ball of fire
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Ball of Fire
Plot
Ball of Fire is a delightful retelling (by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett) of the "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" legend -- though strictly for grownups. Gary Cooper is the youngest of eight bookish professors authoring an encyclopedia. They find a perfect "research associate" in the curvaceous form of stripteaser Barbara Stanwyck, who (chastely) hides on the professors' domicile to escape her gangster boyfriend (Dana Andrews). As Stanwyck interprets various slang expression, she and the professors grow quite fond of one another; she brings out their sentimental sides, while they revive her essential decency. Naturally, Cooper is the one most smitten, though he hides his true feelings until the inevitable clinch. When gangster Andrews and his torpedo Dan Duryea show up to claim Stanwyck (Andrews wants to marry her so she can't testify against him), the professors save the day and it is Cooper who ends up with the beautiful Stanwyck. For the record, two of the "ancient" professors are Richard Haydn and O.Z. Whitehead, still in their mid-thirties (the others are S.Z. Sakall, Tully Marshall, Oscar Homolka, Leonid Kinskey and Aubrey Mather). Producer Sam Goldwyn later remade Ball of Fire as a Danny Kaye musical, A Song is Born (1948). ~ Hal Erickson, RoviReview
This broad, farcical burlesque on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs features Barbara Stanwyck (in a part originally considered for Ginger Rogers) as a stripper who hides out with a group of professors when she's being chased by gangsters. The professors are compiling a dictionary, and she helps them with slang and other matters. Gary Cooper as a dorky professor is something of a stretch, but the entire movie specializes in absurdity. This slapstick comedy was co-written by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, based on a story that Wilder had co-written much earlier, in Germany. Producer Samuel Goldwyn wanted Wilder to do the screenplay, a request that set off a fascinating sequence of events. Wilder and his writing partner Charles Brackett were under contract to Paramount Pictures, and when he requested to borrow them, the studio replied that they didn't loan out writers, only actors and occasionally directors. Samuel Goldwyn, however, had Gary Cooper under contract, and Paramount had been trying to come up with a leading man for its planned adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's book For Whom The Bell Tolls; Cooper seemed perfect for the role. A deal was worked out by which Goldwyn got the services of Wilder and Brackett, and Paramount got Gary Cooper. Ball of Fire, directed by Howard Hawks, turned out to be a huge box-office and critical hit, garnering three Oscar nominations, including one for Wilder. A year later, he began his Hollywood directorial career, in which he would gain fame for such witty comedies as Some Like It Hot. Hawks was only at the midpoint of a directorial career that ran from 1926 to 1970. ~ Bruce Eder, RoviCast
- Gary Cooper - Prof. Bertram Potts
- Barbara Stanwyck - Sugarpuss O'Shea
- Oscar Homolka - Prof. Gurkakoff
- Dana Andrews - Joe Lilac
- Dan Duryea - Duke Pastrami
- S.Z. Sakall - Prof. Magenbruch
- Henry Travers - Prof. Jerome
Credit
McClure Capps - Art Director, Perry Ferguson - Art Director, Edith Head - Costume Designer, William Tummel - First Assistant Director, Howard Hawks - Director, Dan Mandell - Editor, Alfred Newman - Composer (Music Score), Gene Krupa - Songwriter, Gregg Toland - Cinematographer, Samuel Goldwyn - Producer, Howard Bristol - Set Designer, Julia Heron - Set Designer, Thomas T. Moulton - Sound/Sound Designer, Thomas Monroe - Screen Story, Charles Brackett - Screenwriter, Billy Wilder - Screenwriter, Thomas Monroe - Short Story Author| Ball in the House (2001 Film), Ball at Savoy (1936 Film) | |
| Ball of Wax (2003 Film), Ballad of Mary Slade (2006 Film) |
American Heritage Dictionary:
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ball of fire
n., pl., balls of fire.
A highly energetic or dynamic person. Also called fireball.
American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms:
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ball of fire
A dynamic, energetic, and successful individual, as in I hope Pat joins us; she's a real ball of fire. [Slang; early 1800s]
Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'ball of fire'
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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Ball of Fire
For other uses, see Ball of Fire (disambiguation).
| Ball of Fire | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Howard Hawks |
| Produced by | Samuel Goldwyn |
| Written by | Charles Brackett Billy Wilder |
| Starring | Gary Cooper Barbara Stanwyck |
| Music by | Alfred Newman |
| Cinematography | Gregg Toland |
| Editing by | Daniel Mandell |
| Studio | Samuel Goldwyn Productions |
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
| Release date(s) | December 2, 1941 United States |
| Running time | 111 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Ball of Fire (also known as The Professor and the Burlesque Queen) is a 1941 American romantic comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, and starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. The RKO Pictures film is about a group of professors laboring to write an encyclopedia and their encounter with a nightclub performer who provides her own unique knowledge. The supporting cast includes Oskar Homolka, S. Z. Sakall, Henry Travers, Richard Haydn, Dana Andrews, and Dan Duryea. In 1948, the plot was resurrected as a musical film, A Song Is Born, starring Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo.
