Because hardly anyone knows about this film, I wasn't expecting it to be that good, but it's not as bad or boring to watch as some other obscure things I've seen (Easy to Wed). I'm using that film as something to compare this one to because they both feature Lucille Ball, but her performance here is far better than in the other movie. The Big Street centers around a busboy named Augustus Pinkerton, more commonly known as "Pinks." Pinks (Henry Fonda) is attracted to a nice looking but mean-spirited girl named Gloria (Lucille Ball) whose gangster boyfriend smacks her down some stairs one day in a club. As a result, she is crippled for the time being. Pinks allows her to stay in his home, and soon, she wants to move to Florida, thinking the heat will make her feel better. After being pushed all the way to Florida in a wheelchair by Pinks, Gloria meets a former boyfriend of hers who rebuffs her after finding out she's crippled. She starts berating Pinks for no good reason, driving him away and convincing him she's more trouble than she is worth. However, Pinks later returns when a friend of his, Violette (Agnes Moorehead) tells him she might die soon. Gloria tells Pinks she wants to dance one more time, and wants an expensive gown to do it in. Pinks steals a jeweled gown from a rich woman who is being threatened by some thieves who are also aware of her wealth. Pinks then blackmails the owner of the nightclub into hosting a party meant for Gloria, or he'll tell the police he's the leader of the thieves. At the party, Gloria and Pinks dance for the first (and last) time, and for her dying wish, she says she wants to see the ocean. Right after this, she dies, but Pinks carries her body up to the top of the nightclub to make her wish come true. I thought that the ending of this movie was pretty predictable, since Gloria is a mean person throughout most of it and by having her die, it makes the audience care slightly more after she turns good. The plot is based on a short story by Damon Runyon, so they couldn't deviate from the original premise that much. Even though this is the lowest rated movie recommended to me recently, it's not really a wasted experience. Ball is given much more to do here as opposed to some other movies I've seen, and her aggressiveness throughout it almost made me mistake this for a noir at first. Although she does end up making Pinks get arrested after stealing the expensive dress, he's never put in severe danger by her. It's a common plot device in noir to have a female character destroy someone else's life somehow, but that doesn't end up happening here. I just enjoyed it because it shows Lucy in an assertive role she didn't usually play.
Review of The Big Street
