The Big Street (1942) on Netflix
Little Pinks, a busboy, loves Gloria Lyons, a nightclub singer who scorns and uses him. After a fall down a staircase leaves her crippled, she comes to depend on his kindness.
- Netflix3.2/5
- IMDb6.4/102,034 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Plot summary
Augustus Pinkerton II, called Little Pinks, works as a busboy and loves Gloria Lyons, a nightclub singer who treats him badly. Gloria's boyfriend, Case Ables, owns a Manhattan nightclub. Jealous, he throws her down a staircase, and the fall cripples her. Her long recovery runs up expenses she cannot pay, and she has no money left. She must rely on Pinks, who asks her to live in his apartment.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Big Street (1942)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Damon Runyon wanted Charles Laughton and Carole Lombard for the leads of his story "Little Pinks", but neither was interested. Lombard suggested her friend Lucille Ball, and Runyon cast her as Gloria Lyons even though RKO executives pushed for a better-known actress such as Barbara Stanwyck or Jean Arthur.
- Filming went badly for Lucille Ball: director Irving Reis was a novice, co-star Henry Fonda, her former boyfriend, gave her little guidance, and Desi Arnaz lingered on the set fearing she might rekindle the romance. Ball still called The Big Street her favorite of her films.
- Lucille Ball's singing as Gloria in Case Ables's Manhattan nightclub was dubbed: Martha Mears provided the vocals for the song "Who Knows?", written by Harry Revel and Mort Greene.
