Burbank, CA; June 1, 2010 – Fans of America’s favorite pastime will be cheering June 1st when Alibi Ike, Ring Lardner’s classic baseball yarn starring Joe E. Brown and Olivia de Havilland, will be available on DVD and digital download from the Warner Archive Collection (www.warnerarchive.com).
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Based on sports writer Lardner’s short story series that first appeared in the Saturday Evening Post magazine,Alibi Ike is about rookie pitcher Francis “Ike” Farrell who suddenly and miraculously shows up to help the Chicago Cubs win the National League pennant. His nickname refers to Ike’s fondness for making excuses for anything and everything, frustrating his manager and Ike’s girlfriend Dolly Stevens (de Havilland).
Lardner may have patterned the Ike character after Leonard Leslie (King) Cole, who played in the early part of the 20th century for the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Yankees. Real life major league stars of that era who appeared briefly in Alibi Ike include Guy Cantrell, Wally Hood and Dick Cox (Brooklyn Dodgers); Cedric Durst, Mike Gazella and Bob Meusel ( NY Yankees); Don Hurst (Philadelphia Phillies); Smead Jolley (Chicago White Sox); Lou Koupal (Pirates); Wally Rehg (Boston Red Sox) and Jim Thorpe (New York Giants).*
Alibi Ike features Ruth Donnelly, Roscoe Karns and William Frawley. The comedy was directed by Ray Enright with a screenplay adapted by William Wister Haines from Lardner’s stories.
The Warner Archive Collection is the unique service which offers discs and downloads on demand of filmed entertainment classics from the studio’s massive library.
Warner Home Entertainment launched the Collection last March, inviting the public to purchase film and TV favorites directly from what is the world’s largest film vault of its kind. Using technology called ‘Manufacturing on Demand’ (MOD), Warner is able to turn out a wide range of product quickly, while limiting its marketing and production costs. Consumers visit www.warnerarchive.com to view DVD titles, order their selection online and receive a quality DVD, indistinguishable from a standard pressed DVD, in less than a week.