Barbara Stanwyck’s nightclub-singer moll lams it from the cops and hides out amid a clutch of milquetoast encyclopedia researchers led by hunky grammarian Gary Cooper. Cooper’s character finds her slangy argot fascinating, then falls for the rest of the package. With Howard Hawks directing and Billy Wilder co-writing the script, Ball of Fire has an impeccable screwball pedigree. -Lee Gardner
1941 Howard Hawks 1.37:1 B&W DCP 111 min.
