It Happened at Flatbush (1942).
The Scoop:
This is another in the small wave of WWII era programmers celebrating the love affair between the borough of Brooklyn and their Dodgers baseball team. “It Happened in Flatbush” may not be original, but I have a weak spot for these movies and this one is just as fun as the others.
Frank Maguire (Lloyd Nolan), remembered in Brooklyn as a goat for costing the team a pennant years earlier with a poor play, is coaxed out of his exile in the low minor leagues to be the Dodgers’ new manager by the team’s feisty owner (Sara Allgood). But before he can start, she dies and leaves the team to her socialite niece (Carole Landis) who is completely uninterested in baseball. From there, a predictable series of misunderstandings, setbacks and triumphs lead to the expected conclusion.
The plot is pretty light and obvious, but in a charming sort of way. The supporting cast is full of familiar faces like Robert (“King Kong”) Armstrong and William (“I Love Lucy”) Frawley and the game sequences are mostly well done. But what really pulls the film together is its strong sense of place. From its great location photography on the streets of Brooklyn to the loving attention paid to the colorful residents, “It Happened in Flatbush” is a mash note to the borough at midcentury. If you’ve got even the slightest interest in that, then this is worth watching.
Best Bit:
Maguire’s courtroom speech about the hometown pride of Brooklynites.
Side Note:
This movie isn’t just a nice story about redemption on the ball field – it was also a piece of cinematic therapy for Dodger fans. Just a few months before this film came out, Brooklyn’s lovable losers had shocked the baseball world by winning the National League pennant, their first in more than two decades. They were just one pitch away from taking a huge World Series lead against the New York Yankees, their hated crosstown rivals, on the way to their first championship. But Dodger catcher Mickey Owen dropped the third strike to the Yankees’ Tommy Henrich, which opened the floodgates for New York to win the Series. Owen would carry the weight of that mistake until the next generation of Dodgers would finally break through and win Brooklyn’s only championship in 1955.
Companion Viewing:
Whistling in Brooklyn (1943).
Links:
IMDb.
Take a Look:
No baseball in this clip, but watch the rough and tumble Brooklyn baseball man romance the wealthy Manhattan socialite:
Movie-A-Day #119: Frogs (1972).
Yeah, I know there’s a royal wedding today but, ya know… whatever. I’d rather talk about frogs, and how they are early indicators of the havoc we’re wreaking on our ecosystems, and how today is Save the Frogs Day. And also about “Frogs,” which is really a ridiculous movie.
Movie-A-Day #118: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962).
Happy 85th birthday to Harper Lee. The good news is that you should have plenty of time tonight to watch her entire literary output on film, and still have a little time left over before bed. But at least “To Kill a Mockingbird” is a hell of a movie.
Movie-A-Day #117: Secretary (2002).
Today is Administrative Professionals Day, the updated version of what used to be called Secretaries Day. So, whether you’re a secretary, a receptionist, an administrative assistant or an administrative professional, enjoy your special day. And if you’re the boss of any of the above, make sure you treat them right. And if you can easily (and eagerly) imagine repeating any of the scenarios in “Secretary” at your job – then congratulations, because you’re in a better position than most of us.
Movie-A-Day #116: Imitation of Life (1959).
Today is the birthday of Douglas Sirk, the director who spent the 1950s making some of cinema’s most florid, psychologically intense melodramas. His remake of “Imitation of Life” was his last American movie before a 20-year retirement from filmmaking, and also one of his most memorable. Lana Turner plays a struggling white actress who shares a house with Juanita Moore, a black widow, and together they go through an occasionally racially charged series of ups and downs with their rebellious daughters. It’s a weepie, so make sure you have plenty of tissues handy.
Desuko Movie Spot. 