Product Details

• Actors: Henry Fonda, Lucille Ball, Barton MacLane, Eugene Pallette, Agnes Moorehead
• Directors: Irving Reis
• Writers: Damon Runyon, Leonard Spigelgass
• Producers: Damon Runyon
• Format: NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Nostalgia Merchant
• VHS Release Date: January 23, 1991
• Run Time: 88 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301328035
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #292,002 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lucy as a dramatic actress!, November 26, 2001

By 

Amanda Broussard (Kenner, La United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Big Street [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a wonderful movie if you are interested in seeing a different side of Lucille Ball. She is absolutely wonderful, yet there is not a single thing funny about her character. She is cold, mean, and stubborn...but Lucy potrays the character brilliantly. you can truly see her talent as a dramatic actress in this movie. It's a tear jerker and a must for all Lucy fans.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Big Street, November 16, 2006

By 

Tracia Jo Fenstermacher - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Big Street [VHS] (VHS Tape)

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

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best dramas Lucille Ball ever made., January 10, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Big Street [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Lucille Ball's performance shines in this intense drama. You'll not find the bumbling clown she is known for in the movie.