Colpo di fulmine

Basically, this is a gangster version of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" Here "Snow White" is a night club singer faultlessly played by Barbara Stanwyck. The "evil witch" is the local police, out to haul her in because of tie-in to a gangster (Dana Andrews) The magic forest of course, is New York. The seven dwarfs are a group of introverted professors led by bookworm Gary Cooper.

The film ahs a wonderful screenplay by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett. (Sample dialog COP: How do you find a needle in a haystack? GANGSTER: Simple. Feed the hay to a horse, and X-Ray the horse.) Directed with zip by the great Howard Hawks.

Barbara Stanwyck plays a wise-cracking entertainer who moves in with 8 professorial types in "Ball of Fire," a marvelous Billy Wilder film, directed by Howard Hawks, that is loosely based on Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs! Only Wilder could come up with an idea like this and make it shine.

And shine it does. Stanwyck is perfect as Sugarpuss O'Shea, whose boyfriend is a mobster sought after by the police. After a visit by Cooper, whose assignment is slang for the encyclopedia he and the others have been writing for only nine years, she drops in on him late at night, intending to hide out there so the police can't subpoena her testimony. Cooper falls for her while the other, older men develop paternalistic feelings for her.

Stanwyck is gorgeous and gets to show off that fabulous body and great legs as well as her flair for comedy. She's in stark contrast to Cooper as a man who's been in his ivory tower too long. Cooper was one of the handsomest movie stars ever. Tall and gangly, slow-talking, with a boyish smile that lights up his face, it's no wonder the heiress funding the encyclopedia is crazy about him and that Stanwyck finds herself drifting into love with him.

Dana Andrews has a good role as the mobster boyfriend, and one of his sidekicks is the always snarky Dan Duryea. The professors are all terrific. Highly entertaining fare from Billy Wilder, and the last film he ever wrote but didn't direct.

When you think of Gary Cooper, what kinds of part do you think of? Strong silent men, men of honor, gunfighters of the old west, people like Sergeant York and the Sheriff in "High Noon", right? You certainly don't think funny, and you'd certainly never think he could play a NERD, but he does in this film. Not only is he a convincing complete geek, but he's funny, AND sexy!

The story is pretty silly (inspired by "Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs", really): A group of dorky professors are writing an encyclopedia, and English Professor Cooper decides he needs more information on Slang. In his quest for current jive talk he meets Barbara Stanwyck, as a too-lively singer/gang moll. She takes advantage of his invitation to discuss verbiage to use his ivory tower as a hideout, and moves in with the professors. She quickly decides to stay, then to have her way with Coop (who wouldn't), and then falls...

A very funny, sprightly film, fast-paced and full of wonderful performances. Stanwyck is glowingly wonderful, but I still can't get over Cooper's wonderful characterization of a supremely attractive total geek. If that sounds like a contradiction in terms, see the movie and you'll realize it's true.

Snow White elated fable with an early 1940s touch. This modern day Snow White is riddled with lingo commonly spoken by people in early 1940s America. Instead of being a pure and innocent woman as in the original version, this Snow White is a nightclub singer with dubious associations to a known gangster. Also, the character played by Gary Cooper is both Prince Charming and head dwarf rolled into one.

Feels more like a Billy Wilder film than a Howard Hawks feature. This is because of certain characteristics throughout the story like its zanniness which is a fixture of Billy Wilder's comedies. Also includes a satiric element so importantly featured in most of Billy Wilder's directorial work. Skillfully written by Billy Wilder, a filmmaker with a knack for creating humorous situations out of everyday life.

Ball of Fire(1941) is the major blue print for Billy Wilder's late 1950s comedy masterpiece, Some Like It Hot(1959). It deals with someone who has to blend with a crowd she doesn't usually hang out with to avoid trouble which was the basic premise for Some Like It Hot(1959). The plot for Ball of Fire(1941) where Sugarpuss O'Shea finds sanctuary in a male filled world is the perfect opposite of Some Like It Hot(1959) where the two male characters blend in a female dominated band. Sugurpuss O'Shea and the two male characters of Some Like It Hot(1959) are involved in nightclub work though in different jobs.

