Great Balls of Fire! | |
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Theatrical release poster
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Directed by | Jim McBride |
Produced by | Adam Fields |
Screenplay by | Jack Baran Jim McBride |
Story by | Myra Lewis Murray M. Silver, Jr. |
Starring | |
Music by | Jerry Lee Lewis |
Cinematography | Affonso Beato |
Edited by | Lisa Day Pembroke J. Herring Bert Lovitt |
Distributed by | Orion Pictures (1989, original) MGM (2003, DVD) |
Release date
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Running time
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108 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $13,741,060 (USA) |
Great Balls of Fire! Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | |
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Soundtrack album by Jerry Lee Lewis | |
Released | June 8, 1989 |
Recorded | 1988 |
Genre | Rock |
Length | 34:58 |
Label | Polydor Records |
Producer | Jerry Lee Lewis |
Great Balls of Fire! is a 1989 American biographical film directed by Jim McBride and starring Dennis Quaid as rockabilly pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis. Based on a biography by Myra Lewis and Murray M. Silver, Jr., the screenplay is written by McBride and Jack Baran. The film is produced by Adam Fields, with executive producers credited as Michael Grais, Mark Victor, and Art Levinson.
The early career of Jerry Lee Lewis, from his rise to rock and roll stardom to his controversial marriage to his 13-year-old cousin that led to his downfall, is depicted in the film. Until the scandal of the marriage depreciated his image, many had thought Lewis would supplant Elvis Presley as the "King of Rock and Roll" in the 1950s.
Jerry Lee Lewis (Quaid) plays piano (as opposed to a guitar like most other rock artists) during rock and roll's early years from 1956 to 1958. Jerry Lee is a man with many different sides: a skilled performer with little discipline, and an alcoholic. As Jerry Lee rises to the top of the charts with such hits as "Crazy Arms", "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On", and "Great Balls of Fire", he falls in love with Myra Gale Brown (Winona Ryder), the 13-year-old daughter of his first cousin (and bass player) J. W. Brown (John Doe), and eventually marries her (eloping to Mississippi), much to the anger and chagrin of her parents.