Howard Hawks' "Ball of Fire" is a a sly urban updating of the Snow-White fairy tale, as well as an effervescent look at the fertile potential of clashing cultures. Stanwyck's "Sugarpuss" O'Shea is fast-talking and sexy, a showgirl who bewitches Gary Cooper's English professor with her invigorating vocabulary, as well as her dishy ankles. Cooper's Professor Bertram Potts is a young stuffed shirt, self-entombed in a fusty, academic cloister where he and 7 other reclusive intellectuals hammer away at writing an encyclopedia. Sugarpuss invades the hermitage with a bright, modern femininity; she is bold, playful, and self-possessed, reviving the inert libidos and general joie de vivre of the whole bashful fraternity. In one delightful scene, she instructs the clumsy, inexperienced older men in a bracing conga line. Foxy Stanwyck and an impressive crew of consummate character actors bring great humor and sweetness to the kind of scene that in other hands might become merely corny.
Though Sugarpuss rejuvenates the men with the energy of youth, she requires a different kind of rejuvenation. As the film reminds us, detached vitality is what make a shark a shark. The academic brotherhood may be stale and lonely, but they are open-hearted and loyal. Unlike Sugarpuss' calculating gangster boyfriend, played slickly by Dana Andrews, Professor Potts is tender and thoughtful. Most importantly, the young "Pottsy", as Sugarpuss calls him, is also trusting enough to look foolish. In Howard Hawks' films, making a fool of oneself is often linked to the experience of real love. Being guileless enough to be undone by genuine emotion is proof of valor. Both boyish and stiff, Cooper is pitch perfect here. As he falls for Sugarpuss, his face reveals all-- staid shyness competes with impassioned delight. We root for him.
But being sweet and genuine aren't enough. This is a film about essential combinations: passion and intellect, sweetness and vigor.It's not until Potts avers his PHYSICAL passion for Sugarpuss that her heart really gives over. Later he must engage in fisticuffs, surely the first of his life, with the smug gangster. Despite amusingly nerdy preparation(he studies a hardbound guide to pugilism), the actual battle awakens his animal instincts. His earlier effete intellectualism is now fully redeemed.
Hawks' film is unequivocal: Without lusty physical vigor, we're entombed. Without tender, intimate relationships, we may as well jump in the ocean and swim the clock round.
Two Notes:
1. This film is neither anti-intellectual NOR anti-working class. It fully admires street-smart vigor and creativity while also embracing the love of more formal learning. In our era, a film like this is a bracing reminder that a fertile exchange is possible (and improving for all involved.)
2. This is the kind of role that MAINSTREAM cinema used to provide actresses: smart, tough, edgy, sexy and eloquent.
Though Sugarpuss rejuvenates the men with the energy of youth, she requires a different kind of rejuvenation. As the film reminds us, detached vitality is what make a shark a shark. The academic brotherhood may be stale and lonely, but they are open-hearted and loyal. Unlike Sugarpuss' calculating gangster boyfriend, played slickly by Dana Andrews, Professor Potts is tender and thoughtful. Most importantly, the young "Pottsy", as Sugarpuss calls him, is also trusting enough to look foolish. In Howard Hawks' films, making a fool of oneself is often linked to the experience of real love. Being guileless enough to be undone by genuine emotion is proof of valor. Both boyish and stiff, Cooper is pitch perfect here. As he falls for Sugarpuss, his face reveals all-- staid shyness competes with impassioned delight. We root for him.
But being sweet and genuine aren't enough. This is a film about essential combinations: passion and intellect, sweetness and vigor.It's not until Potts avers his PHYSICAL passion for Sugarpuss that her heart really gives over. Later he must engage in fisticuffs, surely the first of his life, with the smug gangster. Despite amusingly nerdy preparation(he studies a hardbound guide to pugilism), the actual battle awakens his animal instincts. His earlier effete intellectualism is now fully redeemed.
Hawks' film is unequivocal: Without lusty physical vigor, we're entombed. Without tender, intimate relationships, we may as well jump in the ocean and swim the clock round.
Two Notes:
1. This film is neither anti-intellectual NOR anti-working class. It fully admires street-smart vigor and creativity while also embracing the love of more formal learning. In our era, a film like this is a bracing reminder that a fertile exchange is possible (and improving for all involved.)
2. This is the kind of role that MAINSTREAM cinema used to provide actresses: smart, tough, edgy, sexy and eloquent.