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Ball of Fire   1941             N/R, 111 min. Genre: Comedy Director: Howard Hawks   Cast: Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck, Dana Andrews, Richard Haydn, Oskar Homolka, Henry Travers, S.Z. Sakall, Allen Jenkins, Tully Marshall, Elisha Cook Jr., Leonid Kinskey, Dan Duryea, Aubrey Mather, Ralph Peters, Mary Field   Burlesque dancer Sugarpuss O'Shea (Barbara Stanwyck) moves into the home of seven professors, led by Bertram Potts (Gary Cooper), who are writing the "Encyclopedia of Slang." Comedy abounds when the professors learn slang first hand from their new resident and her gangster cohorts. Barbara Stanwyck received an Oscar nomination.    1 User Review User Review One of my favorite comedies 1fatts 03/26/2007    This comedy, famously modelled on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs places the great Barbara Stanwyck doing the "heart of gold tramp" in the middle of seven ivory tower professors living a monastic life, dedicating themselves to the writing of a new encyclopedia. (You remember written encycolopedias; you used to be able to find them in libraries near the microfiche.) The professors are a splendid gathering of the best of the character actors of the time: "Cuddles" Sakall, Henry Travers, Hichard Haydn and on and on. Their leader and chief egghead is Gary Cooper playing wonderfully against type. (He did this in a great comic western once: See "Along Came Jones" when it comes along.) The result is funny and charming; and, yes, we really are touched by the innocence of long ago and far away. For those who don`t know the work of the young Barbara Stanwyck, this is a good one to serve as introduction. She really is a ball of fire. Cast Gary Cooper Prof. Bertram Potts Barbara Stanwyck Katherine "Sugarpuss" O`Shea Dana Andrews Joe Lilac Richard Haydn Prof. Oddly Oskar Homolka Prof. Gurkakoff Henry Travers Prof. Jerome S.Z. Sakall Prof. Magenbruch Allen Jenkins Garbageman Tully Marshall Prof. Robinson Elisha Cook Jr. Nightclub Waiter Leonid Kinskey Prof. Quintana Dan Duryea Duke Pastrami Aubrey Mather Prof. Peagram Ralph Peters Asthma Anderson Mary Field Miss Totten