Review of Ball of Fire (1941) by Max M — 08 Dec 2008
A terrific and hilarious take on the Snow White and the Seven Dwarves story, with Barbara Stanwyck as a showgirl/gangsters moll who hides out, as well as teaches her vast vocabulary of slang to, eight professors, led by Gary Cooper, who are in the midst of writing an encyclopedia.
This picture has everything a movie lover could want - a whip-smart and funny script rife with sexual overtones and double entendres (as usual) by the great Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett; the always spot-on direction of Howard Hawks; gorgeous photography by Gregg Toland, who mixes up Hawks' visual approach of framing his subjects at eye-level by bringing some of the low-angle and deep focus visual framings that he and Orson Welles employed in their landmark Citizen Kane; and fantastic performances by not only the leads, Cooper and Stanwyck, but the entire supporting cast as well.
Look for future character actor Elisha Cook Jr. as a nightclub waiter.
This review of Ball of Fire (1941) was written by Max M on 08 Dec 2008.
Ball of Fire has generally received very positive reviews.
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