Crooked Table Podcast: ‘Ball of Fire’ (featuring Lori London)

Last year, author and vocalist Lori London brought 1945’s Christmas in Connecticut to the Table. Now she’s back with another Barbara Stanwyck comedy, 1941’s Ball of Fire. Featuring an Oscar-nominated lead performance and a screenplay co-written by Billy Wilder, director Howard Hawks’ movie deserves to be rediscovered.

Join Lori and I as we discuss how Ball of Fire captures the power of words, why Stanwyck is the perfect choice for the lead role, and how it holds up nearly 80 years after its release. Of course, we’ll also talk about Lori’s children’s book series, The Amazing Adventures of Tripi the Fly, and what the future has in store for the tiny traveler.

So journey with us into a world full of 1940s slang, Stanwyck’s crackling chemistry with Gary Cooper, and get ready to roll with laughter as we talk Ball of Fire.

SYNOPSIS

Hoping to update his chapter on modern slang, encyclopedia writer Professor Bertram Potts (Gary Cooper) ventures into a chic nightclub. Inside, he meets the snarky burlesque performer “Sugarpuss” O’Shea (Barbara Stanwyck). Fascinated by her command of popular jargon, Potts invites her to stay with him. But, unknown to Potts, she is the fiancée of a mobster (Dana Andrews) and wanted by the police. In the ensuing mayhem, Potts must stay on his toes or be swallowed up by bigger fish.