Ball of Fire

This article is about the 1941 film. For the song by Tommy James and the Shondells, see Ball of Fire (song). For other uses, see Ball of Fire (disambiguation).
Ball of Fire
Theatrical release poster
Directed byHoward Hawks
Screenplay by
Based onFrom A to Z
by Thomas Monroe and Billy Wilder
Produced bySamuel Goldwyn
Starring
CinematographyGregg Toland
Edited byDaniel Mandell
Music byAlfred Newman
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Radio Pictures
Release date
  • December 2, 1941 (1941-12-02)
[1]
Running time
111 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2,641,000 (worldwide rentals)[2][3]

Ball of Fire (also known as The Professor and the Burlesque Queen) is a 1941 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks and starring Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. The Samuel Goldwyn Productions film (originally distributed by RKO) concerns a group of professors laboring to write an encyclopedia and their encounter with a nightclub performer who provides her own unique knowledge. The supporting cast includes Oscar Homolka, S. Z. Sakall, Henry Travers, Richard Haydn, Dana Andrews, and Dan Duryea.

In 2016, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress, and selected for preservation in its National Film Registry.[4][5] In 1948, Hawks recycled the plot for a musical film, A Song Is Born, this time starring Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo.[6]

  1. ^ Rollyson, Carl (2012). Hollywood Enigma: Dana Andrews. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-60473-567-3. In Ball of Fire (released December 2, 1941), Gary Cooper plays Bertram Potts, a professor who falls in love with nightclub singer Sugarpuss O'Shea, played by Barbara Stanwyck.
  2. ^ Jewell, Richard B. (1994). "RKO Film Grosses, 1929-1951: the C.J. Tevlin ledger". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 14 (1): 37–49. doi:10.1080/01439689400260031.
  3. ^ Jewell, Richard B. (1994). "Appendix 1". Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television. 14 (S1): 1–11. doi:10.1080/01439689408604545.
  4. ^ Price, Gary. "Library of Congress Adds 25 Films to National Film Registry Including Thelma & Louise, The Princess Bride, and The Breakfast Club". LJ INFOdocket. Retrieved 2017-02-24.
  5. ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kael was invoked but never defined (see the help page).