The Big Street

Plot synopsis:
The film focuses on busboy Augustus Pinkerton II (Henry Fonda), known as "Little Pinks," and his relationship with heartless singer Gloria Lyons (Lucille Ball), who is crippled in a fall after her boyfriend, New York City nightclub owner Case Ables (Barton MacLane), pushes her down a flight of stairs in a fit of jealousy. Left penniless by the expenses she incurs during a long convalescence, Gloria is forced to rely on the kindness of Pinks, who invites her to stay with him in his apartment.
When Pinks' friend Violette Shumberg (Agnes Moorehead) marries Nicely Nicely Johnson (Eugene Pallette) and the couple moves to Florida, Gloria orders Pinks to take her there to recuperate, and he pushes her to Miami in her wheelchair. There she reunites with an old lover, Decatur (William T. Orr), who loses interest in her when he discovers she is an invalid. Angry, she lashes out at Pinks, who leaves her and finds work as a busboy in a club owned by Case, only to return when Violette tells him Gloria is ill.
Despondent, Gloria confesses she longs to spend one last night in a gown bedecked with jewels. When Pinks sees socialite Mimi Venus (Marion Martin) wearing one, he breaks into her home, where he overhears her being blackmailed by one of Case's thugs, who is threatening to publicize her infidelity unless she gives him her jewelry. Pinks disguises himself and retrieves the gems from the thief, then tells Case he will report him to the police unless he agrees to host a party with Gloria as the guest of honor.
On the night of the party, the police arrest Pinks, whose Social Security card was found in Mimi's closet. When her husband Samuel learns why the busboy had broken into their home, he takes pity on him and drops the charges. Gloria finally realizes the sacrifices Pinks made for her, and he lifts her in his arms so they can dance. Gloria tells Pinks she wants to see the ocean, then dies. Undaunted, he carries her up the stairs to fulfill her final request.

Tags: romantic

Review:
The Big Street (1942)Packed with great actors, major and minor, in a fast fast whirlwindFirst of all, Agnes Moorehead and Ray Collins played the previous year in another raging movie of some fame (Citizen Kane, yup), and here they are loaded up against a dozen other great character actors, plus a couple big names.
But in a kind of startling role for those who know Lucille Ball as a brilliant and goofy t.v. comedian a decade later, we have her here as a big-eyed femme fatale, or would-be femme fatale until fate takes a turn.You might think this one is a screwball comedy the way it starts, but keep watching-- there is violence and trauma soon enough, and the movie takes a turn that Fonda is worthy of.
Anyone who has the slightest desire to learn more about the incredible talent of Lucille Ball and Henry Fonda owes it to themselves to see this marvelous movie.
Can you imagine Lucille Ball playing a role of a vain self-centered and arrogant harridan who seems to live for the sole purpose of tormenting the lowly busboy who is her one true friend in all the world?
Those who've panned The Big Street and this review say more about themselves than the movie.Damon Runyon was a beloved chronicler of a microcosm that no longer exists - the street life of New York's Broadway district, during its heyday, when it was known as The Great White Way or The Big Street.
Pinks (Henry Fonda), has a good heart and the misfortune of falling head-over-heels for a gangster's moll, played against type by Lucille Ball, who has none of the former (good heart) and plenty of the latter (misfortune).
Director Irving Reis, knows how to keep his material from becoming mired in bathos by using Runyon's whimsy and humor and the most delightful character players in Hollywood, from Eugene Palette and Agnes Moorehead to Ray Collins, Louis Beavers and Hans Conried."The Big Street" faithfully recreates Runyon's world and its inhabitants.
I have always been thrilled to see Lucille Ball in the old Hollywood movies in which she starred many years before her stardom in the sitcom "I Love Lucy".
That story was The Big Street and the title is named for the street that Runyon chronicled, Broadway.Though The Big Street got good reviews for its stars Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, the subject matter was way too much of a downer for mass audience appeal.
The plot as it is tells the story of Little Pinks who is madly in love with this nightclub entertainer who being the mistress of gangster Barton MacLane, can't see him for beans and wouldn't look up from the table to try.That all changes when MacLane slaps her so hard she falls down a flight of stairs and becomes paralyzed.
The comments about the Fonda character having 'no reason' to take the abusive and selfishness of the Ball character makes me wonder if this person ever loved anyone unconditionally.
