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Kill the Umpire had to be a success because it appealed to the fantasy of every baseball fan in the world, the idea that he can be a better umpire than the guys out there doing it. It's kind of like folks singing in the shower and imagining their Crosby or Sinatra.

You can tell the love that went into this comedy because players Bill Bendix and Bill Frawley were both noted baseball fans. The laughs are there, but so is the reverence for the American national pastime.

Poor Bill Bendix, a former ballplayer who can't make a go of it after his playing days are over. Of course this was in the day of the reserve clause with the low salaries. Father-in-law Ray Collins tells Bendix to get back in the game in a way. Become an umpire.

This is heresy of the worst kind. Imagine John McEnroe being told to become a tennis referee. But he makes a go of it.

The scenes in umpire training school are funny enough, but what a reality check poor Bendix gets when he umpires his first game. A man used to hearing the cheers of the crowd for his exploits on the diamond. And he's assigned to the Texas League. Texas baseball fans were legendary in their treatment of umpires. Made old Brooklyn Dodger fans like Bendix himself, look like those attending the races in My Fair Lady.

Bendix and Frawley as the head of the umpire training school are reteamed after both of them were in The Babe Ruth Story. This one works far better.

It's so funny I don't even think you need to be a baseball fan to watch this and enjoy it. But it sure helps.

It's sort of nice when you watch a film not expecting much, but discover an entertaining story. That was the case for this film, which I saw on TCM. William Bendix is always enjoyable as a supporting actor, but in this Columbia film he starred, as an ex-baseball player addicted to baseball, who very reluctantly takes a job as an umpire. It's especially nice to see Bendix playing with Tom D'Andrea, who was also his pal in the "Life Of Riley" television series. And, other supporting actors are Ray Collins (of Perry Mason fame), Una Merkel (as the wife), and William Frawley as the owner of the school for umpires.

While I found the film entertaining, it did have its flaws. Most annoying was seeing all the major mountains in St. Petersburg and Cocoa in Florida! Apparently there's been an awfully lot of erosion in the last 60 years since this film was made! There were a few others "errors of location", as well. But, after all, this was a relatively low budget film, and if you ignore such things, you can still enjoy the story. One other problem was that the director couldn't exactly decide what kind of comedy this was. Sentimental? Sometimes. Screwball? No, in a few places (like setting fire to the hotel and the car chase segment) it got downright slapstick. But, still, it's a pleasant enough film to watch. I couldn't help thinking, however, how Red Skelton could have made so much more of the movie.

Rambunctious little comedy proving that Bendix could mug it up with the best of them. Baseball nut Johnson (Bendix) keeps losing jobs because of his baseball mania. So ex-umpire and Grandad (Ray Collins) pulls strings to get Johnson into ump's school. After graduation, the new ump is assigned to extra-tough Texas League, where he gets a big un-welcome, to say the least. Meanwhile, the gags and schticks fly fast and furious. That's no surprise, since the writer is cult favorite Frank Tashlin in one of his early outings. Note the number of sight gags, a Tashlin specialty. Also, veteran director Lloyd Bacon really knows how to keep a comedy from dragging, so there's never the proverbial dull moment. Keep your ears open because Tashlin and Bacon sneak in a couple of very un-1950's innuendos-- one with the crossed telephone wires, and the other which flies by quickly with the Indian pulling his fat wife on a travois. I had to re-run the tape twice to be sure I'd put that gag together correctly-- apparently it was fleeting enough to get by the censors. Anyway, the movie's related to the spate of occupation comedies of the period, all of which end in whirlwind madcap. I recall enjoying the film as a boy (even if I missed the innuendos) and am glad to discover that I enjoyed it as least as much as an oldster. Recommended.

What I noticed first about this flick was the opening soundtrack of 'Three Blind Mice', I thought I was watching a Three Stooges short. As the film went on, a number of characters appeared that I remember from the Stooges films (Vernon Dent, Emil Stitka, etc. Columbia Pictures released this film in 1950 at the height of the Stooges popularity. These characters are not in the movies' credits, but do appear listed on the IMDB database.

