Ball of Fire (1941)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Jim H

  
  A grammarian who is toiling away at an encyclopedia meets a nightclub singer who teaches him slang. In the Hollywood's mind, making a film often involved merely pairing the two right movie stars, actors who would look good together and whose respective markets would overlap. To… More
  A grammarian who is toiling away at an encyclopedia meets a nightclub singer who teaches him slang. In the Hollywood's mind, making a film often involved merely pairing the two right movie stars, actors who would look good together and whose respective markets would overlap. To a large extent, that's even true now (e.g. You've Got Mail and Runaway Bride are re-hashes of couples that worked well in the past). It's like multimillion-dollar match.com. I suspect that's the thinking that went into Ball of Fire. The story is trite and cliche. It's re-telling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs [sic] -- how cliched can you get? But Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck are delightful, rapping their dialogue in a staccato that often makes classics classic. Overall, it's a fun diversion and easy to predict, but there's a lot to like about Ball of Fire.

• AJ V

  
  Not only is this movie hilarious, unique, and witty, but you learn a lot about slang words too. This movie is really fun, great cast and story and everything, I loved it, and I highly recommend it.

• Jennifer D

  
  Ah. A dilemma every English dork struggles with. Kinda reminded me of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs but modern. Very cute and funny. Gary Cooper kinda surprised me in this, the only other movie I had seen before this was High Noon, but his refined nature in this was well played. And… More
  Ah. A dilemma every English dork struggles with. Kinda reminded me of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs but modern. Very cute and funny. Gary Cooper kinda surprised me in this, the only other movie I had seen before this was High Noon, but his refined nature in this was well played. And I loved Barbara Stanwyck, loved her carefree nature in this.

• Ken S

  
  Written by Billy Wilder and Directed by Howard Hawks. How can you go wrong?

• Michael G

  
  Such a fun movie with a hell of a lot of talent stuffed into it. Barbara Stanwyck plays a burlesque queen hiding out from the cops in the company of 8 professors writing an encyclopedia. Eventual sparks fly between Gary Cooper (who plays the youngest one) and the screwball madness… More
  Such a fun movie with a hell of a lot of talent stuffed into it. Barbara Stanwyck plays a burlesque queen hiding out from the cops in the company of 8 professors writing an encyclopedia. Eventual sparks fly between Gary Cooper (who plays the youngest one) and the screwball madness indicative of the early 40s ensues. Stanwyck is fantastic as she delivers some of the snappiest dialogue around and as much as Gary Cooper usually bores me, he wasn't too unlikable here. Ball of Fire also has an incredible supporting cast with everyone from Dana Andrews to Henry Travers (Clarence from It's a Wonderful Life.) Billy Wilder co-wrote the script impeccably and Gregg Toland shot it beautifully (the bungalow scene especially.) My only gripe is the rushed marriage angle of the story, but otherwise this is a great, even if unintended take of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Well worth the time.

• Red L

  
  I don't understand why these old movies are rated so highly. It is a predictable story -- good girl - going to marry a crook - meets a nice guy and falls in love with him - gets blackmailed into marrying the crook - good guys intervene and save the day. So why is it rated 4… More
  I don't understand why these old movies are rated so highly. It is a predictable story -- good girl - going to marry a crook - meets a nice guy and falls in love with him - gets blackmailed into marrying the crook - good guys intervene and save the day. So why is it rated 4 stars?

• jay n

  
  barbara's a live wire throwing the 40's slang like nobody's business

• Doctor S

  
  With Howard Hawks directing a screenplay co-written by Billy Wilder, how can you go wrong? <i>Ball of Fire</i> offers one answer: hopelessly dated material. Gary Cooper is well cast as stiff, puritanical linguist who is one among eight experts in other areas of science… More
  With Howard Hawks directing a screenplay co-written by Billy Wilder, how can you go wrong? <i>Ball of Fire</i> offers one answer: hopelessly dated material. Gary Cooper is well cast as stiff, puritanical linguist who is one among eight experts in other areas of science & literature sequestered in a house together for nine years writing a new encyclopedia because the benefactor felt slighted he didn't get a mention in Britannica for inventing the the electric toaster. Yes, only in a Hawks or Frank Capra movie will you find this scenario! Into their sheltered lives storms Sugarpuss O'Shea (no, I did not make that up) upon the pretense of helping Cooper with his study of slang but who is really there to circumvent police interrogation at the request of her gangster boyfriend. What struck me most during this movie is how much times have changed since 1941, staggeringly so. Most of the slang expressions introduced here have long since been extinct, the electric guitarist plays scratch rhythms in a big swing band, there is one brief shot of a non-white actor during the whole 2 hours in New York, Cooper proposes to a woman he's known for a week because "it's the next logical step" after having declared his love the evening before, and the sight of a woman's bare leg completely disrupts the scholarly function of the entire house. (Well, that last one might still apply depending upon whom the leg is attached.) I've seen & love many old movies but occasionally catch one that seems better left in the time capsule. Barbara Stanwyck is indisputably terrific as the titular pyrotechnic display Sugarpuss, providing a consistent spark as she commandeers this collection of blubbering elderly bachelors. Fans will love watching her in this.

• Patrick D

  
  The best way to soften up some squares is with Sugarpuss O'Shea and a little Chica-Chica Boom-Boom. It's right off the cob, but it's a hoot and a holler.

• Anthony V

  
  Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck shine under Howard Hawks excellent direction.

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