Reviews: "Ball of Fire" and "Double Indemnity"
07-11-99, 11:59 PM
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Yes, there was a theme to the double-header I watched tonight. Both "Ball of Fire" and "Double Indemnity" are Barbara Stanwyck films, and they also have a Billy Wilder connection (he co-scripted "Ball of Fire" and co-wrote the script for and directed Stanwyck in "Double Indemnity" three years later, they both received Oscar nominations for their contributions to both films).
"Ball of Fire" is a screwball comedy in which Gary Cooper plays an English professor, Bertrand Potts, who has spent the last eight years in seclusion with seven colleagues, compiling an encyclopedia. When he discovers that the slang terms he was going to use in the encyclopedia are outdated, he enlists the help of a group of "normal" folk with healthy slang vocabularies to assist him in compiling terms.
Among the members of the group is Sugarpuss O'Shea, a gangster's moll who has to hide from the authorities because her boyfriend is in trouble with the law. Sugarpuss and Professor Potts become involved, which threatens their lives and the encyclopedia project. It was one of the last screwball comedies made before World War II, and though not hysterical, as other Howard Hawks-directed screwball vehicles are, it is fun to watch because of great performances. (Note the Snow White story and visual references.) Hawks remade "Ball of Fire" seven years later as "A Song is Born."
The disc, distributed by HBO, looks absolutely wonderful for a film of it's age (made in 1941). The transfer is clean and there is great contrast between grays. The mono soundtrack is crisp and clear (slight static was detectable two times, both for only a few seconds), highlighting Alfred Newman's delightful score. Unfortunately, there is no trailer, only cast bios. The standard language and scene selections, as well as subtitles, are present.
"Double Indemnity" is one of the greatest film noir pictures ever made, if not the best. It's about the plan that icy blonde femme fatale Phyllis Dietrichson hatches with insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray, in one of his finest performances) to kill her husband and collect on the double indemnity policy she has taken out on him. Crackling dialogue, ever-growing suspense (thanks to Wilder's taut direction), and heated performances from Stanwyck, MacMurray, and Edward G. Robinson as Neff's suspicious boss and friend, make "Double Indemnity" absolutely riveting.
This DVD is disappointing. Owned by Universal but distributed by Image, it is featureless and though the picture quality is better (much much sharper) than that of the video, it is still inexcusably grainy. The mono soundtrack suffices; the dialogue is all crisp. "Double Indemnity," like "Touch of Evil," which should arrive on DVD (as a CE) this fall, deserves the Collector's Edition treatment.
--Heather
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http://www.dvdtracker.com/~ahber16.asp
"Ball of Fire" is a screwball comedy in which Gary Cooper plays an English professor, Bertrand Potts, who has spent the last eight years in seclusion with seven colleagues, compiling an encyclopedia. When he discovers that the slang terms he was going to use in the encyclopedia are outdated, he enlists the help of a group of "normal" folk with healthy slang vocabularies to assist him in compiling terms.
Among the members of the group is Sugarpuss O'Shea, a gangster's moll who has to hide from the authorities because her boyfriend is in trouble with the law. Sugarpuss and Professor Potts become involved, which threatens their lives and the encyclopedia project. It was one of the last screwball comedies made before World War II, and though not hysterical, as other Howard Hawks-directed screwball vehicles are, it is fun to watch because of great performances. (Note the Snow White story and visual references.) Hawks remade "Ball of Fire" seven years later as "A Song is Born."
The disc, distributed by HBO, looks absolutely wonderful for a film of it's age (made in 1941). The transfer is clean and there is great contrast between grays. The mono soundtrack is crisp and clear (slight static was detectable two times, both for only a few seconds), highlighting Alfred Newman's delightful score. Unfortunately, there is no trailer, only cast bios. The standard language and scene selections, as well as subtitles, are present.
"Double Indemnity" is one of the greatest film noir pictures ever made, if not the best. It's about the plan that icy blonde femme fatale Phyllis Dietrichson hatches with insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray, in one of his finest performances) to kill her husband and collect on the double indemnity policy she has taken out on him. Crackling dialogue, ever-growing suspense (thanks to Wilder's taut direction), and heated performances from Stanwyck, MacMurray, and Edward G. Robinson as Neff's suspicious boss and friend, make "Double Indemnity" absolutely riveting.
This DVD is disappointing. Owned by Universal but distributed by Image, it is featureless and though the picture quality is better (much much sharper) than that of the video, it is still inexcusably grainy. The mono soundtrack suffices; the dialogue is all crisp. "Double Indemnity," like "Touch of Evil," which should arrive on DVD (as a CE) this fall, deserves the Collector's Edition treatment.
--Heather
------------------
http://www.dvdtracker.com/~ahber16.asp
07-12-99, 09:50 AM
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I agree on both films. Double Indemnity is a far better film, but it's transfer is not as good. The DVD transfer is the best I've seen for Ball of Fire. Double Indemnity is indeed far too grainy. I believe it is taken from the same source material as is the LD, but I am not for certain. It is the greatest film noir film of all time - my opinion. Barbara Stanwyck was one of the most underrated of all actresses. She was great in The Lady Eve.
07-14-99, 06:50 PM
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Many years ago, I was channel-surfing at 1 o’clock in the morning and ran across Double Indemnity. Initially I watched with the expectation that the movie would be as bad as movies usually are at that time of night.
When I got to the scene where Barbara Stanwyck (Phyllis Dietrichson) meets Fred MacMurray (Walter Neff), I was hooked. Great staccato dialog (written by Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder). And if you associate MacMurray with “My 3 Sons” and old Disney movies, you’ve got a surprise coming. MacMurray gives the best performance of his career. Makes you wonder why his career took the successful, but less interesting, path that it did.
If you like Noir style and 40’s tough-guy dialog, this movie won’t disappoint.
When I got to the scene where Barbara Stanwyck (Phyllis Dietrichson) meets Fred MacMurray (Walter Neff), I was hooked. Great staccato dialog (written by Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder). And if you associate MacMurray with “My 3 Sons” and old Disney movies, you’ve got a surprise coming. MacMurray gives the best performance of his career. Makes you wonder why his career took the successful, but less interesting, path that it did.
If you like Noir style and 40’s tough-guy dialog, this movie won’t disappoint.
07-31-99, 02:32 AM
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Finally got a chance to see Ball of Fire and found it immensely enjoyable like most of Howard Hawks films. I've always had a problem with Barbara Stanwyck in that i grew up watching Big Valley and she was so strong in the role of the Barkley family matriarch that when i see her in another role, it seems unnatural somehow. It is a rare thing when an actress can cause this reaction. Anyways, back to Ball of Fire. It was indeed an unusual take on the Snow White and the Seven Dwarves story but for some reason Gary Cooper came off here as somewhat of a poor man's Cary Grant (similar to Grant's character in Bringing up Baby) , and he was so good in Pride of the Yankees too. I am a big fan of Screwball comedies and though this is neither one of the best or funniest it is entertaining and definitely deserves a viewing.
Picture and sound were excellent for this vintage film.
Picture and sound were excellent for this vintage film.
