The Big Street

directed by Irving Reis
Category: "Drama"
Year of Release:1942
Date Added:10/30/2024
Date Watched:10/30/2024
Description:New York busboy Pinks (Henry Fonda) is madly in love with temperamental, gold-digging nightclub singer Gloria (Lucille Ball). When Gloria's gangster boyfriend pushes her down some stairs, she is paralyzed from the waist down. Pinks dedicates himself to taking care of her, keeping her from knowing the truth about her diagnosis. When she decides she needs to go to Florida, she insists Pinks pushes her there in her wheelchair — and he does. She thinks she's going to hook up with a rich guy she new in NYC, but when he sees that she's wheelchair bound, he has no interest. Pinks decides to throw her a party. He begins with robbing some jewelry with a gang run by Gloria's old boyfriend, then blackmails him to turn over his nightclub for a night. Everyone comes, Gloria sings and his happy. She dances with Pinks, then suddenly dies of something ... One of the characters proclaims that so long as Pinks gained Gloria's love before she died, all is well. Or something like that.
My Rating:5

Reviews for The Big Street

Review - Big Street, The

Based on a Damon Runyon short story, so really more of a parable than a traditional story, but still dumb. Ball as Gloria was an unlikable jerk until the very end. Fonda's Pinks was a sap. The other characters were interesting and were fun to watch, but otherwise ... nope. The ending was sappy — she's happy, then dies for no reason.

Reviewed by Roger on 2024-10-30 17:43:04

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