The Big Street (1942)

Interesting facts

The Big Street is a 1942 American drama film starring Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, based on the 1940 short story "Little Pinks" by Damon Runyon, who also produced it. It was directed by Irving Reis from a screenplay by Leonard Spigelgass. The Big Street was a nickname for Broadway, where the film's plot begins and all of Runyon's stories take place.

Production

Damon Runyon originally wanted to cast Charles Laughton and Carole Lombard in the lead roles but neither one was interested in the project. Lombard suggested the producer consider her friend Lucille Ball and, despite pressure from RKO executives to hire a better-known actress, such as Barbara Stanwyck or Jean Arthur, Runyon offered her the role of Gloria Lyons.

Filming did not go smoothly for Ball. Director Irving Reis was a novice, and co-star Henry Fonda, a former boyfriend on loan from 20th Century Fox, did not offer her much guidance. Fearing his wife might rekindle her relationship with Fonda, Desi Arnaz frequently lingered on the set. Despite these obstacles, Ball considered the film her favorite.

The character of Nicely Nicely Johnson (Eugene Pallette) appears in the Broadway musical Guys and Dolls, as well as the film starring Marlon Brando as Sky Masterson, in which Stubby Kaye portrays Nicely Nicely. Sam Levene provides comic relief in the role of Horsethief in The Big Street, an erudite gambler, a precursor to Levene's legendary stage performance as the "craps-shooter extraordinaire" Nathan Detroit in the 1950 original production of G…

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