Posted on 01/10/2024 5:18:22 PM PST by simpson96
Ball of Fire is a 1941 screwball comedy directed by Howard Hawks and starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. It concerns a group of professors laboring to write an encyclopedia. The youngest, Cooper, is a grammarian who is researching modern American slang. They encounter a nightclub performer who provides her own unique knowledge.
Ball of Fire’s narrative has obvious parallels to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and it has now become common to view Hawks’ film as a modernization of Walt Disney 1937 picture.
Ball of Fire (1941) -- Sugarpuss arrives at the Totten Foundation.
Bfl
I probably know every line of that film. One of my favorites!
If you haven’t seen this movie, or haven’t seen it in a while, do so. It is good.
If you haven’t seen this movie, or haven’t seen it in a while, do so. It is good.
Among many nuggets of dialogue: her throat’s “as red as the Daily Worker and twice as sore!”
In 1948 this was remade as a Danny Kaye film A Song Is Born. I love Kaye but can’t believe any version could be better than this original.
Trivia:
Stanwyck was a buddy of Ayn Rand.
Richard Haydn (Prof. Oddley) was a guest on the Dick Van Dyke show.
Apparently, Babs Stanwyck really WAS a "ball of fire" at that time. One wonders how much fun she was having in this role?
Good stuff! Thanks!
Are you glad to see me type firearms?
Seen it a few times, had my eye on Babs to be honest. :)
I just watched Barbara Stanwyck in “The Furies” filmed in 1950. It was a great noir western. She plays “A firebrand heiress clashes with her tyrannical father, a cattle rancher who fancies himself a Napoleon, but their relationship turns ugly only when he finds himself a new woman.”
Director: Anthony Mann
Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Wendell Corey, Walter Huston, Judith Anderson
The themes are timeless.
Wow, what a great clip! They are looking at her throat and she says “As red as the Daily Worker and just as sore” — LOLO.
She was SO hot and SO seductive. Incredible. I’ll have to watch the entire movie. Thanks for the clip!
She was 34 when she made that film, but she seems a lot younger in that clip.
It streams perfectly via AirPlay from my Mac to my AppleTV!
Thank you.
I will have to watch the film but I am not a fan of Gary Cooper (even though he was born 25 miles from here and his family loaned my Uncle their C - 7 brand for his cows for many years).
The supporting cast is full of legends.
“The Furies,” oh that was intense! Some kind of Electra complex going on there, she was in a very unhealthy relationship with Daddy.
“...she was in a very unhealthy relationship with Daddy.”
No kidding. That was about the unhealthiest relationship I’ve seen on screen. She really wanted to inherit the ranch and got really bad when Dad’s new girlfriend showed up who would inherit the ranch. Then it got worse when she found out that Dad’s new girlfriend was a scheming, conniving bitch.
Then there was her love triangle with the Herreras childhood friend and the gambler. And she let Herreras get hanged by Daddy and wouldn’t give Daddy the satisfaction of begging for his life.
It was an absolutely fascinating movie about the human condition. I’m surprised it hasn’t been more recognized as a great film.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.