Snow White, gangsters, police and eight professors. The year this film was made is at odds with the childlike innocence of this screwball comedy. In a few months the Japanese attack the US, shatter that innocence and make comedy less appealing. If you suspend knowledge of events then Ball of Fire is a fantastic tribute to the talent of its writer. The screenplay is written by Hollywood legend Billy Wilder who also wrote The Apartment, Double Indemnity and Some Like It Hot and is loosely based on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
A singer played by Barbara Stanwyck witnesses a murder and deceives eight professors into hiding her from the police. The film uses comprehensible 1940's slang for much of the humour and explains most including an "Ameche" which I now know is a telephone.
There are great performances from Stanwyck, Dana Andrews and oddly Gary Cooper. Somebody looking for an actor to play a professor decided a 7 foot rugged cowboy was perfect for the part. They were right because he excels at quoting science, theorizing and playing the romantic lead. Credit should also be given to Dana Andrews who is very convincing as the murderous gang leader.