Kill The Umpire/Safe At Home (Baseball Movie Double Feature)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: D     Films: B-

 

 

Though they may not have been directly about baseball, Columbia produced two very good films centered around the game that are finally out on DVD and as a double feature.  Kill The Umpire (1950) is a comedy written by the comic genius Frank Tashlin & directed by veteran Lloyd Bacon and Safe At Home (1962) is a charming pre-teen drama about the game and honesty.

 

Umpire stars William Bendix as a former baseball player who begrudgingly becomes an umpire with all of its pitfalls and wackiness.  A threat from his wife to get a steady job is the impetus for this as he goes though a series of jobs.  Finally, he is back in the other side of his old profession and the results are awkward to say the least, but it is all amusing and with a cast that includes Ray Collins, William Frawley, Alan Hale Jr., Una Merkel and Gloria Henry, it is never boring.

 

Safe stars child actor Bryan Russell as a young boy who tells his friends he can get them to see Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle because his father knowns them, then sets out to find the real players to take care of the lie.  That includes getting through their supervisor (William Frawley) and not getting sent home immediately.  The actual baseball legends portray themselves and the Robert Dillon/Tom Naud script is a combination morality tale about honesty, drama about children growing up and propaganda film to show how great National League Baseball is.  However, it is nicely done and a very pleasant film that is great for children and the family without the phoniness we get n such productions now.  When it comes to baseball, this is the real thing.

 

Both films are black and white and look good, with Umpire at 1.33 X 1 and Safe at 1.85 X 1 from what look like brand new prints.  The newer film looks a tad darker than expected, but both are in real black and white showing how the stocks had changed in 12 years.  Both are also in good clean for their age Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono, so you’ll find both very pleasant to view.  There are no extras, but these films are more than worth having and on one DVD, it is a steal and a great combination choice by Sony.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo