Roogie's Bump Reviews

New kid on the block "Roogie" Rigsby (Robert Marriot) is ostracized by the neighborhood kids, who won't let him play baseball with them. One day, however, the ghost of a onetime Brooklyn Dodger great (William Harrigan) who was once in love with Roogie's grandmother takes pity on the boy and gives him a magical bump, endowing Roogie with a major-league arm. Now outclassing the local kids entirely, Roogie lands a position with the Dodgers--giving the film's producers a reason to put Roy Campanella, Billy Loes, Carl Erskine, Russ Meyer, et al., on the screen--although his mother (Ruth Warrick) and manager (Robert F. Simon) must be ever-vigilant to keep the boy from being exploited by the team. Unfortunately, the considerable amount of Dodger footage is disappointing and sloppy; one scene, for example, appears to show Duke Snider grounding out, then coming right back to the plate to hit again.