Filming on Ball of Fire began on August 6, 1941.

After filming Gene Krupa's "Drum Boogie" in the nightclub sequence of the film, Hawks saw the drummer playing around by using a pair of matches as drum sticks. That gave him the idea to add a reprise called "Match Boogie." It only took him two hours to film it.

To make sure that only Barbara Stanwyck's eyes would be seen in a bedroom scene with Gary Cooper, cinematographer Gregg Toland had her wear blackface.

Location footage in New York, including shots of Yankee Stadium during the World Series, were done by a second-unit crew.

Tommy Dorsey's lead singer, Martha Tilton, dubbed Barbara Stanwyck's performance of "Drum Boogie." Stanwyck would sing for herself in another stripper role in Lady of Burlesque (1943).

While shooting a fight scene with Kathleen Howard, who played the housekeeper, Barbara Stanwyck accidentally connected with a punch and broke her jaw.

When re-writes put Ball of Fire nine days behind schedule, Goldwyn accommodated by expanding the original schedule from 48 to 58 days. With further delays, however, Cooper, Stanwyck and Hawks picked up the pace so they would be free to join Ernest Hemingway on a hunting trip to Sun Valley.

Production on Ball of Fire ended on October 16, 1941, one day ahead of the revised schedule. The final cost was $1,152, 538. Cooper's salary was $150,000, Stanwyck's $68,333.

Wanting to capitalize on the success of Sergeant York (1941), Goldwyn drove the post-production team to get a preview print ready by the start of November.

At the time, the Hollywood trade papers agreed not to review previews held outside the immediate Los Angeles vicinity. Goldwyn made the mistake of booking an early preview in Glendale, a suburb of the city, and a reviewer from Variety showed up. When Goldwyn tried to cancel the preview, it almost led to a riot. Finally, he moved the preview and the audience to Pasadena, where it was out of range of the trade papers.

by Frank Miller