There are many people in this world that take worse than the verbal abuse from the person they love and stay with them their whole lives.The Ball character was very well done and I don't think I remember Ball being a character like that after this movie.
I don't like Lucille Ball as a comedienne, its too bad that she wasn't able to continue as a dramatic actress she would have done well.But the movie is all about love conquering the selfish...wish it was that way all the time..
"The Big Street" was not a major hit when first released but the critics at the time all noted Lucille Ball's superb star-making performance as one of the all-time nastiest women ever to reach the big screen.
The film is sentimental and does have some plot points that have to be swallowed but Ball's great acting and chemistry with a splendid Fonda makes this tale of unrequited love work.
Fonda plays a kind innocent busboy who falls madly in-love with a crippled chanteuse(Ball).
Broadway busboy Henry Fonda (as Agustus "Little Pinks" Pinkerton) idolizes self-centered lounge singer Lucille Ball (as Gloria "Your Highness" Lyons).
The pair move to Florida, but tragedy follows Although "Guys and Dolls" (1955) remains most representative, "The Big Street" captures the spirit of writer Damon Runyon's characters better than most Hollywood efforts, probably because Mr. Runyon produced.They weren't the author's first choice for the leads, but Fonda's innocent charmer and Ball's selfish tragedienne are exemplary characterizations.
Director Irving Reis coordinates his fine cast and crew very well, making camera angles and movement seem uncommonly fresh.******** The Big Street (8/13/42) Damon Runyon : Irving Reis ~ Lucille Ball, Henry Fonda, Agnes Moorehead, Eugene Palette.
This unlikely story has Henry Fonda as Little Pinks, a shy, timid busboy, who's obsessed with Lucille Ball's self-absorbed, mean-spirited torch singer.
The vivid life of the 'big street' is sidelined very early on by the constant demands of the character Gloria, who dominates the film with much the same insatiable need as she does the hero -- but unlike, say, in 'Dolores Claiborne', the story all but fails to establish any flashes of sympathy for the cantankerous invalid, and the audience is left largely bewildered by the Job-like endurance of Little Pinks.
It could have been done -- perhaps in the original story it was done -- but here shrewish Gloria comes across as simply unlikable rather than, as apparently intended, tragically self-deluded.For much of the time, after its beginnings in pure comedy, the film seems to be striving for melodrama, although the plausibility rating tends even here to be undermined by the sheer improbability of the situations obtained.
The supporting characters, played for laughs, are far more engaging than the would-be urban fairytale of the principals, and it was never clear whether Pinks's predicament was intended to be tragic, life-affirming or simply prat-fall humorous, in the manner of all comedy dependent on humiliation.
Two big and popular acting stars: Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, and one famous writer - Damon Runyan - BUT, who do you have?
Damon Runyon's short story "Little Pinks" is turned by RKO into a solid acting showcase for Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, also utilizing a troupe of colorful supporting players to their best advantage.
This must be the only mainstream S&M movie turned out by Hollywood after the Code and before, well, maybe "The Damned." The more cruel to the Henry Fonda character the Lucille Ball character is, the more he loves her.
I guess this is meant to be heartwarming, like the far more successful Runyon tale "Lady for A Day." I hadn't seen it in ten years and back then I thought the Ball character unspeakably mean to the Fonda character.
Lucille Ball plays a callous chorine named Gloria Lyons who is undeservedly adored by a busboy named "Little Pinks" Pinkerton (Henry Fonda).
He always wrote about eccentric New York City gamblers with hearts of gold and stylish lingo ("Guys and Dolls", "Little Miss Marker", "Lady for a Day"/"Pocketful of Miracles").Here the lovable mugs are played by an excellent cast including Ray Collins, Sam Levene, Eugene Palette, Agnes Moorehead, Millard Mitchell, and Hans Conried.
Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball star, with Barton MacLane as the heavy.Runyon wrote the original story and produced this film, which tells the story of a humble busboy (Fonda) who is devoted to a selfish night club singer (Ball), even when she falls on hard times.
In a way it's a love story, and in another way it's a very sad, tragic tale.Fonda's character comes across as pathetic, fawning over Ball's ungrateful diva when it is clear she is ugly on the inside.
Lucille Ball is lovely and puts in a rather nice performance in an unconventional role for her.Damon Runyon's characters are always fun, and the scenes with Collins & co.
Despite being a bit sappy and naïve, Pinks is a good kid, hard working and, unfortunately, besotted by nightclub singer Gloria Lyons  even though she is way out of his league in terms of money.
