Shy and reserved chemistry professor Ray Milland (as Vernon "King Kelly" Simpson) becomes absent-minded every spring. It happens. Following a disruptive class, he accidentally creates a liquid compound that repels wood. The solution gets on a baseball and something unusual happens. The baseball avoids contact with anything wooden, so Mr. Milland decides to "play ball." He joins the St. Louis team as a pitcher, telling roommate and catcher Paul Douglas (as Monk Lanigan) his magic liquid is a hair tonic. One problem is that – being absent-minded – Milland is unable to make any new bottles of the wood repellent. This could prove interesting if there is to be a big game. Another concern is pretty girlfriend Jean Peters (as Deborah "Debbie" Greenleaf), who suspects Milland is leading a more nefarious double life...
Directed by Lloyd Bacon, this whimsical comedy may have been the inspiration for Disney studio's "The Absent-Minded Professor" (1961). Screenplay writer Valentine Davies had little time to find bemusement in the homage, felled by a heart attack just after the Disney picture's release. What makes "It Happens Every Spring" so enjoyable is that it's sheer nonsense and does not overindulge in mugging. Milland is a seventh inning stretch as a young graduate student, but he makes a fine impression. Milland sometimes suggests a screwball Cary Grant, but without suffering in the comparison. Of course, Mr. Douglas and the supporting cast assist admirably. Watch big names in little places as former "silent" film star Mae Marsh walks on as a housekeeper and future "Gilligan's Island" skipper Alan Hale Jr. makes the team.
******* It Happens Every Spring (6/10/49) Lloyd Bacon ~ Ray Milland, Paul Douglas, Jean Peters, Ray Collins
Directed by Lloyd Bacon, this whimsical comedy may have been the inspiration for Disney studio's "The Absent-Minded Professor" (1961). Screenplay writer Valentine Davies had little time to find bemusement in the homage, felled by a heart attack just after the Disney picture's release. What makes "It Happens Every Spring" so enjoyable is that it's sheer nonsense and does not overindulge in mugging. Milland is a seventh inning stretch as a young graduate student, but he makes a fine impression. Milland sometimes suggests a screwball Cary Grant, but without suffering in the comparison. Of course, Mr. Douglas and the supporting cast assist admirably. Watch big names in little places as former "silent" film star Mae Marsh walks on as a housekeeper and future "Gilligan's Island" skipper Alan Hale Jr. makes the team.
******* It Happens Every Spring (6/10/49) Lloyd Bacon ~ Ray Milland, Paul Douglas, Jean Peters, Ray Collins