“I LOVE HIM because he doesn't know how to kiss—THE JERK!”
A group of academics have spent years shut up in a house working on the definitive encyclopedia. When one of them discovers that his entry on slang is hopelessly outdated, he ventures into the wide world to learn about the evolving language. Here he meets Sugarpuss O’Shea, a nightclub singer, who’s on top of all the slang—and, it just so happens, needs a place to stay.
Ball of Fire (1941) is a comedy, romance and crime film directed by Howard Hawks, released on December 2, 1941 with a runtime of 1h 51m. It stars Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Oskar Homolka and Henry Travers. Viewers rate it 7.4 out of 10 across 252 ratings.
Watch the official trailer for Ball of Fire before you stream it.
Gary Cooper
as Professor Bertram Potts
Barbara Stanwyck
as Sugarpuss O’Shea
Oskar Homolka
as Prof. Gurkakoff
Henry Travers
as Prof. Jerome
S.Z. Sakall
as Prof. Magenbruch
Tully Marshall
as Prof. Robinson
Leonid Kinskey
as Prof. Quintana
Richard Haydn
as Prof. Oddly
Aubrey Mather
as Prof. Peagram
Allen Jenkins
as Garbage Man
Dana Andrews
as Joe Lilac
Dan Duryea
as Duke Pastrami
Directed by Howard Hawks, written by Billy Wilder, Thomas Monroe and Billy Wilder, produced by Samuel Goldwyn.
Average viewer score of 7.4/10 from 252 ratings.
This is a cracking little comedy with Gary Cooper as the unlikely boffin "Prof. Potts" who, alongside a group of equally eminent academics has been working on an encyclopaedia for the previous 9 years - and they've only got to "S". Enter the mailman who is doing a radio quiz just as our professor is concluding his section on slang - only for him to realise that their studious isolation has left them so out of touch…
Reviewed on June 25, 2022
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Ball of Fire (1941) is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube TV and Amazon Prime Video with Ads, and to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store and Fandango At Home. Streaming availability is checked against JustWatch data and can change by region.
The main cast of Ball of Fire (1941) includes Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Oskar Homolka, Henry Travers and S.Z. Sakall. The film was directed by Howard Hawks. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
Ball of Fire was released on December 2, 1941 and runs for 1h 51m.
Ball of Fire (1941) holds an average rating of 7.4 out of 10 from 252 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy comedy, romance and crime films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
Yes. The official Ball of Fire trailer is embedded in the trailer section of this page and plays instantly, no download or sign-up required.
