Joe E. Brown's 1st Baseball Comedy
Fireman, Save My Child Started Baseball Trilogy in 1932
Fireman, Save My Child was Joe E. Brown's first baseball film, and the likable story, plus Brown's natural athletic and baseball talent, not only got great reviews, it kicked off what would be a trio of pictures centered on baseball heroes. His next two baseball sagas were from Ring Lardner's baseball comedic stories, and they were Joe E.'s ticket to box office stardom once again.
Brown Was Real Life Baseball Player
Elmer the Great (1933) and Alibi ike (1935) were, along with Fireman, a collective launching pad for Brown, to Hollywood fame and beyond. As a youth, Brown chased a baseball playing career. Film won out, but Brown used his athletic prowess to good advantage on the big screen and throughout his life.
Some thought of the characters Brown took on as anti-heroes, since they went to the brink of criminal activity. But that could serve as the character's general message to his audience because he always returned to morality. It was writer Lardner's intention, one must believe, to let his audience experience the joy of rightness.
Brown conveyed the messages most entertainingly, with comedic routines and first hand baseball playing knowledge, and his lovable, rubber-faced expressions backed up by "well, gosh" attitudes. Everyone approved. In those days, a good, or bad review could make an audience stay, or stay away.
It made good sense for Warner Bros. to have Joe E., an experienced diamond athlete, in a baseball uniform. Brown was to Warners as Greta Garbo was to MGM (Metro), or as Shirley Temple's value was to the Fox studio.
Invention Centered in Plot
In Fireman, Brown portrayed Smokey Joe Grant, a fireman who had a passion for inventions. His fire extinguisher bomb was a work in progress throughout the film.
Saving children was a real life adventure for Brown. He and wife, Kathryn, had two adopted children, plus a temporary college teenager, who stayed with them for several years. The adoptees, Mary Elizabeth Ann and Kathryn Frances, became sisters to the Brown sons, Donald and Joe, Jr. The UCLA student, Mike Frankovich, finished his college career in the Brown household. Joe E. was an avid Bruins fan.
Brown had a straight forward approach to raising children. Be interested in who and what they are, and take part in their lives, he advised.
Real Life Baseball Footage Abounded in Joe E. Films
A Joe E. Brown baseball film always included some real life baseball footage. Plus, Brown organized Hollywood teams to play willing major league clubs in exhibition games.
For Fireman, Brown used a gimmick from real life pitcher George Edward "Rube" Waddell (1876-1914). Waddell had a habit of following the sound of a siren even while pitching. Brown's Grant adapted the habit to film.
Child Saving Bomb
Fireman's plot revolves around Brown's invention marketing attempts for his fire extinguisher bomb. He finds time to love and leave a gold-digging babe, return to the familiar arms of regular girlfriend, Sally, then to win the World Series against the New York Yankees.
At the end, ever the concerned adult where children are involved, he increases the size of his fire bomb from baseball dimensions to something larger and safer, so a baby couldn't swallow it. He gets a marketer, and wails his way, sirens blazing, to his own wedding to Sally.
