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The Big Street |  | Director: Irving Reis
Actors: Henry Fonda, Lucille Ball, Barton MacLane, Eugene Pallette, Agnes Moorehead
Studio: Turner Home Ent
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.98
Buy New: $5.84
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Rating:  9 reviews
Format: Black & White, Full Screen, NTSC
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 88 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: DT8923D
UPC: 053939782325
EAN: 0053939782325
Theatrical Release Date: September 4, 1942
Release Date: June 19, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
A TIMID BUSBOY FALLS IN LOVE WITH A NIGHTCLUB XINGER IN THE DAMON RUNYON TALE OF GANGSTERS & CON MEN.
Amazon.com
With a curious mix of comedy and melodrama, The Big Street features Lucille Ball in one of the best roles of her big-screen career. Playing up her image as a brassy gal who knows what she wants, Lucy's got a hard shell and a soft heart as Gloria Lyons, a self-centered nightclub singer who looks down upon the "little people" who enthusiastically support her career--none more than Augustus "Little Pinks" Pinkerton (Henry Fonda), a doting busboy so smitten with Gloria that he's willing to put up with her dismissive and blustery behavior. (If the movie has a major weakness, it's Pinkerton's puppy-like devotion; this is an unusually wimpy role for Fonda, whose character seems a little too tolerant of Gloria's abuse.) When Gloria is paralyzed after her mobster boss (Barton MacLane) knocks her down a flight of stairs, "Little Pinks" does all he can to speed her recovery, aided by friends and colleagues played by a fine supporting cast of RKO regulars including Agnes Moorehead, Ray Collins, and Eugene Pallette. Lucy's character may be unlikable but her performance is not; it's refreshing to see the future TV sitcom queen as a sassy and selfish diva, and Lucy gives the role a subtle dimension of sympathetic appeal. And while the movie's pitiful depiction of disability is typically maudlin from a more enlightened present-day perspective, The Big Street is noteworthy as a Damon Runyon production, based on Runyon's short story "Little Pinks" (originally published in Collier's magazine) and featuring several of the characters (like Pallette's Nicely-Nicely Johnson) who were later immortalized in Guys and Dolls and other tales of Runyonesque folly. With a strangely downbeat ending, The Big Street may not be a crowd-pleaser, but it's certainly worth watching as an unconventional showcase for its popular costars. Also available in The Lucille Ball Film Collection, this DVD includes two Warner Bros. short subjects from 1942: "Calling All Girls" is a 19-minute Vitaphone showcase for the lavish choreography of Busby Berkeley, featuring highlights from several major Broadway and Hollywood musicals; and "The Hep Cat" is a typically wacky "Merrie Melodies" cartoon, in which the title character will do just about anything to impress the kittenish object of his feline desires. --Jeff Shannon
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 9
 Extremely odd film with some interesting performances... March 13, 2009
Ruth Anderson
I actually had pretty high hopes for The Big Street when I discovered that it's based on a Damon Runyon short story since I'm a huge fan of his work, and Guys and Dolls is one of my all-time favorite shows. Runyon had quite a knack for creating hilarious, quirky, and unforgettable characters. I haven't read the short story "Little Pinks" that was the basis for this film, but after watching Street I have to think the story works better in print versus on-screen. Lucille Ball's pre-television screen roles are actually pretty interesting, primarily because the roles are usually the antithesis of the flamboyant comedienne she later became known and loved for through the I Love Lucy show. That said, Lucy's character, Gloria, in The Big Street is almost shocking because she's so selfish and unlikable. Henry Fonda's character only compounds the difficulty of relating to anyone in this movie at all - his timid busboy "Pinks" is so slavishly devoted Gloria for no apparent reason that when I wasn't repulsed by Gloria's meanness I wanted to smack Pinks upside the head with a baseball bat for being such a doormat. Apparently it's not enough to have Fonda and Ball play so extremely against type, because about halfway through the movie completely jumps the shark and veers into the realm of insanity when Pinks pushes Gloria from NEW YORK CITY to FLORIDA in her wheelchair. I kid you not. Yet I can't call this movie completely bad - it's more freakishly bizarre. I have to give Fonda and Ball credit for giving these roles, which now seem so antithetical to their commonly known screen personas, their all. My favorite appearances are by Agnes Moorehead as Pinks' friend Violette and Eugene Pallette as Nicely-Nicely Johnson (of Guys and Dolls fame). It's a real treat especially to see Moorehead play such a sweetheart since she's typically cast in more "prickly" roles. The Big Street is so incredibly odd and off-beat it was interesting to watch once (I'll give it this, I was engaged in that way you are when you spend the whole time staring at the screen going "I don't believe this!!"), but it's not a film I'll be revisiting. The quality of the picture is terrific, and there are two extras - the "Calling All Girls" short (rather boring) and a cutesy cartoon, "The Hep Cat," which holds the distinction of being the first Looney Tunes cartoon in color.
 On the ball December 28, 2008
Janet Gari (New York City)
It's great to be able to watch this movie alone or with friends. I think Henry Fonda should have won an Oscar for this, and Lucille Ball showed real acting skills instead of her well known superb humor.
My Review January 15, 2008
Dana Mendl
I loved this movie! This was a Lucy I was not used to and she was great in it. Henry Fonda was his usual excellent self. I totally recommend this movie to all die hard Lucy fans!!!
Big Street November 17, 2006
Tracia Jo Fenstermacher
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a great movie, great acting, the best of the best stars and a perfect plot. See Lucy at her best, and Fonda so wonderful. You will love this movie and won't leave the room until it ends..........5 stars
Henry Fonda October 25, 2003
Beth (Mesa, AZ United States)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I got this movie for Lucille and this is different material from Lucy. In this she effectively plays a cold hearted woman. You're drawn to believe she's faking it. But she is immensely cruel in this movie and why Henry Fonda's character puts up with her is beyond me. This was a different role for Henry too. This isn't a depression or western role. He plays an extremely shy boy and at times comes across as very lovable. After watching this it made me a fan of him. Before I never cared much for him.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 9
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