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'''The Big Street''', 1942 film starring [[Henry Fonda]] and [[Lucille Ball]], one of her strongest performances

==Overview==
To get the role of Tom Joad in ''The Grapes of Wrath'', Fonda had agreed to a seven-year contract which compelled him to play in several films that saw little commercial success.  He was in the romantic-comedy ''The Lady Eve'' in 1941 with [[Barbara Stanwyck]].  In 1942 he was in ''The Male Animal'', and also that year co-starred opposite [[Lucille Ball]] in ''The Big Street''.  The producer was Damon Runyan, and the director was Irving Reis.

In this film, Lucille Ball plays a hard, snobby, gold-digging, nightclub singer.  Henry Fonda plays a busboy deeply in love with her.  When Lucy tries to leave the man she's been dating, he pushes her down the stairs and she is confined to a wheelchair for the rest of the picture.  Now destitute, she must rely on Fonda who takes care of her.  The singing of "Who Knows" is not Lucy, it was dubbed in by Martha Mears.  As one of the supporting cast in this movie notice [[Agnes Moorehead]] as Violette "with two t's and an e".  Also notice the first appearance of Ozzie Nelson and His Orchestra.  You can watch the entire movie, in nine parts, on Youtube.  Henry first appears at time 2:52.

==Part 1==
Watch [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRlDpNAFDfI ''The Big Street'', Part 1] on YouTube

Outside Mindy's restaurant on 50th and Broadway in New York City, in the midst of a group of horse-race gamblers, a pushing match has broken out between two men, the "Professor" and another man.  The men are physically disagreeing about the eating contest that is about to begin inside.  Among others Case Abels has wagered $20,000 on the Professor's man J. "Nicely Nicely" Johnson "the greatest eater alive", while the other unnamed man is the manager of the contender for the title, Joel Duffel of Boston.

Henry Fonda then appears in his role of "Little Pinks", calling the Professor to come in to see Case Abels.  The Professor and his trusty side-kick "Horsethief" then go inside to find that Nicely Johnson has terrible indigestion and cannot go on.  At this point Little Pinks, mentions that a woman in his boarding-house is a voracious eater.  Her name is Violette Shumberger. "For supper last night she ate a whole Virginia Ham, three plates of soup and quite a lot of potatoes and strudel."

We then learn that Joel Duffel of Boston weighs 337 pounds, while we get our first glimpse of Violette Shumberger "of this city, weight 100 pounds."  And instantly we recognize Endora... I mean Agnes Moorehead.  She is quite bashful of the large crowd, and tells Pinks that if he stays with her, she can win, "Just don't leave me."  (I think you know what's coming.)

Just as they commence eating, in walks Lucille Ball as "Miss Lyon", dressed all elegant-like and carrying a tiny yapper who she calls "Baby".  Her tough exterior breaks through when the crowd won't clear a path for her, and she threatens to "start breakin arms".  Baby decides to take this moment to run out into traffic.  Little Pinks goes out after the dog, rescuing it from certain death.  Violette noticing that Pinks is not beside her gets all nervous and loses the eating contest.  This makes Case Abels mighty pissed off and he slugs Pinks, knocking him to the floor.  Lucy states "You've shoved around a lot of guys, mostly bigger than you and that's all right with me, but when you start picking on '''mice''' I don't like it!"  To which he responds, "You'll like what I tell you to like."  Lucy says "Thanks kid" to Fonda who still lying on the floor smiles, rugs his jaw and says "Thank you Miss Lyon!"

==Part 2==
Watch [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwx9qP2MyTM ''The Big Street'', Part 2] on YouTube

The next scene starts in Little Pink's (Fonda's) apartment where he is nailing up yet another picture of Miss Gloria Lyons (Lucy). "She's kinda like my ideal", he says.  To which Violette (Agnes Moorehead) responds, "She's Case Able's sweet pea and I don't want any part of him."  We learn that Little Pinks has lost his job over what happened.  Coming knocking is Nicely Nicely who evidently knows Little Pinks, but has really come calling to see Violette because he's enamoured over her ability to eat as much as he does.

==Part 3==
Watch [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2mGtnErklo ''The Big Street'', Part 3] on YouTube

==Part 4==
Watch [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-aCLeEwYE0 ''The Big Street'', Part 4] on YouTube

==Part 5==
Watch [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJJtAJYMlvw ''The Big Street'', Part 5] on YouTube

==Part 6==
Watch [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwZelh9rQv0 ''The Big Street'', Part 6] on YouTube

==Part 7==
Watch [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzSZN9Ey2VM ''The Big Street'', Part 7] on YouTube

==Part 8==
Watch [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIexCunpEyU ''The Big Street'', Part 8] on YouTube

==Part 9==
Watch [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Hy_Ip8eI8 ''The Big Street'', Part 9] on YouTube