[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqGiPiDnA4c?wmode=transparent&autohide=1&egm=0&hd=1&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&showinfo=0&showsearch=0&w=500&h=375]

BALL OF FIRE (1941)

starring Barbara Stanwyck and Gary Cooper. Released by R.K.O.

I just saw this movie and consider it the “crowd-pleasing” kind. It entertains as it exaggerates the stereo-types of it’s era. From the 1940s, and all about style—-of speech. It’s a comedy-crime-romance about a group of daffy professors living together like the 7 dwarfs in the story of “Snow White” because they are hard at work, writing new encyclopedia entries. And, one of them decides to write about the funny slag words that many were using at the time, and to do this, a shady, wise-cracking club singer becomes his subject of study. It’s almost like a 1940s twist on the “Snow White” fairy-tale, except funnier and with jazz music!

NOTE: In addition to the excellent stars of this film, it is worth seeing for it’s top-notch supporting cast, featuring some of the finest character actors of the time! One even went on to become the voice of Droopy the dog in the MGM cartoon shorts, if I’m not mistaken.

8/10.

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)