On the eve of the 5th game of the 1948 World Series---pitting the Cleveland Indians against the Boston Braves---the Indians' radio broadcaster, Mike Jackson (George Brent), enters the stadium for a conference with the team's hierarchy. Unbeknownst to Mike, a young teen boy (Russ Tamblyn) is creeping along behind him, and as Mike attends his meeting, the youth heads to the playing field, picks up a bat, and takes his stance at home plate. When the boy's presence is discovered, he introduces himself as Johnny Barrows, an orphan, and explains that he had hitch-hiked up from Columbus for the game. Declaring that he will sleep in the dugout that night, Johnny's love for the baseball team is quite apparent to all; Mike, having been an orphan himself, feels for Johnny and not only promises to get him into the next day's game, but also to put him up at his home for the night. Thus, a solid father-son kind of relationship is born.
As Mike soon finds out, though, very little about Johnny's story is true. For one thing, the boy doesn't hail from Columbus...he lives right there in Cleveland, where he runs with a rough, law-breaking crowd. For another thing, Johnny is far from an orphan; while he did lose his dad in the war, he has a mother and a stepfather, both of whom are worried about him. Johnny doesn't just have a problem with lying, but also with stealing, even taking advantage of Mike's kindness and stealing from him. Still, though, Mike cares about Johnny and wants to influence him for good. He hopes that by giving Johnny an opportunity to work with the team, he will be giving him the right sort of heroes and keeping him from admiring the wrong ones.
Wanting to adopt Johnny---or at least be his foster family---Mike and his wife (Lynn Bari) petition the court for custody; before any decisions are made, though, Johnny finds himself angry at Mike and in deeper trouble than he's ever been. How it all plays out is the balance of the film.
Though not spectacular, The Kid from Cleveland is an interesting, enjoyable, very solid 3-star film. It features George Brent in a role which I think fit him perfectly. (Actually, it did fit him perfectly, as he really was an orphan by the age of 11.) The acting in the film, though not sensational, was solid and believable...and it was loads of fun seeing Russ Tamblyn in his first credited role. I love him in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and I could definitely see shades of the future Gideon in the 15 year-old Russ. The film is worth viewing just to see Russ as a young teen.
This film is not out on DVD, though it is available in its entirety on YouTube (in several parts). Fans of George Brent, Russ Tamblyn, the Cleveland Indians, or baseball movies will probably enjoy it.
Happy viewing!!
