behind me . The hitter ending up getting an inside the park home run. The bottom of the inning didn't fair any better as I stuck out swinging as the opposing pitcher threw bee bees at lightning speed. 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.

Wonderful Comedy Deserves More Viewers

[Michael_Elliott · 10 May 2010]

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.

Frivolous But Entertaining Baseball Comedy!!!

[zardoz-13 · 7/10 · 3 January 2017]

"Kill the Umpire" director Lloyd Bacon's sci-fi sports saga "It Happens Every Spring" is a frivolous but entertaining baseball comedy. Ray Milland plays a bespectacled college chemistry professor who invents a mysterious liquid during a sabotaged experiment that he is conducting to develop a substance that repels insects from wood. Everything comes to a screeching halt after a baseball shatters the window of his laboratory and smashes his glassware equipment. Vernon K. Simpson (Ray Milland of "Dial M for Murder") cleans up the debris and discovers that the fluid applied to a ball swerves around wooden objects. The initial test looks extremely flawed because Simpson hangs the baseball by a string and passes wood in close proximity to it and the ball bounds. Problem is you know that somebody had to be tugging the string off-screen because we are not shown in the medium shot where the string is attached to a stick. (This didn't bother me that much but some may object to it. Anyway, this enables Simpson to throw a pitch that with which no batter can connect.

Vernon rushes over to see university president, Professor Greenleaf (Ray Collins of "Perry Mason"), to persuade him to approve his request for an impromptu leave of absence. Greenleaf agrees, and our baseball-obsessed hero tears off so he won't miss his train. Greenleaf had been warned by a colleague that Vernon goes flaky during the summer months, but nobody knows exactly what governs Vernon's erratic behavior. He just loves baseball, and a radio broadcast from a baseball game during his class lecture distracts him. Meantime, Vernon visits the main offices of a non-specific St. Louis baseball team and struggles to convince hostile club manager Jimmy Dolan (Ted de Corsia of "The Steel Jungle") and club owner (Ed Begley of "Hang'em High") that he can win the pennant for them if they allow him to hurl. Naturally, these guys are astonished that he can throw a ball that nobody can swat. The complication is that Vernon doesn't want anybody, particularly the president of the university, Professor Alfred Greenleaf, to find out what he is doing. Furthermore, what he doesn't know is that catcher, Monk Lanigan (Paul Douglas of "Fourteen Hours"), has been sneaking his stuff to grow hair. The scenes of Monk and later Dolan combing their unruly hair is funny. As it turns out, Vernon and Professor Greenleaf's daughter Deborah (Jean Peters of "Apache") are romantically involved, and Vernon is hoping that his scientific discovery will land them a fortune because his university teaching position pays peanuts. Nevertheless, Vernon proves his value to St. Louis and they sign him to a contract. Vernon comes up with a fake name King Kelly to throw anybody off the scent of his identity. He dazzles everybody until the smashes his fingers, and he cannot catch Vernon's pitches. Eventually, Monk meets Deborah and learns about Vernon's secret identity. Things take a turn for the worst when Vernon finds out that the last bottle of his stuff is gone. Director Lloyd Bacon believes in playing comedy with emphasizing the humor. Nobody in the cast behaves as if they were in a comedy, and this makes these shenanigans doubly invigorating. The final catch is that Vernon snags a line drive during the pennant game and it fractures his hand so he can no longer play baseball.

The theme of the discrepancy between the salary of athletes and college professors crops up repeatedly. Interestingly enough, the filmmakers could care less that what Vernon is doing raises ethical questions. Vernon's discovery allows him to take advantage of the opposing team rather than steroids enable an athlete to grow bigger muscles. Vernon's special ability strikes me as being at odds with good sportsmanship. "It Happens Every Spring" qualifies as wholesome but amusing hokum.

"Wow, what kind of a ball was that?"

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 23 April 2016]

Having read almost all of the comments on this film by IMDb reviewers, the thing that surprises me more than anything else is that no one mentioned the age disparity between Professor Vernon Simson/King Kelly (Ray Milland) and his fiancée Deborah (Jean Peters). Give or take a year either way, Milland was twice as old as his co-star in the picture, and the relationship didn't seem credible to me at all. It didn't help that the story didn't reveal any chemistry between the two either. I wonder why film makers took that route back in the day; it happened quite frequently with other actors too, like Randolph Scott and John Wayne for example. I think we're pretty much beyond that kind of casting by now.

Otherwise the story has the kind of whimsical fantasy perspective of movies like Disney's "The Absent Minded Professor" (1961) and "Son of Flubber" (1963). Attempting to formulate something akin to an anti-termite solution, Professor Simpson accidentally stumbles upon a concoction that makes baseballs allergic to baseball bats. One of the students helping him test his theory was Alan Hale Jr. looking remarkably young, and it was funny to hear him calling Milland 'Professor' instead of Russell Johnson, a fellow castaway on Gilligan's Island.