Taking her into his home, Pinks continues to look after her but Gloria is ungrateful and unlikable, at least to all except the loving Pinks.Mostly forgotten by the passage of time this is, in essence, a good film that has a gentle message at its core and lots of colourful characters around the edges.
The Big Street is one movie that you'll notice Lucille Ball's true acting ability.
This lovely and enchanting film's plot may have some holes as well as some rough dialogue, but the chemistry between all the actors issuperb, especially with the three principals, Lucille Ball as an acidic nightclub entertainer, Henry Fonda as the naive but likeable Little Pinks, who is smitten with her, and Agnes Moorhead as Little Pinks' overeating friend Violette..
I love this movie--I've always liked Lucille Ball, and the "I Love Lucy" show, but she played the same character so much, and so often, that it was very refreshing to see her play Gloria Lyons, the heartless showgirl.The plot is good, but the lines and action are a little shaky.
"The Big Street" is an appropriately obscure film that is probably remembered today (if at all) as the dramatic breakthrough that moved Lucille Ball's career to its next level.
As for co-star Henry Fonda, this film presented him in the most unlikely of roles------as a "door mat" cipher-like character to Lucille Ball's thoroughly unpleasant night club singer.This movie has a great supporting cast-----and Damon Runyon could write stories that were often enjoyable.
There is no question that Fonda has been likable and interesting in a wimpy-type role ("The Lady Eve") or that Lucille Ball could be appealing when playing a character with an edge to her ("Stage Door").But it is tough to follow two lead characters----the Fonda guy who is really a human punching bag with zero self-esteem----and the Ball singer who is consistently mean, nasty, cruel and almost sadistic in her indifference to kindness and decency----and expect us to become engaged by them in a story that doesn't change who or what they are until almost the very end.This kind of set up can on a rare occasion result in a good movie ("Of Human Bondage" or "Midnight Cowboy") but more often than not, the film becomes a real pain to watch ("The Mountain").Ball thought she did her best screen work here---and she may be right.
But otherwise it's an OK movie, as meek busboy Pinks (Henry Fonda) has an unrequited love for sassy singer Gloria (Lucille Ball).
After Gloria's gangster boyfriend (Barton MacLane) pushes her down the stairs and paralyzes her, Pinks takes care of her, wheeling her all the way down to Florida!
One thing that might pique people's curiosity about it is the idea that Lucille Ball (presumably in the persona of Lucy Ricardo) co-stars with Barton MacLane (Gen. Peterson on "I Dream of Jeannie") and Agnes Moorehead (Endora on "Bewitched").So, you can see "The Big Street" if you want, but it's not the movie that I would recommend above all others.
Henry Fonda was a star when movie was being cast and he wanted a well know as his co star not a B bit player like Lucille Ball.
Neither Fonda or Ball played their role in a Runyan style, where you develop a "liking" for the character.
I felt the story line was good but Fonda and Ball played outside the usual Runyan cast of characters.
Long before LUCILLE BALL took a trip with hubby Dezi Arnaz in THE LONG, LONG TRAILER, she took another kind of cross-country trip to Florida in a wheelchair being pushed by an adoring HENRY FONDA.
First of all, the offbeat casting with LUCILLE BALL as an Agnes Moorehead kind of monster, just doesn't work.
THE BIG STREET (RKO Radio, 1942), directed by Irving Reis, from the story by Damon Runyan, who also produced, stars Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball in a very offbeat film.
While the woman is question might have been played to the liking of overly melodramatic leading ladies as Bette Davis or Ida Lupino, it's surprisingly acted by comedienne Lucille Ball in a performance that can not be categorized as her best movie, but certainly the greatest acting challenge of her career.The first half of the story is set in New York City around the busy district of Broadway, better known as "The Big Street," where various characters, obtaining typically yet unusual Runyan names as "Horsethief" (Sam Levine), Professor "B" (Ray Collins) and "Nicely-Nicely" (Eugene Palette), are introduced.
Then comes a busboy from Mindy's Cafe called "Little Pinks" (Henry Fonda) who, during an eating contest sponsored by his employer, Case Abels (Barton MacLane), leaves his post to rescue a pekingese loose in heavy traffic belonging to Gloria Lyons (Lucille Ball), a self-centered nightclub singer and Abel's girlfriend.
