''Alibi Ike'' is a 1935 American

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by

Ray Enright Ray Enright (March 25, 1896 – April 3, 1965) was an American film director. He directed 73 films between 1927–53, many of them for Warner Bros. He oversaw comedy films like Joe E. Brown vehicles, five of the six informal pairings of Joa ...

and starring

Joe E. Brown Joseph Evans Brown (July 28, 1891 – July 6, 1973) was an American actor and comedian, remembered for his friendly screen persona, comic timing, and enormous elastic-mouth smile. He was one of the most popular American comedians in the 19 ...

Olivia de Havilland Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. ...

and

William Frawley William Clement Frawley (February 26, 1887 – March 3, 1966) was an American vaudevillian and actor best remembered for playing landlord Fred Mertz in the American television sitcom ''I Love Lucy'', "Bub" O'Casey in the television comedy series ...

. Based on the short story of the same name by

Ring Lardner Ringgold Wilmer Lardner (March 6, 1885 – September 25, 1933) was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical writings on sports, marriage, and the theatre. His contemporaries Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Wo ...

, first published in the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

'' on July 31, 1915, the film is about an ace baseball player nicknamed "Alibi Ike" for his penchant for making up excuses. Lardner is said to have patterned the character after baseball player

King Cole Coel (Old Welsh: ''Coil''), also called ''Coel Hen'' (Coel the Old) and King Cole, is a figure prominent in Welsh literature and legend since the Middle Ages. Early Welsh tradition knew of a Coel Hen, a 4th-century leader in Roman or Sub-Roman ...

. ''Alibi Ike'' was the most successful of Joe E. Brown's "baseball trilogy" of films, which also included ''

Elmer, the Great ''Elmer, the Great'' is a 1933 American pre-Code comedy film directed by Mervyn LeRoy, starring Joe E. Brown and Patricia Ellis. Plot Elmer Kane (Joe E. Brown) is a rookie ballplayer with the Chicago Cubs whose ego is matched only by his appeti ...

'' and '' Fireman, Save My Child''. It is considered one of the best baseball comedies of all time. ''Alibi Ike'' was the first feature film released starring Olivia de Havilland, although she made two previous films that were released later that year—''

The Irish in Us ''The Irish in Us'' is a 1935 American comedy film directed by Lloyd Bacon and starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, and Olivia de Havilland. Written by Earl Baldwin based on a story by Frank Orsatti, the film is about an Irish family consisting ...

'' and the all-star Shakespeare epic ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

'', which also starred Joe E. Brown in a key role. A print of the film is held by the Library of Congress.

Plot

Frank X. Farrell (

) is an ace baseball player whose insistence on making excuses earns him the nickname "Alibi Ike." In the course of his first season with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, Farrell falls in love with Dolly Stevens (

), sister-in-law of the team's manager. Farrell's "alibi" habit prompts Dolly to walk out on him, after which he goes into a slump—which coincides with attempts by gamblers to get Farrell to throw the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

Cast

as Frank X. Farrell *

as Dolly Stevens *

as Cap *

Ruth Donnelly Ruth Donnelly (May 17, 1896 – November 17, 1982) was an American film and stage actress. Early years and family Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Donnelly was the daughter of Harry Augustus and Bessie B. Donnelly. Her uncle, Freder ...

as Bess *

Roscoe Karns Roscoe, also spelled Rosco or Roscow, may refer to: People * Roscoe (name) Places United States * Roscoe, California (disambiguation) *Roscoe Township (disambiguation) * Roscoe, Georgia, an unincorporated community *Roscoe, Illinois, a village * ...

as Carey * Eddie Shubert as Jack Mack *

Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous ''The Rest o ...

as Lefty Crawford * Joe King as Johnson, the owner * G. Pat Collins as Lieutenant *

Spencer Charters Spencer Charters (March 25, 1875 – January 25, 1943) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 220 films between 1920 and 1943, mostly in small supporting roles. Biography Charters was born in Duncannon, Pennsylvania. Until ...

as Minister *

Gene Morgan Gene Morgan (March 12, 1893 – August 13, 1940) was an American actor. He appeared in 111 films between 1926 and 1941. He was born in Racine, Wisconsin, United States, and died in Santa Monica, California. Selected filmography * ''Rogu ...

as Smitty Cast notes: *Several popular

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

players make

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

s in the film, including

Guy Cantrell Guy Dewey "Gump" Cantrell (April 9, 1904 – January 31, 1961) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is ...

Dick Cox Elmer Joseph Cox (September 30, 1897 in Pasadena, California – June 1, 1966 in Morro Bay, California) was a professional baseball player who played outfield for the Brooklyn Robins in 1925 & 1926. He had a steady bat over his two seasons i ...

Cedric Durst Cedric Montgomery Durst (August 23, 1896 – February 16, 1971) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball who played between and for the St. Louis Browns (1922–23, 1926), New York Yankees (1927–30) and Boston Red Sox (1930). Listed at 5 ...

Mike Gazella Michael Gazella (October 13, 1895 – September 11, 1978) was an American Major League Baseball, major league baseball player who played for the New York Yankees on several championship teams in the 1920s. Born in Olyphant, Pennsylvania, Gazella ...

, Wally Hood,

Don Hurst Frank O'Donnell "Don" Hurst (August 12, 1905 – December 6, 1952) was a first baseman in Major League Baseball. He played with the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs from 1928 to 1934. In 1932, he led the National League in runs batted in ...

Smead Jolley Smead Powell Jolley (January 14, 1902 – November 17, 1991) was an American outfielder in professional baseball. He played from 1922 to 1941, including four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1930 to 1933. Jolley was considered a good h ...

Lou Koupal Louis Laddie Koupal (December 19, 1898 – December 8, 1961) born in Tabor, South Dakota, was a pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1925–26), Brooklyn Robins (1928–29), Philadelphia Phillies (1929–30) and St. Louis Browns (1937). Koupal ...

Bob Meusel Robert William Meusel (July 19, 1896 – November 28, 1977) was an American baseball left and right fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eleven seasons from 1920 through 1930, all but the last for the New York Yankees. He was best ...

, Wally Rehg, and

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...

References

External links

* * * *
"Alibi Ike" by Ring Lardner
{{Ray Enright 1935 films 1935 romantic comedy films 1930s sports comedy films American baseball films American romantic comedy films American sports comedy films American black-and-white films 1930s English-language films Films based on short fiction Films directed by Ray Enright Short stories by Ring Lardner Warner Bros. films 1930s American films