Search - Baseball Double Feature - Kill the Umpire / Safe at Home on DVD

Fun to see Mickey and Roger in a movie together

Michael R. Chernick | Holland PA | 04/06/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"As a big Yankee fan I enjoyed seeing this movie, but it was not beautifully scripted and the acting and dialog were not very good. It was clearly done for publicity after great success they had in 1961.

Don't watch it if you can't stand bad acting and poor scripts."

That ball is GONE! It's a HOME RUNNN!

bigbook | Gig Harbor, WA USA | 01/26/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Caught this one on AMC recently and was glad to find it available on VHS from Amazon.com. A nostalgic, b&w, early 60s "quickie" released to cash in on Maris and Mantle's 1961 assault on the Babe's home run record. It's got a lot going for it, too! A storyline right out of Leave It to Beaver, a cute kid, a gruff coach played by professional grouch Bill Frawley (Fred Mertz) and cameos by Whitey Ford and other Yankees from that era. The real attraction though are the M&M Boys: Mantle and Maris! Roger turns in his greatest screen appearance ever: his emotional range runs from his normal surliness to outright contempt for the world. Mantle, not to be upstaged, appears to be relatively sober in his scenes. Also, since the movie is fiction, he doesn't charge fans for signing an autograph! Safe at Home! was aimed, obviously, at boys 12-and-under. It's a fun film that really brings back the feeling of being a card-collecting, home run worshipping Yankee fan during the early years of Camelot."

FINALLY ON DVD

W. Steck | Bakersfield CA | 03/28/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Kill the Umpire is certainly in the top five of Baseball movies.

The great William Bendix is perfectly cast as the retired ball player
who quite improbably finds himself on the "other side" as am umpire.

While the plot is a bit on the make-believe side, it never fails to
hold the American Pastime in awe.

Very enjoyable, and highly recommended.

"

Sometimes it's hard to go home again...

d-18v | USA | 04/05/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I have the fondest memories of this movie from my youth. Whenever I found I was repeating myself for whatever reason, it was hard not to have a fleeting thought of William Bendix as Bill "Two Call" Johnson. So, finally, I had to see it again on DVD.

I enjoyed seeing the movie again, but not while I watched it. One problem is that the memories planted when we are younger don't get reassessed from an adult perspective as we age. The histrionics and sight gags that seemed so appropriate to a 12 year old now seem way over-the-top and interfere.

While I was watching the movie, my thought was, "What did I ever see in this?" But, a few days later, the memories of that happy 12 year old are blended with renewed memories of the details of the script and, once again, I get that warm glow thinking about it."