It Happens Every Spring

Released Jun 10, 1949

1h 27m

Comedy

List

88%

8 Reviews

Tomatometer

66%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

A college chemistry professor, Vernon Simpson (Ray Milland), invents a substance that keeps insects away from wood. But after a baseball crashes through the window and gets coated in the fluid, Simpson discovers that the ball repels wood. To further his experiment, Simpson tries out as a pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals and becomes a master of the screwball, propelling him into the spotlight as a star player, much to the confusion of his fiancée, Deborah (Jean Peters).

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Ed M

Slow. Hokey. It is kind of funny to see a college professor dating a student.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/27/22

Full Review

steve d

A really dump premise and equally dumb script.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Blobbo favorite baseball movie.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This film is a lot of fun and worth adding to your collection.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

In the old days this was the quintessential baseball movie shown on TV every April!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Ray Milland uses science to become a dominant baseball pitcher. As long as he has his formula handy there is no way anybody can get a hit off him. A little wacky and far-fetched, but it was a fun movie. (First and only viewing - 4/12/2014)

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

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Lloyd Bacon

Director

Ray Milland

Prof. Vernon K. Simpson

Jean Peters

Deborah Greenleaf

Paul Douglas

Monk Lanigan

Ed Begley

Edgar Stone

Ted de Corsia

Manager Jimmy Dolan

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Bosley Crowther

New York Times

Lloyd Bacon's uninspired direction is as monotonous as the script. Once the audience gets onto the one snapper, it's all over with this film.

Mar 25, 2006

Full Review

Ian Kane

Epoch Times

Possibilities percolate with a new kind of baseball

Rated: 3.5/5

May 13, 2023

Full Review

Frank Eng

Illustrated Daily News (Los Angeles)

This new Ray Milland vehicle is highly Improbable but fairly amusing ln its exploitation of a single wacky idea.

Jun 12, 2021

Full Review

Michael E. Grost

Classic Film and Television

Zany, inventive baseball comedy.

Nov 30, 2015

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Aug 17, 2005

Full Review

Daniel Eagan

Film Journal International

Excellent baseball comedy about a scientist who perfects a pitching potion

Rated: 4/5

Jun 21, 2005

Full Review

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Synopsis

A college chemistry professor, Vernon Simpson (Ray Milland), invents a substance that keeps insects away from wood. But after a baseball crashes through the window and gets coated in the fluid, Simpson discovers that the ball repels wood. To further his experiment, Simpson tries out as a pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals and becomes a master of the screwball, propelling him into the spotlight as a star player, much to the confusion of his fiancée, Deborah (Jean Peters).

Director: Lloyd Bacon
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Twentieth Century Fox
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 10, 1949, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 6, 2014
Runtime: 1h 27m

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