Donkey Baseball (1935)
** 1/2 (out of 4)
Early Pete Smith short takes a look at the fad that swept through the country during the 1930's (or so the film says). Donkey baseball pretty much has the title telling you what the sport is but in case you missed it, it's playing baseball while on a donkey. There are a few changes in this version as games last for 13 innings, feature forty-run games and also players must stay attached to their dear donkey at all times. I pride myself in being a somewhat smart fellow when it comes to baseball and I know a lot of its history but I must admit that I had never heard of this "alternate" version until seeing this film on Turner Classic Movies. The oddball sport is certainly something to see and I would have liked to have had a straight documentary. Being a short from Smith we have some stuff done over the top just for laughs so it was hard to tell how much was real and how much was just for laughs. Either way, it's easy to see why this sport isn't being played today.
