The Pecan Park Eagle

In “Fireman, Save My Child”, Joe E. Brown wore the Cardinal uniform that was made famous by the Gashouse Gang.

In “Fireman, Save My Child” from 1932, Joe E. Brown stars as Joe Grant, volunteer fireman, inventor, and star pitcher of the Rosedale (KS) Rosies. An opening scene game, unfortunately, is interrupted by a huge fire at the local pickle plant and sauerkraut factory that is too big for Grant and his boys to handle. Joe had invented a chemical “affinity” bomb that puts out fires, but he had none on hand to help with the fire.

Joe Grant is too good a pitcher to stay small town. The St. Louis Cardinals sign him at mid-season and put him right out there on the mound. Grant comes through with complete game shutouts in his first three starts, quickly earning the new nickname of “Smokey Joe” Grant.

Still, Grant holds out that baseball is fun, but that chasing fires is his real passion in life. He doesn’t take kindly to the clubhouse laughter that his declaration incites, but no one pays his fuming protestations much mind.

Joe Grant is pure corn ball naive. When a gang of crooks sicks a tough moll named June on him to drain his new bank account, Joe is  too arrogant to be capable of defending himself against an aggressive, money-grabbing female monster. In fact, when he meets the moll and tells of his plans to patent his fire-fighting affinity bomb, she and the other crooks she represents convince Joe to let the famous patent attorney known as “T.F.” handle his application. They drain all of Joe’s earnings and he has nothing to show for it as the Cards take on the Yankees in the World Series.

When his home town girl friend Sally shows up in St. Louis to check on what’s been happening to the money, she learns that it’s been shifted away by June and the thieves – and that June has even managed to trick Joe into an engagement that will leave his World Series winnings also open for the taking.

Sally runs away in despair and things look pretty bleak for the dim-witted Joe Grant.

Joe finally figures out that he’s been duped, but he disappears with the World Series knotted at 3 games a piece in St. Louis to consult a real attorney about his invention. After almost burning down the legitimate attorney’s office, his fire bomb device works effectively to stop disaster and win Joe a big contract, plus a full-siren ride to the ballpark with the fire chief. Joe gets to the game in time to retire the Yankees in the top of the 9th and then win the game with an RBI triple and an absurd steal of home in the bottom of the 9th.

Joe ends the season with a World Series ring, a wedding ring that unites him with his hometown true love, a patent and residuals for his fire extinguishing affinity bomb, a new fire chief’s hat, and with everything else that represents a little bit of happily ever after in his mind.

Isn’t that the way most old movies used to end?

At any rate, “Fireman, Save My Child” (1932) was the first movie in his Joe E. Brown baseball trilogy. The others were “Elmer the Great” (1933) and “Alibi Ike” (1935). Joe E. got the girl, home, and hearth in those flicks too in the wake of beating back the bad guys in the old-fashioned All American Way.