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Contents
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Plot
A group of professors have been lived together for years in a New York City residence, compiling an encyclopedia of all human knowledge. The youngest, Professor Bertram Potts (Gary Cooper), is a scholar of philology who is researching modern American slang. The professors are accustomed to working in relative seclusion at a leisurely pace with a prim housekeeper named Miss Bragg (Kathleen Howard) keeping tabs on them. Their impatient financial backer Miss Totten (Mary Field) suddenly demands that they finish their work soon.
Venturing out to do some independent research, Bertram becomes interested in the slang vocabulary of saucy nightclub performer "Sugarpuss" O'Shea (Barbara Stanwyck). She is reluctant to assist him in his research until she needs a place to hide from the police, who want to question her about her boyfriend, mob boss Joe Lilac (Dana Andrews). Sugarpuss takes refuge in the house where the professors live and work, despite Bertram's objections.
The professors soon become enamored of her insouciance, and she begins to grow fond of them. She teaches them to conga and demonstrates to Bertram the meaning of the phrase "yum yum" (kisses). She becomes attracted to Bertram, who reciprocates with a vengeance by proposing marriage to her. She accepts, but before they can do anything, she is taken away by Lilac's henchmen. Lilac also wants to marry her, but only so she cannot testify against him.
The professors eventually outwit Lilac and his henchmen and rescue Sugarpuss. She decides she is not good enough for Bertram, but his forceful application of "yum yum" convinces her to change her mind.
Cast
- Gary Cooper as Professor Bertram Potts
- Barbara Stanwyck as Katherine "Sugarpuss" O'Shea
- Oskar Homolka as Professor Gurkakoff
- Henry Travers as Professor Jerome
- S.Z. Sakall as Professor Magenbruch
- Tully Marshall as Professor Robinson
- Leonid Kinskey as Professor Quintana
- Richard Haydn as Professor Oddley
- Aubrey Mather as Professor Peagram
- Dana Andrews as Joe Lilac
- Dan Duryea as Duke Pastrami, one of Lilac's henchmen
- Ralph Peters as Asthma Anderson, the other henchman
- Kathleen Howard as Miss Bragg, the housekeeper
- Mary Field as Miss Totten, the financial backer
- Charles Lane as Larsen, Miss Totten's assistant
- Charles Arnt as McNeary, Lilac's lawyer
- Elisha Cook as a nightclub waiter
Music
Martha Tilton provided Barbara Stanwyck's singing voice for the song "Drum Boogie".[1] Drummer and bandleader Gene Krupa performed the song with his band. In an unusual twist, he also played it on a matchbox with matches for drumsticks. Krupa band member and famed trumpeter Roy Eldridge received a brief on-camera spell during "Drum Boogie".
Production
The script was written by Charles Brackett, Thomas Monroe, and Billy Wilder from a short story written by Wilder while he was still in Europe, and based in part on the fairy tale Snow White. The professors themselves were based on the dwarfs from Walt Disney's animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Although Ball of Fire was directed ably by Howard Hawks, Wilder had already decided that he needed to direct his screenplays to protect them from studio and other director's interference. Hawks was happy to let Wilder study his directing on the set and Wilder thereafter directed his own films. The film was the second feature of 1941 to pair Cooper and Stanwyck, following Meet John Doe.
Wilder reveled in poking fun at those who took politics too seriously. At one point, "Sugarpuss" points to her sore throat and complains "Slight rosiness? It's as red as the Daily Worker and just as sore." Later, she gives the overbearing and unsmiling housekeeper the name "Franco".
Ginger Rogers and Carole Lombard turned down the role of Katherine "Sugarpuss" O'Shea, while Lucille Ball almost won the role until Gary Cooper recommended Stanwyck.[2][3]
Awards and honors
Ball of Fire was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Barbara Stanwyck), Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture, Best Sound, Recording (Thomas T. Moulton) and Best Story.[4]
In World War II, a total of 12 servicemen were pen-pals with Stanwyck; two of them asked for a poster of her in the Ball of Fire outfit for their mess hall.[5]
American Film Institute Lists
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs - #92
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions - Nominated
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:
- "I love him because he's the kind of guy who gets drunk on a glass of buttermilk, and I love the way he blushes right up over his ears. I love him because he doesn't know how to kiss, the jerk!" - Nominated
In a 1999 AFI poll, stars Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck were both ranked #11 on the male and female lists of the greatest American screen legends.
It currently holds a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes with 24 reviews.[6]
References
- Notes
- ^ Smith 1985, p. 93.
- ^ Wayne 2009, p. 106.
- ^ Thomson 2010, p. 80.
- ^ "The 14th Academy Awards (1942) Nominees and Winners." oscars.org. Retrieved: November 17, 2011.
- ^ Madsen 1994, p. 216.
- ^ "Ball of Fire." Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved: November 17, 2011.
- Bibliography
- Madsen, Axel. Stanwyck: A Biography. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. ISBN 0-06-017997-X.
- Smith, Ella. Starring Miss Barbara Stanwyck. New York: Random House, 1985. ISBN 978-0-517-55695-5.
- Thomson, David. Gary Cooper (Great Stars). New York: Faber & Faber, 2010. ISBN 978-0-86547-932-6.
- Wayne, Jane. Life and Loves of Barbara Stanwyck. London: JR Books Ltd, 2009. ISBN 978-1-906217-94-5.
External links
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American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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