classicsoncall Some time ago I caught Joe E. Brown in another baseball flick, "Elmer the Great". His character Elmer in that one was quite arrogant, and not at all the way I remembered Brown from flicks I caught as a kid back in the Fifties. In "Alibi Ike", Brown brings back that old time magic for me, right down to that siren like "Heeeyyyyy" whenever he gets into a tight spot. And then there's that fantastic double triple loopy windmill windup he makes when setting up to pitch. Man, I could have used that delivery as a Little Leaguer to confound the opposing batters. In both baseball flicks, Brown's character winds up on the Chicago Cubs, this time by way of Sauk Center. I guess we've all run across someone at one time or another who makes excuses for just about everything, but with Frank X. Farrell (Brown), he just never gives it a rest. Most of the time I had to wonder why too, because a lot of the situations on screen were slice of life stuff, like buying an engagement ring. I guess Ike was so much into the Alibi persona he just couldn't quit. Speaking of which, that was quite the double talk line he threw at the jeweler; I don't remember Brown ever using that before.After a false start with his gal Dolly, Farrell rises to the occasion on both the ball field and in the romance department. Some of the baseball stuff is just plain silly, like calling all the players around to the pitcher's mound while Ike strikes out the side. There's also a brief interlude involving mobsters attempting to get Ike to 'throw' some games, but it's done somewhat haphazardly and blows by without much consequence. It's the physical comedy that entertains, along with Joe E. Brown's unique facials that make "Alibi Ike" a fun diversion.

ccthemovieman-1 Despite seeing thousands of films including Joe E. Brown in his famous supporting role in "Some Like It Hot," I had never seen him in a starring role...until this was aired on TCM the other night. Being a baseball fan, too, I had a feeling this might be an entertaining film.....and it was!Yes, it's goofy and some of the humor is very dated but Brown has a number of things going for him. First, he actually can throw and catch a baseball. The guy could play the game! That's unusual to see in classic-era feature films. Secondly, as in "Some Like It Hot," he's funny and he's a likable guy with that "heyyyyyyyyy" noise that, for some reason, always makes me laugh.Brown plays "Frank Ferrell," a.k.a., "Alibi Ike," a Dizzy Dean-type rookie for the Cubs who winds up with Olivia de Havilland (as a 19-year-old, no less, making one of her first films) - and helping the Cubs, of course. (Boy, they could use him now.)Along the way, we get some very entertaining baseball scenes. Ya gotta Joe E's windmill windup! "Ike's" romance with "Dolly" (de Havilland) takes up a fairly good chunk of the second half and noticeably slows down the movie. I almost lost interest. It doesn't pick up again until near the end with a wild baseball finish which includes the greatest "slide" at home plate I've ever seen!

bobc-5 I had previously known Joe E. Brown more from brief clips and caricatures than from anything else, and I managed to completely forget the fact that he had done a wonderful job in a small role in "Some Like it Hot". Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise for me to discover that he was much more than just a goofy looking large-mouthed guy yelling "heeeyyyyyyy!". In this film, he does an excellent job portraying Alibi Ike, the small town hot-shot rookie pitcher with an excuse for everything. Even when he does everything right, he's got an excuse for why he didn't do better.While helping his team win the pennant, he doesn't want to admit to the boys that he's actually fallen for a girl. His teammates, who are fully aware of what is going on, playfully goad him into one crazy excuse after another as he refuses to admit his romance. Brown gets excellent support here from Olivia de Havilland as his love interest and William Frawley ("Fred Mertz") as his grumpy manager, making this a thoroughly enjoyable film.

rollo_tomaso Alibi Ike is adapted by Ring Lardner from his short story about an apocryphal pitching wunderkind who never tells the truth when an alibi will do, especially about his true feelings. Lardner took some of the edge off his original wit in attempting to adapt it to the slapstick talents of Joe E. Brown and it loses its punch in the process. Brown is lively enough, however, to engender enough good will to watch the fast-moving film to the end. Frawley is a standout as the manager, and Karnes, Harvey, and Dehavilland head a splendid supporting cast. If you have any tolerance for slapstick, this is pleasant enough fluff.Yet, the most interesting thing about the movie is that the climactic scene in the movie takes place at a NIGHT game at a then-recently-built Wrigley field. For many years, until the last 80's, Wrigley was the only stadium which had no lights installed, and no scheduled night games. Apparently, I have come to learn just yesterday, that many teams, including the Cubs, experimented with temporary lighting for occasional big games at night, in the mid-30's, until Ebbets Field in Brooklyn became the first stadium with permanently installed lights in 1938. Still, it seems strange to watch a night game at Wrigley as it was in 1935. For that alone, baseball fans will find this worth watching. One final note, in real life, the Cubs went from cellar-dwellers in '34 to NL champs in '35 which is exactly what the movie reflected, even though the film was in the can by July of 1935, and there was no way that Enright and company could have known that the Cubs would win the pennant that year. Interesting. 6 of 10.