This film is mainly a missed opportunity. It might have been a minor but pleasurable evocation of a certain (supposedly more innocent)era, and of the "baseball life" as seen through the eyes of an umpire. Still funny and light, but less "Three Stooge-ish" in its antics.

As it is, I think a good performer (William Bendix) is wasted in scenes of over-broad physical comedy (which is NOT Bendix' forte, and is NOT particularly well-handled at any rate). Among the baseball films of the time I can immediately recall (e.g. "It Happens Every Spring"), this ranks easily at the bottom. Such scenes as the one involving the car chase, and the vapid shtick at the umpire school are sub-par and badly filmed, and actually made me miss the presence of the Howard boys...And that's some feat! So - in sum - I think the human angles (the relations between family members, the "love of the game," and "lessons to be learned") might have been emphasized just a bit. That - with a general toning down of the mediocre physical comedy - might have made this more bearable. As is, it is less than adequate.

I saw this film over 20 years ago for the first and only time on an old reel to reel projector. I have been unable to find anyone who can produce it in video form, but if I could I would surely make it a part of my collection. It is one of the best baseball films ever made. William Bendix gave a great performance and the chase scene at the end was a classic. I hope that somehow it can be found to be in circulation. I love the old classics of the 30's, 40's and 50's. This was a fun film.

The film is about a loud-mouthed ex-baseball player who loves baseball (William Bendix) and his difficulty maintaining a job. Again and again, his obsession with baseball results in him getting fired and his wife (Una Merkel) is beside herself. Eventually, the problem gets so bad that she threatens to leave him. At this point, his father-in-law (Ray Collins) gets the idea that Bendix should enroll in umpire school so he can both keep close to the sport he loves AND learn some humility. After all, Bendix ALWAYS thinks the umps are idiots and Collins is sick of this--especially since he (Collins) is an ex-major league umpire.

Bendix doesn't want to be an ump and so at first he tries hard to get himself thrown out of the training camp. However, in a poignant moment, Bendix "sees the light" and realizes how important a good and fair ump is to the game. This new zeal is a problem, though, because when he does get a job in the Texas League, the fans are ready to kill him and any sane person in this situation would change careers. How Bendix works all this out isn't all that surprising, but it's good for a few small laughs.

I wanted to really like this film--after all, they made some wonderful baseball films in the late 40s and 50s. IT HAPPENS EVERY SPRING, the original ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD and DAMN YANKEES were all cute and engaging films--even for people who are only casual fans of the sport. Unfortunately, my relatively high expectations were dashed due to very poor writing. There were simply too many lousy and obnoxious gags in the film--gags that would have been more appropriate for a Three Stooges short! Considering the film started with the song "Three Blind Mice" and also started with the familiar Columbia logo, I thought at first it really WAS a Stooge film! And boy, were the gags tired and ill-suited for Bendix. A couple examples were the inflatable chest protector scene where his spiked shoes were stuck in the floor and he bounced back and forth like a bobo doll (uggh!) as well as the horrid chase scene near the end where Bendix is supposedly surfing in the street. You really have to see these wretched scenes to know what I am talking about. The ferocity of the Texas fans was so ridiculous that the film looked like 2nd rate slapstick. Plus the idea that the way to escape from a surrounded hotel room is to start a fire is just dumb--not the least bit funny--just dumb.

I'm sure some might forgive the film its many, many excesses but considering how easy it is to make a good baseball film, I felt irritated at the terrible writing. I really, really wanted to like this film!

By the way, according to one review, you "must be a sourpuss not to like this film". I guess that's true--I am a sourpuss! BUT, that still doesn't mean this film was poorly written and a bit dumb.

This is a really a funny movie, something Director Lloyd Bacon produced by the carload back in "the classic era." Bacon's movies were fast-moving and entertaining, and this was no exception. If you liked William Bendix in his mid-1950s TV show, "Life Of Riley," you'll like this film.

Bacon had an especially good year in comedies in 1950 with this movie, "The Fuller Brush Girl" with Lucille Ball, and "The Good Humor Man" with Jack Carson. The director must have been a baseball fan because the year before (1949), he directed Ray Milland in another absurd-but-hilarious movie called "It Happens Every Spring." Whether you enjoy baseball or, you'll get a lot of laughs out of it, too. It's just simply a goofy and likable comedy, filled with the kind of characters you'd see in a late '40s/early '50s comedy. What's nice about the older films, too, is that you actually see whole families: dad, mom and a couple of kids.