Barbara Stanwyck is awe striking gorgeous for the part of Sugarpuss O'Shea. She belongs in a long line of beautiful and talented actressess who dazzles the big screen with presence in Howard Hawks films. Barbara Stanwyck in this film is a sensuous kitten and tough thinking woman. A warmup for Stanwyck's most sensual performance on film in Double Indemnity(1944).

No Howard Hawks motion picture(with few exceptions) goes through a story without including some kind of romantic chemistry and romantic conflict. Professor Potts and Sugarpuss O'Shea are opposites personality wise yet connect because of Potts naive but joyful look at life. What wins Sugarpuss's heart is Professor Potts clumsy and gentle nature which is quite a contrast to her gangster boyfriend. The romantic chemistry of the two lacks the hard-boiled edge of the Bogart-Bacall films by Howard Hawks which is a refreshing change here.

The classic screwball comedy that was extremely popular during the decades of the 1930s and 1940s. Ball of Fire(1941) is part of Howard Hawks screwball comedy period when he contributed to the sub genre with comical and witty portrayals of everyday life. Matches the rapid fire dialogue of His Girl Friday(1941) with the sultriness of The Big Sleep(1946). Ball of Fire(1941) puts smiles on faces with priceless moments of laughter.

Sugarpuss O'Shea is a typically strong Hawks female character who overwheims the film's hero with her flamboyant manners. The name Sugarpuss suggests something that is alluring and sweet. The inspiration for the person of Sugarpuss O'Shea was Mistress of Bugsy Siegal, Virginia "Sugar" Hill. Sugarpuss O'Shea bar none is the most alluring female character in a Howard Hawks movie.

Well rounded performances are turned out by the majority of the cast. The actors who play Professor Potts associates excell in their eccentric performances. Nice for a change to see Gary Cooper play a person who is awkward, intellegent, and romantic. Dan Duryea adds a touch of dry comic relief as a gangster thug.

Amusing to see six grown men behave in manners akin to an adolescent the minute Sugarpuss O'Shea walks into their lives. The scenes where Professor Potts goes on the street to learn of some street slang to add to his and associates encyclopedia is a masterstroke in editing. The moment near the end where Potts tells the gangster boyfriend of Sugarpuss to "Put up your dukes" is a hirilous moment in the film. His Girl Friday(1940) is still the best screwball comedy Howard Hawks ever did but Ball of Fire(1941) is a close second.

Ball of Fire(1941) comprises of some fine cinematography by Gregg Toland whose creative eye lended a hand to the monumental camera work of Citizen Kane released during the same year. Early in the nightclub scene is an uncredited cameo by Elisha Cook Jr. Most of the time an excellent film is marked by excellent direction and Ball of Fire(1941) is no exception. Lighthearted and sentlementle romantic comedy that belongs to an era when films were done a certain way.

Wow, what a cast! Let's see, there's Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Richard Haydn, Oscar Homolka, Henry Travers, S.Z. Sakall, Tully Marshall, Dana Andrews, Allen Jenkins and more! Classic film fans know all these names.

What's more, it's a fun movie, fun to see and especially fun to hear. Stanwyck is her usual fascinating self, but in this movie it's the men - the seven old bachelors and the younger Cooper in the "club" - that are the most entertaining.

When you have directors and writers such as Howard Hawks and Billy Wilder behind the film, you know it's a winner.

Because the story dealt with a bunch of encyclopedia writers trying to find out the latest slang words, the dialog in here is really funny. The expressions of the day are dated and humorous and there are so many you can't count them all. Some are stupid; some are hilarious...which is what you get with most comedies anyway. Not every line hits the mark, but a lot do in this one.

Tack on some action and some romance and it's corny-but-cute film , entertaining all the way.