Lucybespro It is a performances centric movie

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Leoni Haney Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Robert J. Maxwell It must have been tough, writing and directing a full-length feature that swivels on an event that only takes half an hour.Henry Fonda, his wife Joanne Woodward, and their young son are stranded for a few hours in a Western town where a high-stakes poker game is going on. Fonda, a poker addict, is drawn into the game and loses the $4K his family had been saving for their new farm. He winds up holding what he considers a winning hand -- we don't know what it is -- and when he's informed that he must put up an additional several hundred, which he doesn't have, he drops on the floor, still holding his cards.Woodward is forced to take his place but asks that the nature of the game be explained to her. She listens attentively while another player, Kevin McCarthy, explains to her, "We are all holding cards. Some cards are better than others. We all think we have the best hand. And we have all bet four thousand dollars that we have the best hand." Well, of course Woodward's stash has already been gambled away by Fonda, but she crosses the street to borrow money from the owner of the local bank, offering as collateral the hand of cards she is holding. The filthy rich bankers gawks and lends her enough to raise the pot and drive everyone else out of the game.That's not the end. Legal ethics prevent me from revealing more of the plot. I think I can go so far as to say, "Don't worry." The laying on of hands by the bank is the pivotal event. The notorious skinflint who owns the bank would never lend money unless he was certain of getting it back. However, the story must be made tensile to fill the time slot.So we get an opening scene of a boisterous saloon, clamorous cowboys, rollicking tunes, riotous laughter at remarks and wisecracks that aren't in themselves funny. Okay, the film needs some juice, but this is like transfusing blood into a patient whose life is hardly worth the expense of saving. There are anti-climactic scenes that drag on much too long after the point has been made, or are themselves entirely irrelevant.Nice cast, though. Fonda may be too old for the part of a naive guy setting out to make his fortune on a small farm but Woodward is just fine. I can't help wondering if Fonda and John Qualen swapped stories about working for John Ford in "The Grapes of Wrath." I imagine Fonda approaching Qualen with outstretched hand and saying, "Why, MULEY!" Charles Bickford as a player is stiff but has a magnificent exit. Jason Robards' part is unsympathetic but he has one of the more expressive faces on the screen. And he's a good actor with considerable range. Catch him in "All The President's Men," as the hard-nosed Ben Bradlee.It's much too long for the simple story it has to tell and it's so loud and forceful that it leaves your eardrums in a grievous state. Worth seeing but not seeking out.

mmallon4 The opening of A Big Hand for the Little Lady has so much frantic build up, the scoping scenery shots as far as the eye can see with a grand western music score and for what? A game of poker; but rightfully so as this may be the best poker movie I'll ever see. I don't know how to play poker nor do I have any interest in cards, but it doesn't stop me from being absorbed in this fascinating and inspired comedy.Much humour is derived from Henry Fonda's performance as a gambling addict who attempts to act naive and innocent in order to mask his addiction; resulting in the man becoming a ticking time bomb and the suspense which derives from watching this guy throwing his livelihood away. At one point in the film however it stops being entirely comic in which I start feeling sorry for how pathetic Fonda's character has become; the effective quick switched between comedy and drama is superb. Backed by a cast of charismatic gents as they bicker and tell outlandish stories of what they abandoned in order to attend the game of poker and take the rules of poker so seriously, even when a man's life is one the line. The only issue I would take with the film are the unnecessary remaining 10 minutes which drag along after the film's plot has been resolved. I'd love to see this concept of a poker game going out of control expanded upon and taken to new heights. Not a remake but the same concept in a different setting and perhaps a bit zanier, I would like to see. The sub genre of the western comedy intrigues me. Westerns as a whole I find hit and miss but when presented in comedic form I have a much easier time caring about what's happening on screen.

William Brighenti How can a film fail with nine great actors and actresses! Henry Fonda, Joanne Woodward, Jason Robards, Paul Ford, Charles Bickford, Burgess Meredith, Kevin McCarthy, Robert Middleton, John Qualen; and there are other fine, if not great, performances by other actors and actresses in the movie as well.My personal favorite performances in this movie are rendered by Jason Robards, Paul Ford, Burgess Meredith, and Kevin McCarthy. I loved the scene when Robards returns home and offers his future son- in-law an hilarious choice. But there are little touches that are unforgettable: when Burgess Meredith blows a kiss to the sensuous curvaceous entertainer, played by Marilyn Powell, while singing seductively and enticingly, "My Little Poesy", to banjo music, no less. It doesn't get any better than this!"How many good women have you met in your life?" Only McCarthy dares to answer Circe's riddle: "one."

ma-cortes This is an ironic and sarcastic comedy Western with extraordinary roster of character actor , centering in poker game , a marathon in city of Laredo . This is picture set in the old west , a tale that adds comedy , emotion , and a rich sense of humor to make the picture a funny and entertaining flick . It tells the story of a poker game which is deemed the most important in the West for the amount of money bets , personality and social highlight of the players (Jason Robards , Kevin McCarthy , John Qualen , Robert Middleton) , and for its long tradition , sixteen years ; as they regularly meet once year in the location , date and time agreed . Rule of the game is the following : you must sit in from the beginning and it's the wildest poker game in the west . The event raises great expectations and the winner becomes a folk hero of legend . There arrives a traveler (Henry Fonda) who bets more money than he can afford in the poker game , and unusual events follow , as he fails to overcome his penchant for gambling . Then , his wife (Joanne Woodward) , a strong woman , ready to defend her rights until the end .This enjoyable film contains humor , irony , tongue-in-check and results to be an agreeable caper plenty of close-ups and irrelevancies . The script of the film is an ironic and sarcastic story with an all-star-cast giving magnificent acting who make up the yarn , including a neat surprise final , too . The dialogue is amusing , short and accurate , with artful twists free of traps and full of surprises . The combination of suspense and humor is perfectly achieved : both factors are complementary . This movie was initially written for television as "Big Deal in Laredo", in fact , this started life as a 48 minute teleplay by screen-writer Sidney Carroll . Director Fielder Cook manages to recreate a powerful story , told with great austerity , but that keeps us interested until the ending . ¨Big Hand for a Little Lady¨ and ¨The Sting¨ (1973) are both movies about swindling big shot gamblers who were used to swindling unsuspecting players ; these two movies are also connected by the actors who starred in them . The film has a top-notch cast , as Joanne Woodward as the ¨Little Lady¨ who uses her feminine shrewdness to scoop the pot , Henry Fonda as her husband shows modest and emotional attitude , and plunges us into a dramatic character which threatens all our hopes . And with them , Jason Robards , Kevin McCarthy , John Qualen , Paul Ford , Robert Middleton , Burgess Meredith , all of them manage to give the best result to a bemusing flick . Furthermore , brief apparitions from James Griffith , Virginia Gregg , Milton Selzer , and veteran Mae Clarke . This film provides the final film of Charles Bickford , and ending screen appearance of comedian Chester Conklin, who had appeared in about 300 movies from 1913 .Colorful as well as evocative cinematography by Lee Garmes . Atmospheric and appropriate musical score by David Raskin who previously composed the classic soundtrack for ¨Laura¨ . The motion picture was well written and directed by Fielder Cook , he was an usual filmmaker for TV , in fact , several of his 1970s productions were originally televised on the "Hallmark Hall of Fame" and occasionally for cinema such as ¨Patterns¨, ¨Seize the day¨ , ¨Eagle in a Cage¨ and this ¨A big hand for the Little lady¨. .