It Happens Every Spring

If Manager Joe McCarthy of the Red Sox ever finds any pleasant dreams sandwiched in between his present nightmares, they must have a plot that runs along the lines of "It Happens Every Spring." As a chemistry professor who turns to pitching when he discovers a solution that repels wood, Ray Milland wins 38 ball games in the regular season for St. Louis, then goes on to win four more in the World Series. Every time a bat gets near one of the magic pitches, the ball hops up and over, into the catcher's mitt. The whole picture is just as ridiculous as the ball's behavior and, as such, makes delightful summer entertainment.

Aside from the weird baseball chemistry, the movie's laughs come from the whimsical, confused Milland as he changes professions and from Paul Douglas, who plays Ray's catcher and room mate. Douglas, matching his stage performance in "Born Yesterday" and his other movie appearance in "A Letter to Three Wives," is the tobacco-chewing, hardheaded, soft-hearted, Ring Lardner ball player who wisecracks at the umpire during business hours and spends the rest of the day keeping his irascible pitcher in tow. One of the picture's funniest scenes comes when he uses some of the magic lotion for hair tonic and finds that he can't smooth his hair with a wooden hair brush.

Susan Peters is the college president's daughter who is in love with her chemistry professor. Naturally, papa is quite upsot when his promising young chem researcher runs off to win a ponnant; but, inevitably the national pastime catches up with even the most erudite--girl friend, mother, finally papa himself all become ardent St. Louis fans.

That's really the point of the plot; the lure of baseball is bound to captivate anyone who ever goes out to the park. As one of the characters puts it, "baseball is like spring fever that lasts all summer." "It Happens Every Spring" is a silly but enjoyable parody on the summertime craze that we call the great American sport.