Ball of Fire
Ball of Fire | |
---|---|
Directed by | Howard Hawks |
Screenplay by | |
Based on | From A to Z by Thomas Monroe and Billy Wilder |
Produced by | Samuel Goldwyn |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Alfred Newman |
Production company | |
Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 111 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $2,641,000 (worldwide rentals)[2][3] |
Ball of Fire (also known as The Professor and the Burlesque Queen) is a 1941 American
In 2016, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress, and selected for preservation in its National Film Registry.[4][5] In 1948, Hawks recycled the plot for a musical film, A Song Is Born, this time starring Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo.[6]
Plot
A group of professors, all bachelors except for one widower, have lived together for some years in a
The professors soon become fond of her, and she of them. Sugarpuss teaches them to conga and demonstrates to Bertram the meaning of the phrase "yum yum" (kisses). She becomes attracted to Bertram, who reciprocates by proposing marriage to her. She avoids giving him an answer and agrees to Joe's plan to have the professors drive her to New Jersey to marry him. After a series of misadventures, including a car crash, Sugarpuss realizes that she is in love with Bertram, but is forced to go ahead with her marriage to Joe to save the professors from his henchmen. Bertram, meanwhile, unaware of Sugarpuss' love for him, prepares to resume his research, sadder but wiser, until he discovers her true feelings.
The professors eventually outwit Joe and his henchmen and rescue Sugarpuss. She claims she is not good enough for Bertram, but his application of "yum yum" changes her mind. The other seven professors leave the room to give Bertram and Sugarpuss a moment alone.
Cast
- Gary Cooper as Professor Bertram Potts, English and grammar
- Barbara Stanwyck as Katherine "Sugarpuss" O'Shea
- Oskar Homolkaas Professor Gurkakoff, Sciences
- Henry Travers as Professor Jerome, Geographer
- S. Z. Sakall as Professor Magenbruch, Physiology
- Tully Marshall as Professor Robinson, Law
- Leonid Kinskey as Professor Quintana, Philosophy
- Richard Haydn as Professor Oddly, Botany
- Aubrey Mather as Professor Peagram, History
- Allen Jenkins as the garbage man
- 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
- Mary Field as Miss Totten
- Charles Lane as Larsen, Miss Totten's assistant
- Charles Arnt as McNeary, Lilac's lawyer
- Elisha Cook Jr. as a nightclub waiter
- Aldrich Bowker as Justice of the Peace
- Addison Richards as the district attorney
- Pat West as a bum
- Kenneth Howell as a college boy
- Tommy Ryan as a newsboy
- Tim Ryan as a motorcycle policeman
- Will Lee as Benny the Creep
- Gene Krupa and his orchestra as themselves
Music
Martha Tilton provided Barbara Stanwyck's singing voice for the song "Drum Boogie".[7] Drummer and bandleader Gene Krupa performed the song onscreen with his band.[6] In an unusual twist, he also played it on a matchbox with matches for drumsticks. Krupa band member and noted trumpeter Roy Eldridge received a brief on-camera spot during "Drum Boogie". At one point, the professors also perform an a cappella version of the 1869 song "Sweet Genevieve".
Production
The script was written by
The role of Sugarpuss was offered to Ginger Rogers and Carole Lombard, but both turned it down. Lucille Ball was almost cast in the role until Gary Cooper recommended Stanwyck.[9][10]
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 [a left-wing newspaper] and just as sore."
Wilder also worked in a reference to Cooper's Oscar-winning performance in the title role of Hawks' 1941 film Sergeant York by having Dan Duryea's character Duke Pastrami say, "I saw me a movie last week" before licking his thumb and rubbing it on the sight of his gun, a technique Cooper's York uses to improve his marksmanship.
Reception
According to RKO records, Ball of Fire took in $1,856,000 in
Ball of Fire holds a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 26 reviews, with a weighted average of 8.24/10. The site's consensus reads: "A splendidly funny twist on the story of Snow White, Ball of Fire boasts a pair of perfect leads in Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck".[12]
Awards and honors
Ball of Fire was nominated for
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.[14]
Ball of Fire is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
- 2000: AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – #92[15]
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.
References
Notes
- ISBN 978-1-60473-567-3.
In Ball of Fire (released December 2, 1941), Gary Cooper plays Bertram Potts, a professor who falls in love with nightclub singer Sugarpuss O'Shea, played by Barbara Stanwyck.
- ^ .
- ^ .
- ^ Price, Gary. "Library of Congress Adds 25 Films to National Film Registry Including Thelma & Louise, The Princess Bride, and The Breakfast Club". LJ INFOdocket. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
- ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
- ^ a b Kael, p. 48.
- ^ Smith 1985, p. 93.
- ^ Fusco, Joseph (2017-09-12). Dan Duryea: A Career Appreciation. Albany, Georgia: BearManor Media.
- ^ Wayne 2009, p. 106.
- ^ Thomson 2010, p. 80.
- ^ Jewell 2012 p. 254.
- ^ "Ball of Fire." Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved: June 30, 2019.
- ^ "The 14th Academy Awards (1942) Nominees and Winners." oscars.org. Retrieved: November 17, 2011.
- ^ Madsen 1994, p. 216.
- ^ "AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs." American Film Institute. Retrieved: August 21, 2016.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-1-250-03357-4.
- Jewell, Richard B. ISBN 978-0-52027-179-1.
- Madsen, Axel. Stanwyck: A Biography. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. ISBN 0-06-017997-X.
- Smith, Ella. Starring Miss Barbara Stanwyck. New York: Random House. 1995. 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
- Ball of Fire at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Ball of Fire at the TCM Movie Database
- Ball of Fire at IMDb
- Ball of Fire at AllMovie
- Ball of Fire on Screen Guild Theater: November 30, 1942
- Ball of Fire on Theater of Romance: January 23, 1945