Customer Reviews

A Big Hand for the Little Lady

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Once a year, for 16 years, the richest men in the territory gather for the biggest showdown of the year. It's 2 fisted action in Laredo, but no guns are needed as the big event is the annual poker game. They gather behind closed doors in the town's hotel/saloon that caters to rowdy cattlemen. There's nothing more important and a 12:30PM sharp the game will start.

They drop whatever their doing to be there. Daughter's wedding?...fahgettaboutit..she can wait...Client about to go on trial..he must do without his lawyer. The stakes are high and the game must go on! At this year's game, however, there will be a new face at the table. A face we all know and love..Henry Fonda.

They've just come into town to have a wagon wheel fixed, this proper little family. Meredith, Mary, and little son Jackie. Meredith has a bit of a problem though....Poker..he's on the wagon from the game and is warned by his wife not to get involved in this high stakes game. But we see a look come over Meredith's(Fonda) face, and we know he can just taste the action. Yup..he in the pot for the family's life savings, and is holding a hand of a lifetime. But when tragedy strikes, and Meredith becomes too ill too play, the little woman, who knows nothing about the game, must take over for him.

Joanne Woodward is the Queen of Hearts as she steps in for her husband, trusting his judgement, and getting involved in this very serious game, with a pot already topping 20 grand. And wait to you see who else is at this table. Jason Robards, Kevin McCarthy, and Charles Bickford, are part of the action. Burgess Meredith and Paul Ford are also marvelous as they lend their great talents as well.

"Big Hand For The Little Lady" is one of those films that once seen, you can't help but to fall in love with it. A Western where all the action is at the poker table. The script keeps you glued to every moment. The dialouge is as rich as the pot in this big game. The end is a wonderful twist, that will have you floored if you have never seen it. Fonda, Woodward and the rest will take you on a fun ride. It's a group we are fortunate enough to be able to see all together in one film. Fielder Cook is the director who gets to work with all these greats(and does a superb job).

If you have seen this film, you were probably wondering the same thing as me..where the heck is the DVD for this classic piece of western fun. I love it so much I've been watching it over and over on my taped from TV VHS. It's wearing thin. So finally on DVD and available for pre-order -sign me up and deal me in!
Happy Trails ....Laurie

also recommended:
The Over the Hill Gang - AND - The Over the Hill Gang Rides Again
Woman of the Town
Empire Falls (Every Small Town Has a Big Story) Vol. 1

"A Big Hand for the Little Lady" is a great film which on the face of it appears to be a Western but how can it be when there is no gunfight on the town's main street, no saloon fights or bar room brawls, no sheriff to keep order and put the bad guys in jail, no Indians, in fact, not much "action" of any kind that would usually be associated with the Western film. So what is the appeal of this unusual film where most of the story takes place during a long drawn out card game in the back room of the town's hotel? The tension mounts as stranger in town Henry Fonda is tempted to get into the high stakes poker game with some wealthy cattlemen after he had promised his wife he would give up gambling. Obviously, he does join the game and is convinced that he has been dealt a hand that can't lose but the other players in the game also have good hands that each one feels could be the winner. Who is bluffing who? Can Fonda risk losing all the family savings of his wife and young son? Will the stakes go too high for Fonda to stay in the game? Can wife Joanne Woodward persuade Fonda to see sense and walk away? Surprise is piled upon surprise as the game progresses and the final twist is a beauty.

Some favourite lines from the film:

Jason Robards Jr (to Henry Fonda): "That's four hundred dollars to you. And you know something mister, you ain't got enough left to stay in this pot".

Henry Fonda (to Joanne Woodward): "I got a hand of cards here comes once in a lifetime".

Joanne Woodward (to card players): "How do you play this game?".

Paul Ford (to Joanne Woodward): "Nobody sees those cards but you and C. P. Ballinger".

What holds your interest is the finely plotted screenplay by Sidney Carroll and the magnificent acting from the entire cast. Henry Fonda and Joanne Woodward in the lead roles are admirably supported by Jason Robards Jr, Charles Bickford, Kevin McCarthy, Burgess Meredith, Robert Middleton and Paul Ford. Competently directed by Fielder Cook it grips your attention throughout and then packs a totally unexpected surprise ending that will delight you!! Upon release in the U.K. the title was changed to "Big Deal at Dodge City" which was a strange choice as the action takes place in Laredo. Anyway, to sum up, a great film well worth looking out for with impeccable performances by the first rate cast.

This unique sixties Western has it all - wonderful plot, amazing cast and can actually be enjoyed by the whole family! This is the kind of film that only gets better with repeated viewings. Personally, I am always mesmerized by Joanne Woodward's fabulous performance. Perfection! The rest of the cast is outstanding as well - the always hilarious Paul Ford, the great Henry Fonda, Jason Robards and Burgess Meredith. IT IS SO FRUSTRATING THAT THIS IS NOT OUT ON DVD!!!!

Superior acting from an all-star cast would alone make this one a winner. Add a novel story line with continual twists and turns, nonstop action, and glimpses into human nature elicited through a big stakes poker game, and you end up with one of the best westerns ever filmed. The only negative surprise is how few people -- even movie buffs -- know about this one. The industry should make it available in DVD, but the VHS sound and picture quality are as close to DVD as anything I've seen.

