Kill the Umpire (1950)

William Bendix is a hard-core baseball fan, and being so, he hates umpires utterly. His father-in-law (Ray Collins) happens to be a retired ump, and he arrives for a visit in time to learn that Bendix just lost his job. Bendix' son-in-law is a ball player. Bendix sneaks away from work early to go to a spring training game. He disagrees with a call and runs onto the field, where he is apprehended by the police. On the way out of the park, he run into his boss, who fires him on the spot. His wife (Una Merkel) finds out about it when he gets home, and he sleeps on the couch. He promises he will get another job and will never skip out to go to ballgames again. But his work is in a manhole just outside a lounge where a game is on the TV. He has to buy a drink to stay in the lounge, and becomes the worse for wear. He gets the lines all crossed and causes a major foul-up, and gets fired. Collins suggests that he combine his love for the game and need for a job and become an umpire. Bendix is aghast, but he finally gives in. "But how can I be an umpire? I've got good eyes!"

William Frawley runs the umpire school. Bendix' roommate takes drops to relax his eyes, and also has other drops to strengthen his eyes. Bendix even argues on the school games and finally gets tossed out of the class. At the train station he sees a group of kids fighting over a game, and they talk him into umping for them. He changes his mind and goes back to the school. He puts the wrong drops in his eyes before the game, however, and sees double, but he makes it through and makes the grade. He and his roommate get hired in the Texas league.

A local gambler slips $1000 into Bendix' berth on the train. Bendix immediately reports it to the league commissioner. The gambler's heavy comes to get the money back, and Bendix is knocked off the train in the struggle. The commissioner and his buddy finally find him. At the game there is a riot and Bendix forfeits the game to the visitors. Despite mobs and threats against his life, he insists on umping the next game. He is pelted with vegetables outside the hotel as he tries to leave the hotel, so he and his family fake a fire and in the confusion Bendix sneaks out - just barely - with the gamblers in pursuit. A madcap auto race follows with Bendix' buddy driving an ambulance. Bendix end up skating behind the ambulance on a piece of attached debris. Finally it breaks loose and he is hurled loose on a wild, downhill slalom. Finally he hooks back up with the ambulance. At the park the crowd is getting restless, but the ambulance comes roaring up to home plate and Bendix tumbles out. In the meantime, Merkel has gone to the hospital to retrieve the player who was the catcher at the controverted play. He said that Johnson got it right, and the gamblers are hauled off to jail.




Collins


Merkel