An interesting theme the story line treads on in describing the character of Professor Simpson was one of possible mental illness. The subject is broached early in the story when Professor Greenleaf asks a colleague what he thinks of Simpson and the response suggests that he's okay from November through April but then he suddenly starts to exhibit erratic behavior, corresponding as we learn, with the annual baseball season. Later, when Simpson approaches Greenleaf for an extended and indeterminate leave, it's without a coherent reason that he makes his request. So there's good cause to question Simpson's mental state. I bring this up because later on in the scene outside the jewelry store with Simpson and Deborah, they pass under a movie marquee featuring "The Snake Pit", which dealt with a woman who's confined to an asylum. I thought the connection was pretty interesting and wondered whether it was done intentionally. Incidentally, another movie on the marquee was "Jungle Patrol", both films from 1948.

Considering what the modern era has wrought in the way of technological advances, it seems almost impossible that the Professor could have pulled off his ruse as an incognito pitcher for a Major League baseball franchise, even as far back as 1949. I suppose it could have been possible, but by the time he breezed past his thirtieth win as a pitcher, I would think the home town fans would have made the connection. Heck, even Wyatt Earp was recognizable from illustrations in pulp magazines of the 1870's.

Anyway, sports fans can have some fun with this picture despite the quirky stuff going on with the nitrocyclohexane juiced baseball, fully understanding that it's all done simply for entertainment. Catch the quick reference comparing King Kelly to Dizzy Dean, pitching legend for the St. Louis Cardinals during the Thirties. A couple years after this picture was made, a film on Dean came out titled "The Pride of St. Louis".

Best comedy/baseball film ever made with reality to back it

[jcholguin · 10/10 · 31 July 2001]

For years after watching this film, I tried to make a formula that would repel wood just like Ray Milland did as chemistry professor Vernon Simpson. After all it makes sense that a little "dab" on the pitching ball, no matter who the batter is, he could not hit the ball with the wooden bat. That is the whole film in a "nutshell." A college professor that loves baseball becomes the ace pitcher of a big league team. A truly delightful film and really incredible effects of the baseball twisting away from the baseball bat. Many funny scenes like the ones involving catcher Monk Lanigan alias Paul Douglas putting the "chemical stuff" in his hair and his hair trying to escape from the wooden comb. The ending is classic as King Kelly pitches his heart out because the "stuff" is gone and all he has is "guts." What a film!

The Absent-Minded Professor

[wes-connors · 7/10 · 6 April 2014]

Shy and reserved chemistry professor Ray Milland (as Vernon "King Kelly" Simpson) becomes absent-minded every spring. It happens. Following a disruptive class, he accidentally creates a liquid compound that repels wood. The solution gets on a baseball and something unusual happens. The baseball avoids contact with anything wooden, so Mr. Milland decides to "play ball." He joins the St. Louis team as a pitcher, telling roommate and catcher Paul Douglas (as Monk Lanigan) his magic liquid is a hair tonic. One problem is that – being absent-minded – Milland is unable to make any new bottles of the wood repellent. This could prove interesting if there is to be a big game. Another concern is pretty girlfriend Jean Peters (as Deborah "Debbie" Greenleaf), who suspects Milland is leading a more nefarious double life...

Directed by Lloyd Bacon, this whimsical comedy may have been the inspiration for Disney studio's "The Absent-Minded Professor" (1961). Screenplay writer Valentine Davies had little time to find bemusement in the homage, felled by a heart attack just after the Disney picture's release. What makes "It Happens Every Spring" so enjoyable is that it's sheer nonsense and does not overindulge in mugging. Milland is a seventh inning stretch as a young graduate student, but he makes a fine impression. Milland sometimes suggests a screwball Cary Grant, but without suffering in the comparison. Of course, Mr. Douglas and the supporting cast assist admirably. Watch big names in little places as former "silent" film star Mae Marsh walks on as a housekeeper and future "Gilligan's Island" skipper Alan Hale Jr. makes the team.

******* It Happens Every Spring (6/10/49) Lloyd Bacon ~ Ray Milland, Paul Douglas, Jean Peters, Ray Collins

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

[etsuo · 9/10 · 17 June 2001]

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"?)

Good nostalgic comedy

[caa821 · 7/10 · 18 January 2007]

This is a fanciful story, nostalgic now, with its presenting the baseball milieu as it was several decades ago, and presents several likable actors, now gone, led by Milland and Douglas.

Robert Redford, Kevin Costner, Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen - and a couple of other actors - can handle throwing, fielding and hitting a baseball competently, and are able to convey an ability at a level to warrant the character they've been hired to portray.

However, in past flicks, the macho Gary Cooper and Jimmy Stewart, who played "men's men" many times over, couldn't play baseball for sour apples; and Tony Perkins was even worse. However, Milland and Paul Douglas are so inept it is doubtful they would stand-out if participating as members of a T-ball team.

But it is enjoyable as a nostalgic piece of cornball comedy, with an engaging cast no longer with us. A 7-* decent piece of entertainment.

What would George Brett Say to this?

[bkoganbing · 3/10 · 7 February 2006]

One of my most memorable baseball images is that of George Brett who after hitting a home run against the Yankees had it disallowed because of excess pine tar used on his bat. The protest was lodged by Billy Martin the Yankee manager of the time who knew about the obscure rule and waited for an appropriate moment for the protest. I remember vividly the image of George Brett in his Royals uniform charging out of the Kansas City dugout, bat in hand looking to rearrange Billy Martin's face with it.

Now if pine tar got that home run disallowed, what do you think the ruling heads of baseball would say to a wood repellent that made it impossible to hit a doctored ball? Yet that's what we're being asked to accept here.

A lot has sure happened to baseball since 1949, but I think outright cheating would have been frowned upon back in the day. Of course Ray Milland doesn't think of it as cheating. He accidentally discovers a compound that repels wood in an experiment to develop some stain free varnish. He's a university chemistry professor and he decides to join the hapless St. Louis team and pitch them to the pennant, purely as a scientific experiment.

I do love baseball and baseball films, but this is one of the worst ever made. It has a few laughs in it, the players Ray Milland, Jean Peters, Paul Douglas, Ted DeCorsia give adequate performances, but the premise is impossible. Ray Milland is like a pitching version of Joe Hardy from Damn Yankees. Hardy had some underworld intervention to account for his success, but Milland relies on some scientific cheating. I can hardly believe that the Commissioner of Baseball who at the time was Albert "Happy" Chandler would not have called for an investigation as to the strange doings in St. Louis.

And if he didn't no one should ever have criticized and attacked such pitchers as Whitey Ford, Lew Burdette, and Gaylord Perry who were accused of using the outlawed spitball to help their game.

In fact we ought to consider bringing back all those doctored pitches from days gone by.

Great comedy

[andyevel6 · 10/10 · 16 November 2007]

This is a great comedy. The fact that a college professor uses a chemistry formula (that makes most things repel wood) to win the World Baseball Championship actually makes it funnier. And it's wholesome fun, despite what some moralists may think. The premise that Ray Milland can't actually pitch too well is what makes this a true screwball comedy - and he is redeemed at the end (I won't say how so I won't spoil the fun of watching it). Absurd situations is what makes funny films. This definitely has the formula for comedy: Witty, lots of jokes, madcap romantic situations, and abundant twists and turns. Milland chose to star in this flick right after his Best Actor Oscar for a reason -it became a top comedy of the era. Paul Douglas is outrageously funny as his bemused catcher (the scene where he rubs Milland's wood-repelling formula into his hair is priceless). And the gorgeous Jean Peters comes across with top honors -she can actually do comedy and it's a shame Fox didn't assign her to more of these. Some other Fox actresses without a knack for comedy, were persistently featured in comedies that could have been much funnier if Miss Peters or Marilyn Monroe had been assigned the female lead. See this film. Like "Some Like it Hot" or "It Should Happen to You" (two films featuring Jack Lemmon), this one's full of fun and you'll laugh every other minute. It should have been selected as one of the 50 top comedies ever, but you know how critics love films with a message (which should never be the case with comedies).

I read a book once about a kid who batted 1.000 . . .

[tadpole-596-918256 · 7/10 · 28 January 2014]

. . . but this yarn concerning a college chemistry instructor who pitches 1.000 (38-0 with one no-hitter for the Cards, plus 3-0 against the Yankees in the World Series) is such a stretch that MLB required the producers of IT HAPPENS EVERY SPRING to make all the teams and stadiums "generic" (at least to Martians). This story asks the question, "What if there were some magical chemical hormone that could make a geezer in the twilight of his career--say, Roger Clemens or Barry Bonds--suddenly perform better than ever before: Would such a geriatric has-been risk The Game's Integrity and his own Legacy by cheating, and could be get away with it?" Obviously, young Roger and Barry saw IT HAPPENS EVERY SPRING many times growing up, and noticed that clever cheaters such as Vernon, a.k.a. "King" Kelly, not only get away with transgressing--they're given a hero's welcome complete with marching bands when they return home. In movie life, Vernon breaks his pitching hand catching a line drive to end the World series (as well as his career). It's a safe bet MLB wishes that Roger had permanently thrown his elbow out winning Game #299, or that Barry had suffered a career-ending knee injury rounding first on home run #754, but Real Life doesn't work so neatly. Sadly for this film, Ray Milan (Vernon) and his girl Debbie (Jean Peters) have NO chemistry together (which is more than you can say for Roger and Barry).

cheating

[thomasloar · 1/10 · 26 April 2019]

Leave it to hollywood to condone cheating in sports