Review of Ball of Fire (1941) by Michaela B — 22 Dec 2009
Fun is the rule in this underrated screwball comedy. I prefer this Howard Hawks gem over his more famous "His Girl Friday," which I also love. Gary Cooper surprised me as the hilariously nerdy Bertram Potts--this is my favorite role for him.
Barbara Stanwyck underplays Sugar Puss O'Shea and captures all the humor in the screenplay; plus she is dangerously sexy for 1941. Dana Andrews, as the heavy, gives a great performance as the bad boy gangster villain--you never like him, but you know exactly why Sugar Puss finds him attractive.
But the best things about this film are the supporting performances, starting with the seven old professors. Every great Hollywood supporting actor is in this comedy, including the brillian Richard Haydn (actually younger than Cooper), S.
K. "Cuddles" Sakall, Oscar Homolka and many others. Dan Duryea is hilarious as Andrews' impossibly thickheaded yet menacing thug, Pastrami. The brilliant, witty script is by none other than Billy Wilder.
They don't make them like this any more, and that's a real shame.
This review of Ball of Fire (1941) was written by Michaela B on 22 Dec 2009.
Ball of Fire has generally received very positive reviews.
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