Rhubarb

Ellen Adair and Eric Gilde discuss the 1951 comedy, “Rhubarb.” They introduce the film (0:55), with an overview of the story, cast, and filmmakers. They review the 20-80 baseball scouting grades for rating the film (7:17), then begin their grading with Amount of Baseball (13:58). Baseball Accuracy (18:09) considers the origin of the term “rhubarb” and its journey into baseball terminology (Red Barber), as well as Rhubarb the cat’s luckiness (Brad Miller). Also considered are the 1914 Braves (Joe Connolly, Rabbit Maranville, Johnny Evers, Bill James, Lefty Tyler, Dick Rudolph), cats on the field, and the rally squirrel (Dominic Brown, Scott Kingery, Aaron Altherr), suspended and tie games, and mascot origins. Storytelling (43:55) wrangles with the film’s silliness, as well as Banner’s will, the many cats of the courtroom, Rhubarb’s capture, Polly’s sniffing abilities, making it rain (literally), pets inheriting money, as well as a quick overview of Rhubarb’s two sequels. The Score (1:17:17) does not have a lot going on, but there are some definite highlights to the Acting (1:21:16). With little in the way of baseball, however, Ellen and Eric are limited in their consideration of Delightfulness of Catcher (1:25:06) and Delightfulness of Announcer (1:25:28). Myra’s athleticism and attitude are a big part of the discussion of Lack of Misogyny (1:27:39), as is the pretty admirable character of Polly. No spoilers on the following segments: Yes or No (1:38:56), Six Degrees of Baseball (1:44:11), Favorite Moment (1:45:29) Least Favorite Moment (1:47:02), Scene We Would Have Liked to See (1:48:30), Dreamiest Player (1:50:59), Favorite Performance (1:51:37) Review Thank You (1:54:07) and Next Time (1:55:28).