''Ladies' Day'' is a 1943 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Leslie Goodwins Leslie Goodwins (17 September 1899 – 8 January 1969) was an English film director and screenwriter. He directed nearly 100 films between 1926 and 1967, notably 27 features and shorts with Leon Errol, including the Mexican Spitfire series. ...

and written by Charles E. Roberts and Dane Lussier, adapted from the play of the same name. The film stars

Lupe Vélez María Guadalupe "Lupe" Villalobos Vélez (July 18, 1908 – December 14, 1944) was a Mexican actress, singer, and dancer during the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Vélez began her career as a performer in Mexican vaudeville in the early 1920s ...

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor. He is known for his roles on stage and screen and received nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards. Albert made his actin ...

Patsy Kelly Patsy Kelly (born Bridget Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly; January 12, 1910 – September 24, 1981) was an American actress. She is known for her role as the brash, wisecracking sidekick to Thelma Todd in a series of comedy shorts produced by Ha ...

, Max Baer and

Jerome Cowan Jerome Palmer Cowan (October 6, 1897 – January 24, 1972) was an American stage, film, and television actor. Early years Cowan was born in New York City, the son of William Cowan, a confectioner of Scottish descent, and Julia Cowan, née Pal ...

. It was released on April 9, 1943, by

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...

Plot

Wives and girlfriends sit together at a Sox game to watch Wacky Waters (

) pitch. He's a fun-loving guy who is delighted to learn that Hollywood star Pepita Zorita (

Lupe Velez Lupe is a given name, short for ''Guadalupe'', and may refer to: People * Lupe Aquino (born 1963), Mexican boxer * Lupe Fiasco (born 1982), American hip hop artist * Lupe Ontiveros (1942–2012), Mexican-American film and television actress * ...

) is at today's game, selling kisses for charity. Wacky promptly borrows money from team publicity man Updyke (

) to buy $300 worth. In the grandstand, catcher Hippo ( Max Baer) Jones's wife Hazel (

) and the other women are concerned. Wacky is the best pitcher in baseball when he concentrates on what he's doing, but whenever a pretty girl turns his head, a distracted Wacky suddenly can't throw the ball over the plate. The wives want the Sox to be in the World Series so their husbands will receive bonus money. Sure enough, Wacky's infatuation with Pepita begins a run of bad luck for him and the Sox at the ballpark. On the train, the wives protest until Wacky discloses that he and Pepita secretly ran off to get married. While they are happy for the couple, Hazel schemes to have a Hollywood producer require Pepita's presence to shoot a movie there. This could keep Wacky focused on baseball until the World Series. Pepita finishes the film faster than expected. She hurries to Kansas City to see Wacky and the Sox, so the wives take matters into their own hands, tying up Pepita in a hotel room. Wacky eventually wins the World Series for the Sox, but this time, it's only because the woman he loves is there.

Cast

as Pepita Zorita *

as Wacky Waters *

as Hazel Jones * Max Baer as Hippo Jones *

as Updyke *

Iris Adrian Iris Adrian Hostetter (May 29, 1912 – September 17, 1994) was an American stage and film actress. Life and career Adrian was an only child, born in Los Angeles, California, to Florence (née Van Every) and Adrian Earl Hostetter, who wed in 1 ...

as Kitty McClouen *

Joan Barclay Joan Barclay (born Mary Elizabeth Greear; August 31, 1914 – November 22, 2002) was an American film actress of the 1930s and 1940s, starring mostly in B-movies and cliffhangers, with her career starting during the silent film era. Biograp ...

as Joan Samuels *

Cliff Clark Cliff Clark (June 10, 1889 – February 8, 1953) was an American actor. He entered the film business in 1937 after a substantial stage career and appeared in over 200 Hollywood films. In the last years of his life, he also played in a numb ...

as Dan Hannigan * Carmen Morales as Marianna D'Angelo *

George Cleveland Grover "George" Alan Cleveland (September 17, 1885 – July 15, 1957) was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1930 and 1954. Career Cleveland was born in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. His first appearance on ...

as Doc * Jack Briggs as Marty Samuels * Russ Clark as Smokey Lee * Nedrick Young as Tony D'Angelo *

Eddie Dew Eddie Dew (January 29, 1909 – April 6, 1972) was an American actor, film director, and television director. As an actor, he is best remembered for his starring roles in B movie western films during the 1940s. In the 1950s he became active in ...

as Spike McClouen * Tom Kennedy as Dugan *

Ralph Sanford Ralph Dayton Sanford (May 21, 1899 – June 20, 1963) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films and in at least 200 episodes on television between 1930 and 1960, mostly bit parts or supporting roles. Sanford frequently ...

as First Umpire

Reception

''Variety'' said "Despite the usual 'Mexican Spitfire' series continues on with Lupe Velcez, but in this one there is no reference to the old 'Spitfire' tag. 'Ladies Day' represents considerable improvement over the old formula. It has more capable people, more action and more comedy. Film is a 'B Special' and should do well when coupled with a strong entry on twinners."

References

External links

* * * {{Leslie Goodwins 1943 films 1940s sports comedy films American baseball films American black-and-white films Films scored by Roy Webb Films directed by Leslie Goodwins RKO Pictures films Films produced by Bert Gilroy American sports comedy films 1943 comedy films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films English-language sports comedy films

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links