Ball of Fire (1941)

Ball of Fie

This is one of my favorite screwball comedies. It used to keep me company as a teenage babysitter. It's wonderful that it is now on DVD.
Gary Cooper is so charmingly shy. Barbara Stanwyck was gorgeous and funny. The supporting cast is fabulous. May 11, 2008

Drum Boogie

Has Gary Cooper ever been so charmingly klutzy and cute? Has Barbara Stanwyck ever been more fierce and fiesty? Come see what sparks when a shy linguistic professor falls hard for a sizzling show girl who teaches him about slang and other life interests. April 20, 2008

Good movie

Another fun movie with Gary Cooper. An interesting take on Snow White and the seven dwarves. April 9, 2008

Oldie but gorgeous

A Billy Wilder / Charles Brackett script and Howard Hawks direction, this wonderful take on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is dated by the slang but not the sentiments. Fast paced, great lines and truly endearing characters played by a gallery of great Hollywood character actors. Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper have the requisite chemistry and the alchemy of hard boiled comedy and whimsical romance in this fairy tale for adults is so much more sophisticated than most of the romcom offerings around today. I love this film. I have seen this film so many times and it still entertains me. Not regarded by certain cinema pundits as one of Hawks best, I beg to differ, they really don't make them like this anymore. Listen carefully...it's an adult dose. March 28, 2008

Ball of Fire

Gary Cooper & Barbara Stanwyck star in this romantic comedy. It's a good movie but hasn't aged as well as His Girl Friday. Coop is in a group of eight professors commissioned to write an encyclopedia. They've been at it for nine years & still have a ways to go. The opening scene illustrates their knowledge of many things. Coop is studying slang & a conversation with a trash man makes him realize how far out of date he is. The slang in this movie fires at a furious rate. To get more up to date he goes to a "boogie" club where the cats are jumping! Stanwyck is the burlesque type of entertainer there in a revealing (1941 mind you) costume. Her slang is fast & furious too. But her boyfriend, portrayed by Dana Andrews, is in trouble & she has to go on the lam to hideout from the d.a. She decides to hide out with the professors because that's the last place the authorities would look for her. Of course Cooper & Stanwyck fall in love, got to ditch the mobster boyfriend & stay alive long enough to get married.

With all that being said, as much as I like Gary Cooper, I felt he wasn't right for the role. He's a great actor & he's cast against type here. His role as a meek bookworm professor doesn't quite come off. Barbara Stanwyck as the burlesque lady comes off wonderfully well. Dan Duryea has a featured role as one of the henchman & is not only good in the role but also displays a flair for comedy. And it goes without saying Stanwyck not only changes Cooper, she also affects the whole bunch of professors.

The movie was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Actress (Stanwyck), Best original Story ( Billy Wilder, who also co-wrote the screenplay), Score & Sound Recording. The movie is directed by the great Howard Hawks who also did His Girl Friday. The movie requires a certain amount of suspension of believability in order to go along with it. But is that so bad? Actually Hollywood has always done that, haven't they? January 2, 2008

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