The Big Street (1942)
Director: Irving Reis
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Adapted from a story by Damon Runyon ('Little Pinks'), this captures much of his low-life spirit and colourful vernacular, but occasionally spoils it all by wallowing in unnecessary sentimentality. Busboy Fonda idolises nightclub chanteuse Ball so much that when she's crippled by her gangster friend, he devotes himself to her well-being, even to the extent of pushing her wheelchair to Florida. Most appealing are the performances by the likes of Pallette, Collins and Levene, although Ball, in a rare straight role, is stunning as the hard-as-nails, embittered exploiter of Fonda's affections.Author: GA
Cast & crew
Director: Irving Reis
Producer: Damon Runyon
Cast: Henry Fonda, Lucille Ball, Ray Collins, Sam Levene, Eugene Pallette, Agnes Moorehead, Barton MacLane full cast
Duration: 88 mins
Most popular on this site
Features
To the letter
Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.
Mind over matter
David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.
Fool's gold
Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.
We are the championed
Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."
A history of violence
Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.
True romantic
James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.
Playing in the dark
MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.
Junk bonds
Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.



What do you think?
Post your review now