| The Big Bounce | |
|---|---|
Movie Poster |
|
| Directed by | Alex March |
| Produced by | William Dozier |
| Screenplay by | Robert Dozier |
| Based on | The Big Bounce by Elmore Leonard |
| Starring | Ryan O'Neal Leigh Taylor-Young Van Heflin |
| Music by | Mike Curb |
| Cinematography | Howard Schwartz |
| Editing by | William H. Ziegler |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | March 5, 1969 |
| Running time | 110 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Big Bounce is a 1969 film directed by Alex March, based on the novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard. Taylor-Young was nominated for a Laurel Award for her performance in the film.[1] The film was shot on location in Monterey and Carmel, California.[2]
The book was also adapted into a film in 2004 with the same name.
Contents |
Jack Ryan (Ryan O'Neal) is a Vietnam veteran with a criminal record. He gets fired from his job as a migrant laborer on a California produce farm run by Bob Rodgers (Robert Webber) after hitting one of his Mexican co-workers in the face with a baseball bat. Ryan meets the beautiful Nancy Barker (Leigh Taylor-Young), the secretary and mistress to the unscrupulous owner of the farm Ray Ritchie (James Daly). Ryan finally gets a job as a handyman at a local motel owned by Sam Mirakian (Van Heflin) a local justice-of-the-peace. Nancy asks Ryan to help her rob Ritchie's safe in his house which allegedly has more than $50,000 of payroll money for the Mexican migrant workers. After she causes an auto accident that injures two young men, Ryan wants no more to do with her. Jack has become distrustful of Nancy due to her erratic and unstable behavior. He reluctantly agrees to help with the heist due to her threat of blaming him for the accident.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Ryan O'Neal | Jack Ryan |
| Leigh Taylor-Young | Nancy Barker |
| Van Heflin | Sam Mirakian |
| Lee Grant | Joanne |
| James Daly | Ray Ritchie |
| Robert Webber | Bob Rodgers |
| Phyllis Davis | Bikini |
| Noam Pitlik | Sam Turner |
| Charles Cooper | Senator |
The film was not well received by critics. A.H. Weiler of The New York Times ends his review:
| “ | "Have you ever thought of doing something else?" Mr. Heflin asks our hero at one point. It's a question that could have been put to almost everyone concerned with The Big Bounce.[3] | ” |