Baseball Double Feature - Kill the Umpire / Safe at Home (1950)

Sometimes it's hard to go home again...

I have the fondest memories of this movie from my youth. Whenever I found I was repeating myself for whatever reason, it was hard not to have a fleeting thought of William Bendix as Bill "Two Call" Johnson. So, finally, I had to see it again on DVD.

I enjoyed seeing the movie again, but not while I watched it. One problem is that the memories planted when we are younger don't get reassessed from an adult perspective as we age. The histrionics and sight gags that seemed so appropriate to a 12 year old now seem way over-the-top and interfere.

While I was watching the movie, my thought was, "What did I ever see in this?" But, a few days later, the memories of that happy 12 year old are blended with renewed memories of the details of the script and, once again, I get that warm glow thinking about it. April 5, 2008

Two-Call Johnson Rules

If you thought Adam Sandler sports comedies were funny you should check this one out. William Bendix plays a Joe Lunchpail-type who cuts work compulsively to go to baseball games, getting fired from every job he has.
His retired umpire father-in-law talks him into enrolling into Umpire School where his loudmouth opinion about baseball gets put to the test. Every guy in this movie is doughy (not a waistline under 50" is to be seen) and all the women look like cheesecake models. It's VERY cartoony stuff and very, very funny. I loved it.
I also want to give a shout-out to William Bendix, who started out playing menacing heavies for years and then moved over to comedy and played them just as well. What an outstanding actor. December 16, 2007

Baseball Joyful Escape

When the rat race of modern life gets to you there is always timeless baseball. Unfortunately the modern world has found a way to corrupt the purity of the game. These two movies harken back to the older " purer " days. Yes the movies are dated and abit corny but the values still ring true. May 30, 2007

Outstanding!

Kill The Umpire is one of William Bendix's best performances, right up there with Life Of Riley.This is a great baseball movie from the other side of the game, the umpire's point of view.
Safe At Home is a great piece of nostalgia for baby boomers. Mantle, Maris, and the rest of the Yankees at their height! What's not to like? May 14, 2007

Kill the Umpire

Although "Kill the Umpire" is a great Bendix classic, "Safe at Home" is more like a documentary or short that would be included with a good movie instead of billed as a double feature. This DVD is well worth owning just for "Kill the Umpire". Now if they will just put "It Happens Every Spring" with Ray Milland on DVD I will be basball movie satisfied for awhile. May 7, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...