December 11 movie: Ball of Fire. I think it must have been Barbara Stanwyck day on TCM. I don't know, it's hard to remember after so long. This is a fun movie starring Stanwyck as a nightclub singer on the lam, who holes up with a bunch of absentminded professors led by Gary Cooper. It's kind of riffing on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Cooper is weird casting for a stuffy intellectual, but he's perfect for the emotionally stunted man who needs Stanwyck's free spirit to help him discover his feelings. The other professors are played by a venerable gang of character actors from lots of other movies. Their scenes are like a room full of mayors, patriarchs and CEOs. Dana Andrews is also in it as the villain.
One of the highlights of the movie happens at the very beginning, when Stanwyck sings "Drum Boogie" with the Gene Krupa orchestra. The best part is when the audience comes in real close and Stanwyck whispers the song, while Krupa plays the beat on matchsticks. It's super cool.
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