Ball of Fire (1941)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: 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.
Movie Info
Cast
as Prof. Bertram Potts
as Sugarpuss O'Shea
as Prof. Gurkakoff
as Prof. Jerome
as Prof. Magenbruch
as Prof. Robinson
as Prof. Quintana
as Prof. Oddly
as Prof. Peagram
as Garbage Man
as Joe Lilac
as Duke Pastrami
as Miss Totten
as Asthma Anderson
as Miss Bragg
as Larson
as McNeary
as Waiter
as Fissette
as Horseface
as Pinstripe
as Benny
as Justice of the Peace
as District Attorney
as College Boy
as Newsboy
as Bum
as Spieler
as College Boy
as Nursemaid at Park
as Hula Dancer
as Nursemaid at Park
as Garbage Man
as Garbage Man
as Stage Doorman
as Girl in Subway
as Girl in Subway
as College Girl
as College Girl
as Fighting Bum
as Chorus Girl
as Delivery Boy
as Taxi Driver
as Girl in Cafe
as Tollkeeper
as Deputy
as Deputy
as Policeman in Station
as Cop With Miss Bragg
as Irish Gardener
as Cop on Garbage Truck
as Policeman at Motor Inn
as Justice of the Peace's Clerk
as Motor Court Proprietor
as Orchestra Leader
Critic Reviews for Ball of Fire
All Critics (26) | Top Critics (6) | Fresh (26) | Rotten (0) | DVD (3)
Ball of Fire came out five days before Pearl Harbor. You can imagine Americans listening to its flood of slang and knowing exactly what they were fighting for.
Actor Cooper plays his Mr. Deeds role with the authority of long familiarity, and Miss Stanwyck (once Ruby Stevens, of Brooklyn) is equally at home in hers.
Casting is meticulously perfect to make every character a caricature of itself.
A delight.
Pure joy.
Mr. Cooper may be a little loose-tooth in spots, but he gives a homespun performance such as only he can give. Miss Stanwyck is plenty yum-yum (meaning scorchy) in her worldly temptress role.
Audience Reviews for Ball of Fire
Gary ("aw shucks m'am!") Cooper leads a collection of every eccentric nerd uncle character actor ever as they attempt to understand how 40's swell cats canoodled the English language through the cypher of OMG sweltering Barbara Stanwyck. Heat ensues, and how! Big fun tiger.
Super Reviewer
A grammarian who is toiling away at an encyclopedia meets a nightclub singer who teaches him slang. In the Hollywood's mind, making a film often involved merely pairing the two right movie stars, actors who would look good together and whose respective markets would overlap. To a large extent, that's even true now (e.g. You've Got Mail and Runaway Bride are re-hashes of couples that worked well in the past). It's like multimillion-dollar match.com. I suspect that's the thinking that went into Ball of Fire. The story is trite and cliche. It's re-telling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs [sic] -- how cliched can you get? But Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck are delightful, rapping their dialogue in a staccato that often makes classics classic. Overall, it's a fun diversion and easy to predict, but there's a lot to like about Ball of Fire.
Super Reviewer
Not only is this movie hilarious, unique, and witty, but you learn a lot about slang words too. This movie is really fun, great cast and story and everything, I loved it, and I highly recommend it.
Super Reviewer
Ball of Fire Quotes
| Sugarpuss O'Shea: | red as the Daily Worker and just as sore |
| Sugarpuss O'Shea: | Red as the Daily Worker and just as sore. |
| Sugarpuss O'Shea: | I love him because he's the kind of guy who gets drunk on a glass of buttermilk, and I love the way he blushes right up over his ears. I love him because he doesn't know how to kiss, the jerk! |