Ball of Fire (1941)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Howard Hawks

Writers:

Charles Brackett (screenplay) &
Billy Wilder (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

2 December 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

The New Year's red-hot comedy!

Plot:

A group of ivory-tower lexicographers realize they need to hear how real people talk, and end up helping a beautiful singer escape from the Mob.

Plot Keywords:

Professor | Slang | Nightclub | Singer | Conga

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars.

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	Professor Bertram 'Pottsie' Potts
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Katherine 'Sugarpuss' O'Shea
Oskar Homolka	...	Professor Gurkakoff - Mathematics
Henry Travers	...	Professor Jerome - History
S.Z. Sakall	...	Professor Magenbruch - Physiology
Tully Marshall	...	Professor Robinson - Law
Leonid Kinskey	...	Professor Quintana
Richard Haydn	...	Professor Oddly - Botany
Aubrey Mather	...	Professor Peagram - Literature
Allen Jenkins	...	Garbageman
Dana Andrews	...	Joe Lilac
Dan Duryea	...	Duke Pastrami
Ralph Peters	...	Asthma Anderson
Kathleen Howard	...	Miss Bragg
Mary Field	...	Miss Totten

Also Known As:

The Professor and the Burlesque Queen

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #7347)

Company:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Trivia:

While filming the scene in which Potts declares his love for Sugarpuss in a dark hotel bungalow, Gregg Toland put Barbara Stanwyck in blackface to make sure that her eyes were shining through the darkness.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the "Drumboogie" sequence, the black jazz trumpet soloist Roy Eldridge disappears from the band between shots.

Quotes:

Sugarpuss O'Shea: Do you know what this means - "I'll get you on the Ameche"?
Professor Bertram Potts: No.
Sugarpuss O'Shea: 'Course you don't. An Ameche is the telephone, on account of he invented it.
Professor Bertram Potts: Oh, no, he didn't.
Sugarpuss O'Shea: Like, you know, in the movies.
Professor Bertram Potts: Well, I see what you mean. Very interesting. Make no mistake, I shall regret the absence of your keen mind; unfortunately, it is inseparable from an extremely disturbing body.

Movie Connections:

References Sergeant York (1941)

Soundtrack:

Drum Boogie

One of Barbara Stanwyck's best performances in a very funny film and role

This film (remade in 1948 as a musical with Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo with the title, "A Song Is Born") is a hilarious vehicle for Barbara Stanwyck, who was nominated for Best Actress for her performance here. Anyone who has only seen Ms. Stanwyck in film noir such as "Double Indemnity" or in television's Big Valley should watch this or "Christmas In Connecticut" to see a fine comedic talent at work. She blows Gary Cooper off the screen! Most Recommended.