While A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM was really Olivia de Havilland's first film, the studio in the meantime put her in ALIBI IKE which was released first--so this gave the public their first view of her.
She's a pretty ingenue here with just a hint of stardom about her. Joe E. Brown was very popular at the time and had already done a couple of baseball comedies. Apparently, his fans considered this Ring Lardner tale one of his best.
I couldn't work up much enthusiasm for it, although I did find several scenes rather amusing. However, unless you're a die-hard fan of Joe E. Brown with an addiction for baseball, ALIBI IKE comes across more as a curiosity piece than anything else. The night baseball scenes came as a surprise to me. Brown does his usual genial job in the title role and obviously relishes the limelight.
William Frawley plays a baseball manager and Ruth Donnelly has a brief role as Olivia's sister.
Trivia note: Ruth Donnelly would join Olivia thirteen years later for 1948's THE SNAKE PIT, as a fellow inmate.
She's a pretty ingenue here with just a hint of stardom about her. Joe E. Brown was very popular at the time and had already done a couple of baseball comedies. Apparently, his fans considered this Ring Lardner tale one of his best.
I couldn't work up much enthusiasm for it, although I did find several scenes rather amusing. However, unless you're a die-hard fan of Joe E. Brown with an addiction for baseball, ALIBI IKE comes across more as a curiosity piece than anything else. The night baseball scenes came as a surprise to me. Brown does his usual genial job in the title role and obviously relishes the limelight.
William Frawley plays a baseball manager and Ruth Donnelly has a brief role as Olivia's sister.
Trivia note: Ruth Donnelly would join Olivia thirteen years later for 1948's THE SNAKE PIT, as a fellow inmate.