Ladies' Day

The Sox are in a pennant race. The ballplayers' wives are more excited than the players: they need that extra Series money for their winter plans. The team's chances center around star pitcher Wacky Waters, who is not married and--according to his manager--needs to swear off dames and concentrate on pitching.

When Wacky meets glamorous movie star Pepita Zorita, who is making a ballpark appearance to sell war bonds, it's love at first sight. Wacky and Pepita are quickly married; Wacky's pitching suffers; the team sinks into a losing streak. The player's wives decide that something must be done.

Eddie Albert smiles a lot as the overly enthusiastic Wacky, but the character really is a dunce. Lupe Velez at least shows some spirit as Pepita, and has a couple of good scenes where she displays her skills as a fast-talking spitfire.

Patsy Kelly, Joan Barclay, and Iris Adrian are the players' wives who decide that if the Sox are to have a chance at winning, then Wacky and Pepita must be separated. They waylay Pepita in a hotel in Kansas City and make plans to keep her there until the Series is over.

Jerome Cowan is kind of amusing as the team owner who knows nothing about baseball. Cliff Clark is predictably hard-boiled as the team manager. Tom Kennedy is funny as a suspicious hotel detective. Max Baer is actually pretty good as the burly ballplayer who is completely intimidated by wife Patsy Kelly.

As the leader of the wives, Patsy is loud but at least looks like she knows what she's doing. Unfortunately, most of the picture is not so convincing. Albert and Velez are fine but their characters are just not very interesting, and the whole goofy plot just doesn't really have any surprises. That's too bad because it is a fun cast.

Eddie Arnold plays Wacky Waters, a talented but extremely selfish baseball player. Again and again, he gets involved with women and soon his play on the field is horrible. His exasperated coach asks him to promise to stop chasing women and Wacky promises...and within minutes begins chasing yet another woman. This time it's the actress Pepita (Lupe Valez) and they go from dating to married almost instantly. Not surprisingly, his teammates are annoyed and Pepita doesn't exactly inspire confidence in anyone, as she's pretty obnoxious. So the players' wives come up with a plan to kidnap Pepita in order to keep her and her negative influence away from Wacky.

This film is anything but subtle. In fact, the word shrill comes to mind--especially when you combine Patsy Kelly, Lupe Valez and Iris Adrian starring in the film as the baseball wives! All three are loud, brash and intense...and together they are a bit hard to take.

The bottom line is that this film is seldom seen on TV...and I can see why. Despite some good ideas, the movie is cursed with an unlikable couple and brashness that borders on obnoxiousness. A misfire that could have been much much better given a bit of subtlety and style.

RKO came out with this innocuous baseball comedy that had a few laughs in it Ladies' Day. So named because its the baseball wives who decide to take matters into their own hands.

Eddie Albert plays the lovestruck star pitcher who when he gets involved with a woman his head just isn't in the game. And he's got himself really involved with a moviestar this time, Lupe Velez. Now she's enough to take anyone's mind off the athletic contest. It's driving manager Cliff Clark to distraction.

But the wives of the other players led by Patsy Kelly and Iris Adrian want that World Series money real bad and that won't happen if Albert isn't pitching his best. They conspire in a series of Lucy Ricardo like maneuvers to keep Eddie and Lupe apart.

Although Velez and Albert have the top billing, Patsy Kelly and her cronies steal this film totally from the stars. These dizzy dames pull off some interesting schemes and it doesn't let up for a minute.

Also look for Jerome Cowan who is a banker whose bank owns the team now and he's the bean counter sent to manage the money. The fact his bank also has Velez's studio in receivership makes him think he can combine both his jobs and that leads to some interesting situations.

RKO was a second line studio and this is clearly a B picture for them which is different than a B film for Paramount or MGM. Still Ladies' Day is not bad at all and baseball fans and fans of any of the cast members will get more than a few laughs.

Lupe Velez was a wonderful Latin version of Lucille Ball. She must have been a riot to direct. For early baseball buffs this B movie would be fun. A nice blend in the cast of two stars (Velez and Albert) and an assortment of skilled character actors.

Wacky Waters (Eddie Albert) is a top pitcher for the Sox. Everybody connected to the team is relying on him. His one weakness is the ladies. At the game, Hollywood star Pepita Zorita (Lupe Velez) is selling war bonds at a kissing booth and he loses his concentration. He just can't pitch when he's with her.

This is a B-movie with a wild Latina doing that Charo thing. It is somewhat funny even if it's a simple stereotype. It has a bit of wartime connection and lots of light comedy. It would be nice if the mass of people secretly opposed to their relationship can be concentrated into a few leaders.