It Happened in Flatbush

There is nothing groundbreaking about this story of washed-up ballplayer Lloyd Nolan taking charge of the Brooklyn Dodgers only to fall in love with the beautiful heiress who co-owns the team, Carole Landis. The inevitability of a happy ending is never in doubt, but this is a pleasant way to spend 90 minutes of free time nonetheless. Use of game footage from actual Dodger games in 1941 adds immediacy and authenticity, and makes the film worth a look for the sake of posterity.

It Happened In Flatbush is a very fun and very entertaining baseball comedy from 1942. The beautiful Carole Landis stars as Kathryn Baker, a socialite who inherits a baseball team but knows nothing about sports. Lloyd Nolan, a washed up baseball player, returns to Brooklyn to manage the team. At first he clashes with Landis but eventually (of course ;-) he falls in love with her. Can they work together to save the team and win the big game? Although this is a movie about baseball I thought the personal scenes between Carole and Lloyd were the best. Miss Landis gives an excellent performance and gets to wear some really beautiful gowns. She was one of Fox's most promised starlets but sadly she took her own life in 1948. She appeared in more than forty films during her career and It Happened In Flatbush is one of her better roles. The movie got very good reviews and was a modest hit when it came out in 1942. The talented cast also includes William Frawley, Scotty Beckett, and Sara Allgood. It was directed by Ray McCarey who also worked with Carole on 1941s Cadet Girl. If you're a fan of fun baseball movies or just want to see the lovely Carole Landis you'll enjoy this film.

In 2015 Fox finally released It Happened In Flatbush on DVD.

Following their first National League Pennant win since 1920, The Brooklyn Dodgers team players, though losing the 1941 World Series, went to Hollywood to appear as themselves in this film's field and locker room scenes. Though uncredited on screen, they included Mickey Owen, Dolf Camilli, Billy Herman, Pewee Reese, Arky Vaughan, Dixie Walker, Cookie Lavagetto, Peter Reiser, and pitchers Hugh Casey, Whitlow Wyatt, and Freddie Fitzimmons. However, Lloyd Nolan played the team manager instead of Leo Durocher and Red Barber's substitute was KMPC radio Broadcaster Hal Berger whose 1941 in-studio game recreations fostered the birth of L.A.'s Dodger fan clubs.

I've been on an old movie kick lately. Some are more watchable than others. This one is in the former category. Although some of the hooliganism gets tiring after a while.

I have been living in Brooklyn for over 25 years, and my father was born and raised here until he went into the army in 1942, so I enjoyed the location shots, such as they were. And speaking of 1942 (the year this movie was released), I presume it was filmed in 1941 because there is not a single mention of the war.

A couple of other observations. 1. They must not have gotten permission to use the real team's name, because the word "Dodgers" is never once used in the movie. Or even "Dem bums". 2. When Nolan is in a taxi, crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, there is a streetcar in the left lane. My father talked about the streetcars on the surface streets (and how the kids would climb on the back to ride for free), but I never knew they used the bridges too.

Those of us who grew up with, and loved, the Brooklyn Dodgers had gotten a smile and a kick out of this film. Does anyone know if it is available anywhere? Would love to turn back the clock and enjoy this one over again. Great film - hell no! But so much of the Brooklyn spirit....and great dialogue poking fun at non-Brooklynites.Lloyd Nolan, of course, was fine in his role as manager of the team, and the much maligned but beautiful and actually quite talented Carole Landis is a wonderful woman to have around. Then there is the wonderful Sara Allgood...... No, Ray McCarey didn't have the chance to reach the career status of his brother, Leo, but Ray's films are devoid of the sentimental mash that his brother offered. Has anyone actually been able to watch Going My Way anymore? Impossible (even with the joy of seeing Rise Stevens).