Themes: Baseball Players, Cinderella Stories, Wishes Come True
Main Cast: Ray Milland, Jean Peters, Paul Douglas, Ed Begley, Sr., Ted de Corsia
Release Year: 1949
Country: US
Run Time: 87 minutes
Plot
Lloyd Bacon's baseball comedy stars Ray Milland as Vernon Simpson, a chemist who develops a product which repels wood. Signing on with a major league team as a pitcher, he throws screwballs doctored with his solution, becoming a sensation who strikes out every batter he faces. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Review
In this little gem of a comedy, Ray Milland has a ball -- a baseball -- and what he does to it turns the whole sports world topsy-turvy and sets high standards for later sports films about athletes with secret weapons. Milland portrays mild-mannered chemistry professor Vernon Simpson. One day, he accidentally makes a concoction that repels wood. What would happen if he rubbed his brew on a baseball and threw it to a batter? He experiments and discovers that a treated ball dips under or vaults over swinging bats. In a scene foreshadowing Roy Hobbs' batting tryout in The Natural, Simpson tries out as a pitcher for a major-league team of smirking skeptics. But nobody can hit him. Simpson then becomes King Kelly, the unhittable pitcher, carrying his team to victory after victory. What is so good about this film is that it keeps its tongue in its cheek, allowing the clever script, special effects, straight-faced acting, and goofy scenarios to work their magic. In one hilarious scene, catcher Monk Lanigan (Paul Douglas) mistakes the wood repellant for hair cream, rubs some on, and tries to coif himself with a wooden comb. Walt Disney's Flubber, good as it is, cannot match It Happens Every Spring for wacky creativity and low-key humor. The film earned an Academy award nomination for its script, then disappeared into the limbo of unpublicized films. Giving strong performances in supporting roles are Jean Peters as Milland's fianceé, Ed Begley as the team owner, and Ted de Corsia as the team manager. The final scene of the film is delightful: In the most crucial game of the year, Simpson/King Kelly runs out of his chemical concoction. He must pitch on his own, creating his own leaping fast balls. Who wins? The audience, of course. It Happens Every Spring is one of the finest sports films ever made -- in a quiet, unassuming way. ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide
It Happens Every Spring is a movie that was made in 1949. The story is completely fictitious, and the main character King Kelly is not based on or related to the actual player.
A collegeprofessor is working on a long term experiment when a baseball comes through the window destroying all of his glassware. The resultant fluid causes the baseball to be repelled by wood. Suddenly, he realizes the possibilities and takes a leave of absence to go to St. Louis to pitch in the big leagues where he becomes a star and propels his team to the World Series. It stars Ray Milland as the professor, Paul Douglas as catcher Monk Lanigan and Jean Peters.
Trivia
Despite the fact the Cardinals are the home team, some of the shots in the movie are of Wrigley Field
Watch for a young Alan Hale Jr. in a small role as a catcher on the college baseball team.
