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Fresh and Exciting

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Lucille Ball plays a callous chorine named Gloria Lyons who is undeservedly adored by a busboy named "Little Pinks" Pinkerton (Henry Fonda). She treats him--and most other people--like dirt, but he is willing to take abuse from the woman he worships.When Gloria faces adversity, Pinks is there to see her through it, but she remains a resolute bitch. Ball never acted better than in this role. Fonda portrays a favorite from his repertoire--the earnest man.Adapted from a story by Damon Runyon, the film is populated in part by those from the other side of the (race)track. Another reviewer implied that few would be familiar with the patois of Runyan, but any of the millions upon millions who have seen "Guys and Dolls" are already infinitely familiar with his peculiar but lovable vernacular. How does it all end? Will Pinks finally grow tired of his unappreciative goddess? Will he finally get the girl then regret it? I won't say. But it ends rather nicely nicely.

A busboy (busman, really) so adores a nightclub singer that he devotes his life to caring for her after she becomes paralyzed; she treats him like dirt. It sounds like a good premise for a romantic comedy except that this is a serious drama. Ball plays such a self-centered, ungrateful jerk that it defies logic that anyone would voluntarily cater to her. Fonda loves her so much that he pushes her in a wheelchair from New York to Florida! And remember, this is not played for laughs. The finale is so utterly ridiculous that one figures it must be a comedy. No - still serious. The fine supporting cast features the likes of Palette, Moorehead, and Levene, but the script is lame.

"The Big Street" was not a major hit when first released but the critics at the time all noted Lucille Ball's superb star-making performance as one of the all-time nastiest women ever to reach the big screen. Lucy was already a minor star thanks to a string of popular B-grade comedies and dramas but this film cemented her stardom and brought her to MGM where she reached an early peak the next year. The film is sentimental and does have some plot points that have to be swallowed but Ball's great acting and chemistry with a splendid Fonda makes this tale of unrequited love work. Fonda plays a kind innocent busboy who falls madly in-love with a crippled chanteuse(Ball). The last scene on the dance floor is unforgettable. Why RKO did not get Lucy an Oscar nomination for this performance is a crime. All the critics at the time hailed her work in this but it just slipped under the rug when the film posted only small profits. This was the kind of role Bette Davis made her own but Ball does it without Davis' habit of falling into mannerisms. Agnes Moorehead is also excellent as Fonda's concerned friend. Beautiful cinematography makes Ball look incredible in her close-ups. Worth a look but overlook the occasional mawkish elements. Lucy makes it a must.

"The Big Street" is an appropriately obscure film that is probably remembered today (if at all) as the dramatic breakthrough that moved Lucille Ball's career to its next level. As for co-star Henry Fonda, this film presented him in the most unlikely of roles------as a "door mat" cipher-like character to Lucille Ball's thoroughly unpleasant night club singer.This movie has a great supporting cast-----and Damon Runyon could write stories that were often enjoyable. There is no question that Fonda has been likable and interesting in a wimpy-type role ("The Lady Eve") or that Lucille Ball could be appealing when playing a character with an edge to her ("Stage Door").But it is tough to follow two lead characters----the Fonda guy who is really a human punching bag with zero self-esteem----and the Ball singer who is consistently mean, nasty, cruel and almost sadistic in her indifference to kindness and decency----and expect us to become engaged by them in a story that doesn't change who or what they are until almost the very end.This kind of set up can on a rare occasion result in a good movie ("Of Human Bondage" or "Midnight Cowboy") but more often than not, the film becomes a real pain to watch ("The Mountain").Ball thought she did her best screen work here---and she may be right. A root canal procedure can be seen as a work of art to those who appreciate the complexities of dentistry----but that doesn't make it any more palatable to the patient.For those looking for a sado-masochistic main stream film involving top drawer performers, this one's for you. All others-----beware!