Actually, you more you know about baseball, the more you'll just shake your in disbelief at some of the things you'll see in this story because they could never happen today, or even back in 1950. (i.e. a fan coming out of the stands and punching an umpire several times over the course of a minute, and then ump slugging him....and nobody arrested?) Anyway, Bendix is very good and the supporting case, led by underrated actor Tom D'Andrea, is fun to watch, too. D'Andrea and Bendix reminded me almost of Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis in "Some Like It Hot." They worked well as a team and must have known that because they paired up in the aforementioned TV series, too, later in the decade.

This film also will remind older film buffs of silent movie comedies with a wild scene at the end you have to see to believe. (Hint: Bendix winds up "water skiing down city streets, being pulled by an ambulance).

It's sheer lunacy.

This is one of the great early movies about baseball. William Bendix is the perfect "Two Call Johnson" and William Frawley is outstanding as the owner of the umpire school. While it has several slapstick-style sight gags, it captures a man's love for the game. There's nothing brilliant about the storyline, but it rates as the Swiss chocolate of mind candy.

I only wish it were available on DVD.

Bill Johnson loves baseball, so much that his following causes him to be fired from many jobs and starts to drive his wife, Betty, nuts. Bill's father in law, a former big league umpire, enrolls him in an umpire school, but Bill's main pastime at ball games is to yell at umpires so he doesn't embrace the idea. Bill does his best to get the coach at the school to send him home, but does later see the importance of umpires in the game and starts taking the game seriously. He graduates and is assigned, with his friend Roscoe Snooker, to the Texas League, where he painfully finds out how seriously Texans take their baseball. Bill calls a close play at the plate in a championship game and the home team fans want his head and Bill has to find a way to umpire the next game without getting killed beforehand. This was a very enjoyable movie with a fun and pleasant script. Bendix and D'Andrea having the same chemistry and performances from their Life of Riley days, while Merkel, Collins, and Frawley are fine support. Decent special effects camera-work with Bendix having to see double at times. A real treat. Rating, 8.

It is amazing that I am a fan of William Bendix, and yet he had the lead roles in the two worst baseball films ever made (The Babe Ruth Story and this turkey). This slapstick attempt at humor barely makes the grade for a watchable film. The Umpire School is the funniest part of the film. Seriously. Just be thankful that this is a relatively short film, and that Bendix would go on to do much better stuff on "The Life of Riley" (whose co-star is in this movie as well).

This is one of (if not the) best baseball movies ever made. I remember watching it every spring as I grew up, and never tired of it. I can't understand why it has never been released to video, or why it never is played on the classic movie channels.

If you can find it, buy it (or record it), you won't be sorry.

I love this film. It speaks of passion for baseball and for the truth. It also is quite a period piece (the telephone-wire "repair" scene is tops) and showcases a great chase climax worthy of the best Keystone Kops sequences. Overarching is the perfect-fit casting of William Bendix. Worth a look when it airs on some obscure cable channel.

I like many others, first saw this on TV literally decades ago. I loved it. It made such an impression on me that I have looked for it off and on over the years but I haven't found it. Well wouldn't you know, I try a short cat nap late in the evening before I get a midnight snack, I wake up and page thru the listings on the channel guide. There is the title I haven't seen in 40 years. "Kill The Umpire". However, I notice that it started about 15-20 minutes ago so I didn't get to see the beginning. Then a little while later the dog wanted out, so I've got to mess with him. Long story short... I caught what I could of the movie. I've told so many people about how great it was. This was from an era of hope that swept across America after WW 2. We still had sandlot baseball, people still got dressed up to go to the ball games, we still had dinner with the family all at the same time, and people still offered second chances. This film was filled with Americana. I really miss the America it portrays even though I wasn't born until the year after this was released. I'm glad I got to watch it again. I hope someone makes a DVD of this.

it will make you laugh..... make you smile.... and make you feel good like fine entertainment should. The umpire in baseball today should be made to watch this so they can remember why they are umpiring.

Watch it, it is top shelf!!!!