You know how I feel about this movie from my title....So When is it going to come out on DVD? I refuse to pay $10 to $20 for a crummy VHS tape, surely they will get a clue and release this classic film on DVD (I can hope)...The Others have done a fine job in reviewing this movie, I was just hoping that some Studio Researcher or big wig would see this and decide...Hey if the VHS sells so well, How about a DVD!!!

There comes a time when you need a no-fail movie. The kind of movie to pull out that no one has seen, that grandma and the kids will like and still keep you on the edge of your seat. This is that movie. It never fails to entertain and delight everyone in the family. Even after seeing it a few times, the story gets better and better. I've shown it to family and friends on Thanksgiving and was the hit of the day.

I have loved this movie for years! The combination of great actors, Old West, hilarious characters and a super twist at the end make for a delightfully entertaining evening! The fact that is has Jason Robards, Kevin McCarthy, JoAnne Woodward, Henry Fonda, Paul Ford ....is just the beginning!

Mix the Old West, poker, true love, and the wit and wisdom of gritty cowhands and ranchers, stir into it a plot twist or two, season with old stars and future stars, and you have one fine-tastin' flick! For dessert, there's a neat, sweet, upbeat ending, too!

I have never seen this movie before but take it from a die hard poker fan as soon as this dvd hits the stores I'll be the first in line the reviews are amazing and the plot is interesting please rush this to dvd as soon as possible

What a cast of characters in A Big Hand for the Little Lady: Henry Drummond, a rich and irascible rancher who put his daughter's wedding on hold just as the vows were starting; Otto Habershaw, a slick, handsome and morally questionable lawyer. Habershaw left a client probably to hang when he ran from the courthouse and jumped on his horse just as he was supposed to sum up for the defense; Benson Tropp, wealthiest undertaker in the region, who has no use for women unless he's burying them; Dennis Wilcox, another wealthy rancher, a big, loud man who enjoys joking at other's expense; and Jesse Buford, small, aging and just as wealthy. He, Wilcox and all the others are sticklers for the rules. High stakes poker rules, that is.

And what a cast: Jason Robards (Drummond), Kevin McCarthy (Habershaw), Charles Bickford (Tropp), Robert Middleton (Wilcox) and John Qualen (Buford). Plus Burgess Meredith as Doc Joseph Scully, a man getting old who is tired of saving people and getting produce as payment, and Paul Ford as C. P. Ballinger, a banker who knows the value of collateral.

The five are poker players, and for each of the last 17 years nothing, absolutely nothing, has stood in the way of their annual game. They hold it in the back room of a saloon and hotel in Laredo. It's become a legend in the territory for the money they've lost and won They're just starting the first hand when into town comes a hard-luck family on a wagon with a busted wheel, on their way to start again on 40 acres near San Antonio. Meredith (Henry Fonda) is a nice man trying to do his best. He's also a fool for cards, a man who has lost so much of his family's hard-earned money that his wife, Mary (Joanne Woodward) made him solemnly promise that he'd never touch cards again. Mary wants to believe him. Their 12-year-old son is about to get a lesson of a lifetime.

It's not long, while Mary takes the wagon to the blacksmith, that Meredith has begged for a chance just to watch the game. He can't help licking his lips. His son can't help begging his pa not to. Soon Meredith has taken the family's $4,000 stake, all the money they have in the world, to get in the game. You know the rest...he wagers and he loses.

Wait. He wagers, alright. He has the best hand he's ever been dealt in his life...but he's about to be out-raised. He begs for a loan so he can stay in the game...and has a heart attack. It's up to Mary, back from the blacksmith and who has never played a game of poker in her life, to convince the five hard-bitten players that it's only fair that she be allowed to play her husband's hand. The five bicker a bit but reluctantly agree, and are stunned when Mary takes the hand and marches to the bank, with them following, to convince C. P. Ballinger to use the hand as collateral for a loan on her bet.

Does the movie have a more satisfactory ending than a dead Henry Fonda clutching his heart, a tearful Joanne Woodward seeing these committed poker players take every cent her family has? Oh, yes, indeed. No one dies, and there is one of the most satisfying endings, with a twist and a sting, you'll ever hope to see.

What makes this movie so engaging - after all, it's basically 1 hour and 35 minutes of a poker game - is that twist at the end and the skill and charm of the actors. As good as Fonda and the others are, the movie really sits up when Woodward, Robards and McCarthy are doing their stuff. Woodward is so skilled an actress that I sometimes think we take her for granted. That would be an unwise action in this movie. Robards, who was probably America's greatest stage actor in the last 60 years and one of it's best screen actors, turns Henry Drummond into a fine mixture of frustration and selfishness. Robards can make us smile in sympathy over even an unlikeable character like Drummond. See just how good an actor Robards was with his performances in Eugene O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten (Broadway Theatre Archive) and Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh (Broadway Theatre Archive). Kevin McCarthy, a fine actor with great charm, could play weak, strong, sleaze or integrity with equal believability. Here, he's all charm and quite willing to make a move on Mary, but he holds back, surprising even himself. I don't want to short-change Fonda. As Meredith, he's stuck for most of the movie playing a weak man in the grip of poker fever, and henpecked as well. He captures our sympathy even while we pity the poor man.

A Big Hand for the Little Lady is something of a one-joke movie, but it's a first-class, clever joke with a great cast. The DVD looks just fine. There are no extras.