The Kid from Cleveland

This is not as terrible a movie as I had read. It's a typical "social problems" movie from the post-World War II era, of which more famous examples would be "The Asphalt Jungle," "The Snake Pit," etc. As such, it's about delinquent children, why they become delinquent, and what might be done to solve that issue. It's not very convincing, frankly, but it's not terrible, either. It's just that the script is bad, the acting second-rate, and the direction no better. Not terrible, but not in any way impressive.

And then there are the baseball players whom the one child delinquent admires, all real members of the 1949 Cleveland Indians. They don't talk much about baseball, we don't really see what their lives are like (with the exception of Larry Doby's at the end), etc. As such, the movie really isn't about baseball.

Early in the movie, the players muff some of their lines, though they do better later. They aren't movie stars, and they don't pretend to be.

I doubt anyone is going to want to watch this movie to see how to deal with child delinquency. Those interested in the history of baseball may well want to see some of these legendary Indians just stand around and talk. (They don't really try to do any acting, nor are they called on to do so.) There is some newsreel footage from the Indians' World Series 1948 season, though not a lot of it.

In short, this movie is a mixed bag. The social problems segments are like a run of the mill 1950s TV drama. The scenes with the legendary Indians are not great movie-making, but it's fun to see those guys when they were active players.

Although a dreadful film, The Kid from Cleveland should be of more than routine interest to the baseball fan with a sense of history. Small cameo speaking appearances are made throughout by such baseball greats as Hank Greenberg, Bob Feller, Tris Speaker, Bill Veeck, Satchel Paige, Larry Doby -- well, just look at the cast. The players do more than just bat and pitch, the difference between this and most baseball movies.

This is a great movie for old time baseball fans as we get to see a dozen or so famous baseball players from the 1920s, 30s and 40s. Nice to find out how successful the Cleveland Indians were in 1948 when they won the World Series and broke attendance records.

However the movie also tries to be a hard edge social drama dealing with juvenile criminality. Here the light-hearted baseball story breaks up and presents us with a seriously disturbed teenage criminal in Rusty Tamblyn ("Seven Brides for Seven Brothers," 1954, "West Side Story," 1961). He loves baseball, but he's attracted to the criminal life for the freedom and easy money. Unfortunately Tamblyn always looks like a sweet and innocent kid even when he's robbing people and threatening their lives.

He was 15 years old when he filmed the movie, but he looks younger, maybe 13 years old.

Again, I gave it 5 stars because the delightful baseball story and the serious juvenile delinquency story undercut each other. However baseball fans can add 2 stars and Russ Tamblyn fans can add 2 stars. Its a must see if you're a baseball and Russ Tamblyn fan.

Cleveland Indians radio color commentator George Brent discovers Russ Tamblyn (in his first movie role) hiding out in the stadium. He says he's an orphan from Chicago who wants to see the game, so the team members agree he can come ack, and Brent takes him home to wife Lynn Bari and their two daughters. It comes out that Tamblyn isn't from Chicago, but Cleveland, and his mother Ann Doran and stepfather, Louis Jean Heydt.

Looking at the 1948 World Champion Indians is a bonus here, and enough to extend the movie into first-feature length. It's a story about a troubled boy, and well-meaning adults who are at the end of their tethers. For the era, it's quite frank, with Miss Bari mentioning casually that she cannot have any more children, and Heydt getting to show some range. Amidst this story, you get shots of the 1949 Indians on the field and off.

I suppose that this is somewhat less than a good average film. On the other hand, I never was bored watching it and I intend to watch it again (no, not because I am an Indians fan--I'm not). Possibly this is due to the continued appearances of the 1948 Indians. This may be a movie, but historically where will you ever get another chance to hear those great players and see more of them than you get from a brief newsreel.

Plus, there really is a story beyond the baseball. It shows fairly well the results of poor communication, lack of communication, and miscommunication. It also shows the importance of caring for someone, how important that is, and how important it is to work at showing that you care. We sometimes forget that there does need to be an intensity to our relationships, that we need to consciously work on our relationships with others.

Johnny Barrows loses his father in the war. He becomes especially upset when his mother remarries. Through a misunderstanding, he never really takes to his stepfather. His behavior is best when he is with the Indians. It is not till the end that this is cleared up and that is helped by a story of Larry Doby's first days as an Indian.