He not only works extra hours to pay for her hospital bills, but offers her lodging in his apartment surrounded by neighbors "beneath her class." Pinks goes even further by taking her away from those long bitter New York winters by wheel-chairing and hitchhiking her down really big street to Miami, where the second half of the story is set.
The climax, as truly moving as it is, may not earn any Academy Award nominations, but indicates how good Fonda and Ball are when it comes to something as challenging as this.A tragic melodrama with some doses of comedy that at times puts this movie a little off balance, which is probably why the movie may not be for everyone's viewing pleasure, it's Lucille Ball, as a troubled woman, whose main problem is believing she's something she's not, who keeps the story together.
Those highly familiar by Ball's TV work on situation comedies, especially the legendary "I Love Lucy" (1951-57) show, will be simply surprised and amazed in her ability as an dramatic actress, even though the story gets to be a bit too much with its melodramatics and expecting its viewers to accept certain aspects that doesn't quite come off as logical.
How this is accomplished is simply amazing and heartfelt.Aside from singling out performances of both Fonda and Ball, the supporting players, especially Agnes Moorehead and Eugene Palette (the latter who loves to eat), come off second best in their amusing yet likable secondary couple; Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra conducting to the tune of "Who Knows?" with dubbed vocalization on two different occasions by Ball; Louise Beavers as Gloria's maid, Ruby; along with Hans Conried, Marion Martin, Marion Martin and George Cleveland in smaller roles.
But to Lucy, Fonda's "Little Pinks" has a heart full of mush, something she'll need when her "daddy" (Barton MacLane) pushes her down a flight of stairs after she threatens to leave him and blames it on the fact that she was drunk.
It is there that Ball learns the true meaning of total unselfishness, something she had earlier been ignoring in her own spirit.Yes, the idea of Henry Fonda pushing Lucille Ball from New York to Florida in a wheelchair might sound absurd, but somehow, the movie pulls it off.
It is a story of the unselfish love a 'Little' Busboy (Fonda) has for a beautiful and extremely popular nightclub singer (Ball).
A world in which she has no family and no one loves her--that is, except Pinkerton (Fonda).Another magical scene occurs at the end of the film where it is revealed Ball can actually walk.
The Big Street is one of the few films that cast Lucille Ball as the leading lady.
Henry Fonda is horribly cast and isn't very believable as the gullible chump who is infatuated with Ball's character.
The very biggest problem with the film are the leads, Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball.
"Little Pinks" (Henry Fonda), a man who works as a busboy at the nightclub where Gloria Lyons, a.k.a.
Then, there is the other problem in how the noble Pinks, a suffering admirer, attends to her every whim, and who basically rescues her from a horrible end after her lover, Case Able causes her to depend on the kindness of strangers, or in this case, the loyal Pinks.Lucille Ball, who supposedly admitted this was one of her best films, made quite a departure when she accepted the meaty role of Gloria Lyons.
Henry Fonda, on the other hand, plays the naive man, who having fallen in love with this, apparently heartless woman, continues to cater to her, although Gloria never sees the goodness in him.The best thing about "The Big Street" is the great ensemble cast of characters actors that was amassed for it.
True, some of the more interesting players like Eugene Pallette, Agnes Moorehead and Barton MacLane have only small parts, but Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball make a worthy team.
Having just watched "Dance, Girl, Dance", also released by RKO, 2 years before, I couldn't help noticing that both films were dramas, featuring the romantic designs of a superaggressive, heartless, gold digging, Broadway club entertainer or burlesque queen, played by Lucille Ball.
Although Lucille Ball is known as the goofy, but lovable Lucy Ricardo on 'I Love Lucy,' her role in this movie is completely different.
She meets Henry Fonda, in the movie, nicknamed Pinks, (who is totally in love with her), and she gets him a job as a waiter.
Henry Fonda plays a guy who thinks that a selfish arrogant nightclub singer (Ball) is a goddess.
At the end of the film we're supposed to believe that Ball's character has changed her ways, magically, upon realizing that Fonda is in love with her -- somehow she didn't notice while he was wheeling her in a wheelchair from New York to Florida.
The film's only real redeeming quality is the good character performances from Fonda's friends, who spout Damon Runyan dialogue with appropriate panache and rough grace.
Based on a Damon Runyon story, Henry Fonda plays a busboy named Little Pinks, who is madly in love with a glamorous nightclub singer Gloria(Lucille Ball).