Fireman, Save My Child!

Fireman, Save My Child (1932)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

First film in Warner's trilogy of baseball films with Joe E. Brown. In this one Brown plays a star pitcher who also just happens to be a fireman. Even with the World Series on the line he can't help but put being a fireman at number one. I've seen the last film in this trilogy and really enjoyed it so that's why I was so disappointed in this one. Brown is his usual self, which brings a few laughs but overall he isn't nearly as wild and out of control as normal. The supporting cast are deadly dull and really don't add any laughs so it's pretty much Brown trying to do everything on his own. You get the mean blonde subplot, which is pretty dull as well. Directed by Lloyd Bacon.

Joe E. Brown could be a very funny guy, but you had to appreciate his particular brand of humor. He got a lot of mileage out of playing cocksure hayseeds, which he does here. There are always some visual jokes but normally you had to keep your eye on him and listen for his mid-western cornball replies, which varied in the degree of jocularity.

But this was the early 1930's, and this type of comedy would not work on today's audiences. Most of the situations take too long to develop and his sense of humor is too droll for modern times, in the same way you could not make, for instance, "Mr. Hulot's Holiday" nowadays. Modern moviegoers would rather see Adam Sandler or Jim Carrey.

"Fireman, Save My Child" is worth seeing if you can remember Joe E. Brown and savor his goofy, good-natured style. There are some good, funny moments embedded in a forgettable tale about a fireman-inventor who plays baseball. But if you don't remember him you might as well forget this picture.

Joe Grant (Joe E. Brown) is a small town inventor, a fireman and a baseball player. He puts it all together by inventing a fire extinguishing ball. He's trying to earn money pitching in the big game when the fire alarm is sounded. He drops everything to fight the fire. He gets called to the big leagues, but he is still more interested in other things. He is spending all his money on his invention. He has his small town girl Sally Toby. Big city gal June Farnum is nothing but trouble.

It's a light comedy. It's mildly amusing. Joe E. Brown is likeable enough and has some fun light moments. Instead of being seduced by June, I would like the villain to be an evil male rival. It's just that he shouldn't have eyes on another girl if he is truly in love with Sally. It's not an appealing side of his character.

Joe E. Brown stars as a lumbering galoot, who is a great baseball player and who invented a new, chemical based fire extinguisher, delivered in a baseball sized sphere. This wildly improbable yarn includes two of the beauties of the period, Evelyn Knapp and Lilian Bond, two of the many young women, who flocked to the dream factories at the outset of the Great Depression. Demonstrating the effectiveness of his invention and leading St. Louis to victory over New York keeps Brown busy in Lloyd Bacon's involving, suspenseful 67 minute yarn. When he's not eating bananas, Brown has a hectic schedule, swinging from one task to another. Even New Yorkers can cheer this daring young man!

Joe E. Brown plays a small town inventor and fireman, who creates a small bomb which puts out fires. The story involves his efforts to patent it; baseball provides the means by which he earns the money to do so. It is a typical Brown comedy - a fairly involved plot, romance in the form of Evelyn Knapp and plenty of action sequences, mainly involving fire. (The opening sequence contains a fire at the local Sauerkraut Factory, which indicates the elaborate production values contained in the film.) There are problems with the film, I think, displayed in the also typical Joe E. Brown swagger and bragadoccio, (which can be very annoying) and the character's involvement with con men and a femme fatale, who take him for a good deal of his savings. This twist is strangely unresolved at the film's end. And it is frustrating to the viewer in that one wonders how anyone could be so uncaring as to ignore the fact that he's supposed to pitch in the seventh game of the World Series. It's well worth watching, though, as a well produced film with some great sequences, not typical fare for 1932.