Rent Ball of Fire (1941)
3.9 of 5 from 98 ratings
1h 51min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Barbara Stanwyck plays a nightclub singer whose snappy street slang attracts the attention of bookish encyclopaedia editor Gary Cooper and his aged bachelor colleagues who devote their lives to compiling the perfect encyclopeadia. At first, their interest in her is strictly professional, but she soon charms the old men into letting her hide from the police (and her gangster boyfriend) in their mansion, Initially, she resents her forced stay, but after a while she falls for the charm of bookworm Cooper, and makes him realise there is more to life than books.
- Actors:
- Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Oskar Homolka, Henry Travers, S.Z. Sakall, Tully Marshall, Leonid Kinskey, Richard Haydn, Aubrey Mather, Allen Jenkins, Dana Andrews, Dan Duryea, Ralph Peters, Kathleen Howard, Mary Field
- Directors:
- Howard Hawks
- Producers:
- Samuel Goldwyn Jnr
- Writers:
- Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, Thomas Monroe
- Others:
- Alfred Newman, Thomas T. Moulton
- Studio:
- Paladium
- Genres:
- Classics, Comedy, Romance
- Collections:
- 10 Films to Watch if You Like: The Bishop's Wife, A Brief History of Pantomime Stories on Film: Part 1, Award Winners, Films to Watch If You Like..., Holidays Film Collection, The Biggest Oscar Snubs: Part 1, A Brief History of Film..., The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to Howard Hawks, The Instant Expert's Guide to: Billy Wilder, Top 10 Screen Kisses (1896-1979), Top 100 AFI Laughs, Top Films
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Reviews (2) of Ball of Fire
Splendid - Ball of Fire review by CH
A civilised joy in these times, Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett's script for Ball of Fire: a reclusive team's encyclopedia work stalls at S, including Gary Cooper's entry on Slang, as he realises after a visit from a Sanitation worker. Words beginning with S echo throughout, often uttered by Stanwyk (Barbara), and there is neat use of lines from Shakespeare's Richard III.
To say nothing of a performance by Gene Krupa and his band. Sensational.
2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.
Clever Comedy. - Ball of Fire review by Steve
Howard Hawks' clever revision of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs features Gary Cooper as Professor Potts, the stuffy leader of seven elderly academics compiling an encyclopaedia, stuck on the letter S. He invites hepcat vocalist Sugarpuss O'Shea (Barbara Stanwyck) into their bachelor study/living quarters to help with the entry on slang.
Which suits Ms. O'Shea as she is trying to disappear so she doesn't have to testify against her gangster sugar daddy (Dana Andrews). And so the moll teaches them hep-talk and in turn they expose her to a few of the kinder human values. The film dwells on themes around the letter S, like sex, Saturn and Shakespeare
The big problem is the lack of combustible chemistry between the stars. Cooper is inert and Stanwyck lacks spark. She doesn't have the sass or the glamour to give this life. But she does get to mime a fine swing number, played Gene Krupa and his orchestra. And the support cast is an A-Z of classic Hollywood character actors like Oscar Homolka, SZ Sakall and Henry Travers.
The Billy Wilder/Charles Brackett script gives us one great line. As she struggles with her zip, Sugarpuss wisecracks: 'You know, I had this happen one night in the middle of my act. I couldn't get a thing off. Was I embarrassed!' But this isn't their best work, and is a touch slow by Hawks' usual standards. It's worth seeing for the clever concept, the support cast, and what might have been.
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.