ELMER, THE GREAT home run hitter doesn't want to leave his pretty boss in Gentryville, Indiana, to play ball for the Chicago Cubs.

Rubber-limbed comic Joe E. Brown scores big in this fine little comedy. Without even trying, the fellow could be funny - his huge grin and mischievous eyes a sure catalyst for laughter. In his first scenes, the mere act of his putting on his socks or eating his breakfast is a riot. The film also gives him a chance to suffer from unrequited love and face the abuse heaped on him for his yokel ways as he tries to deal with professional ballplayers and dangerous gamblers. Brown carries it all off with natural aplomb.

A sturdy cast lends fine support: pretty Patricia Ellis as Brown's conflicted boss; sweet Emma Dunn as his loving mother; goofy Sterling Holloway, perfectly cast, as Brown's baseball-mad younger brother (notice that Holloway's name is spelled incorrectly in the credits). Blustery Berton Churchill plays the owner of the Cubs, Preston Foster is the manager. Genial Frank McHugh plays the Cubs catcher. Claire Dodd has a mysterious role; she seems to be a chum of the ballplayers and little else - but at least she's easy on the eyes and the plot doesn't try to set up a silly romance between her and Brown. Casino hoodlum J. Carrol Naish plays the film's villain.

Movie mavens will recognize an uncredited Jessie Ralph as Brown's plain speaking, softhearted housekeeper.

The early scenes in Gentryville have a delightfully homespun, nostalgic charm which the later Chicago sequences can't match. Notice the fine use the minimal soundtrack makes of just two songs: ‘Take Me Out To The Ball Game' & ‘On The Banks Of The Wabash.'

Brown's use of a four-letter word near the film's climax underscores the film's pre-Code status. Also of interest, in the last inning of the final World Series game, the plot has the catcher & pitcher of the New York Yankees deliberately and maliciously cheat in an attempt to win. One wonders what Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig must have thought of that...

ELMER, THE GREAT was the second of Brown's ‘baseball trilogy,' the other films being FIREMAN, SAVE MY CHILD (1932) & ALIBI IKE (1935).

Just as Dizzy Dean was lifting baseball braggadocio to a fine art as a pitcher, Warner Brothers came out with one of Joe E. Brown's best comedies in Elmer the Great. In real life Joe E. Brown was a very big baseball fan and this film along with his other baseball comedy, Alibi Ike, was a labor of love.

In 1933 the Chicago Cubs were not yet a national joke, going 98 years without winning a World Series and 62 years without being in one. They fielded some very good teams during the Thirties and Forties, but never quite could get to the top. In 1932 the year before Elmer the Great came out, they were in the World Series and were crushed by the selfsame New York Yankees four straight games which featured Babe Ruth's famous 'called shot' home run.

The Babe had nothing on Elmer Kane from Gentryville, Indiana who was not loath to let one and all know exactly what his contribution to the Cubs was going to be. He fulfilled his promise though, hitting 67 home runs in his rookie season, leaving Babe Ruth's mark in the dust. No one accused him of taking steroids either. In fact in real life both Jimmy Foxx and Hank Greenberg made serious runs at Ruth's record with seasons of 58 homers each during the Thirties.

But off the diamond, Joe is a real babe in the woods himself. He's caught between two girls, good girl Patricia Ellis and bad girl Claire Dodd. And the simpleton gets himself caught up in a gambling house where he drops $5000.00 to slick gambler Douglass Dumbrille. Of course with Brown's IOU in his pocket Dumbrille sees a chance for a killing in Brown not playing on the square during the World Serious as Brown calls it.

The last game of the World Serious is one of the funniest baseball sequences put on film. It was actually shot at Wrigley Field, but Wrigley Field in Los Angeles which housed the minor league team in the Pacific Coast League.

Preston Foster plays the Cubs manager and Frank McHugh Brown's best friend on the team. It's a very nice comedy for baseball fans and others and a good chance to become acquainted with the comedy of Joe E. Brown.

***SPOILER*** One of Joe E. Brown's biggest hits since he had experience playing semi-pro baseball and didn't need a stand in in the action sports scenes he was in makes his appearance as Elmer Kane in the movie "Elmer the Great" that more convincing. As for Brown's acting no one could have played the part of Elmer Kane better then he did since Brown mixed his special blend of arrogance and naivety in the role making him both likable and annoying, as well as a royal pain in the butt, at the same time.

Not at all that interested in leaving his hometown of quiet little Gentryville Ind. Elmer Kane is dead set against him being signed up by the Cicago Cubs to be their star second baseman. The thing that's keeping Elmer form signing is his girl Nellie Poole, Pat Ellis, whom he works for driving a delivery wagon at her grocery store in town. Finally convinced by Nellie, who he was too embarrassed to tell that he was in love with her, to sign Elmer in no time at all-as a green rookie from the sticks-becomes the biggest hitting sensation in professional Baseball since Babe Ruth. Belting an astonishing 67 home runs during the season together with his sparkling fielding on the diamond Elmer single-handedly leads the Cubs to the National League Pennant.

With the Cubs tied three games to three with the Yankees in the World Series, or World Serious as Elmer calls it, and the winning game-the seventh and final-on the line is when things start to go very bad for Elmer. Nellie whom he hasn't seen since he left Gentryville showed up unexpectedly in Chicago and spots-at the hotel she's staying at- Elmer kissing another girl Evelyn Corey, Clair Dodd, who works for the Cubs front office and walked out on him. Elmer deeply depressed goes with his fellow Cub teammate Healy High-Hip, Frank McHugh, to a local gambling club and not realizing he's playing for real money, Elmer thought he was only playing with colored chips, loses $5,000.00!

Blackmailed by the club's manager Johnny Abbott, Charles Dalaney, to throw the final World Series game, by not showing up, a heart-broken Elmer, in having Nellie walk out on him, meekly goes along with Abbott's sleazy and underhanded plan! That's after an engaged Elmer almost clobbered Abbott, and his goons at the gambling club, for asking him to do just that! It's later when Nellie, who realized Elmer's so-called love affair with Evleyn was nothing more then a friendly kiss, came back to him that he changed his mind and decided to play ball! Not for that blackmailing shyster Abbott but the Chicago Cubs!

***SPOILERS*** With the World Series on the line Elmer unexpectedly shows up at the Cub's ballpark, Wrigley Field, but has far more problems in him getting a chance to get in the game then getting a shot at keeping, with his bat and glove, the Yankees from winning it! The what seemed like predictable ending didn't pan out in that Elmer didn't quite come through with one of his spectacular fence clearing 500 foot home runs. Doing what he's not used to doing, in his home run hitting exploits, Elmer had to really work hard by running, not trotting, the base in beating the throw to home plate in a blinding downpour in order to win the game and World Championship for the Chicago Cubs.