The Stinking Pause Podcast - bringing you classic movies since 2013...some good, some not so good.

This week,Antony joins Scott to take a look at a classic screwball comedy from the golden age of Hollywood

Get ready for a riotous romantic comedy! A houseful of quirky professors find their dusty encyclopedia project turned upside down by the arrival of Sugarpuss O'Shea, a dazzling nightclub singer with the mob on her tail. She brings a crash course in modern slang, a whole lot of fun, and an unexpected romance that's pure dynamite!

Anthony is the host of Film Gold, Life And Life Only and Glass Onion: On John Lennon

Ball Of Fire (1941)

Get ready for a joyous explosion of wit and romance in "Ball of Fire," a golden-age comedy that sizzles with irresistible charm. Deep within a dusty New York townhouse, eight delightfully eccentric and elderly professors have spent years sealed off from the world. Their monumental task? To compile a definitive encyclopedia of all human knowledge. Led by the endearingly shy grammarian, Professor Bertram Potts, these brilliant minds know everything about history, science, and the arts, but are blissfully ignorant of modern life, especially its colourful slang.

Their perfectly ordered, book-lined world is about to be turned gloriously upside down. When Potts realises his article on slang is woefully outdated, he bravely ventures into the city, seeking a real-world expert. What he finds is Katherine "Sugarpuss" O'Shea, a vivacious nightclub singer and a walking, talking dictionary of the latest lingo. Sugarpuss is a whirlwind of energy and sass, but she's also in a tight spot. Her gangster boyfriend, the notorious Joe Lilac, is wanted by the authorities, and she needs a place to lie low to avoid testifying against him. Seeing the professors' home as the perfect hideout, she crashes their academic sanctuary, promising to be their muse for modern vocabulary.

The result is a hilarious and heartwarming clash of cultures. Sugarpuss introduces the bewildered but fascinated professors to the joys of the conga, the art of the "yum yum," and a vibrant new way of looking at life. Their quiet home, once filled with the rustle of paper, now echoes with jazz music and laughter. As the academics fall over themselves to learn from their dazzling new houseguest, the smitten Professor Potts finds himself falling deeply in love. Beneath her tough exterior, Sugarpuss is captivated by his genuine kindness and intellect, a world away from the dangerous life she knows with Joe Lilac.

But the real world can't be kept at bay forever. When Lilac's mobsters show up with a plan to force Sugarpuss into marriage to silence her for good, it seems the professors are hopelessly outmatched. But don't underestimate the power of a brilliant mind! In a thrilling and ingenious climax, Potts and his brainy comrades use their academic knowledge of physics, history, and strategy to outwit the gangsters in a showdown for the ages. "Ball of Fire" is a triumphant celebration of love, proving that opposites don't just attract—they create a dazzling, unforgettable spark.

"Sugarpuss, uh, before you go, would you... would you, eh, yum me just once more?"

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