The Big Town (1987)

It is 1957. J.C. Cullen is a young man from a small town, with a talent for winning at craps, who leaves for the big city to work as a professional gambler. While there, he breaks the bank ... See full summary »

Director:

Ben Bolt

Writers:

Clark Howard (novel), Robert Roy Pool (screenplay)

Stars:

Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, Tommy Lee Jones

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matt Dillon	...	J.C. Cullen
Diane Lane	...	Lorry Dane
Tommy Lee Jones	...	George Cole
Bruce Dern	...	Mr. Edwards
Lee Grant	...	Ferguson Edwards
Tom Skerritt	...	Phil Carpenter
Suzy Amis	...	Aggie Donaldson
David Marshall Grant	...	Sonny Binkley
Don Francks	...	Carl Hooker
Del Close	...	Deacon Daniels
Meg Hogarth	...	Dorothy Cullen
Cherry Jones	...	Ginger McDonald
Alvaro D'Antonio	...	Prager (as Mark Danton)
David James Elliott	...	Cool Guy (as David Elliott)
Steve Yorke	...	Garage Boy

Storyline

It is 1957. J.C. Cullen is a young man from a small town, with a talent for winning at craps, who leaves for the big city to work as a professional gambler. While there, he breaks the bank at a private craps game at the Gem Club, owned by George Cole, and falls in love with two women, one of them Cole's wife. Infuriated, Cole wagers everything on the craps table, including the Gem Club itself, and he and Cullen have it out.

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Plot Keywords:

el train | female nudity | dice | 1950s | femme fatale | 

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Taglines:

Lady luck is always on his side. Tonight, she's on fire.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 September 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chicago Blues

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$1,733,017 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Albacore Productions Inc., Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Although set in 1957, when J.C. and Aggie get off the street car, there is an '80s model Cadillac in the street behind them, followed by another late-model car.

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Quotes

George Cole: Cullen, you're gonna pay for this!

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Connections

Referenced in Ha-Kluv (1991)

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Soundtracks

"SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL"
Written by Charles F. Calhoun
Performed by Big Joe Turner
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Even Dillon can't carry this film on his back

"The Big Town" tells of a small town man (Dillon) with a knack for shooting craps who goes to Chicago to seek his fortune. The film has an excellent cast and all of the story elements required to make a good film. However, tv director Bolt doesn't manage to accomplish that goal as the film is sorely lacking in style, artistry, cohesion, and vision. Instead we see talented performers mechanically going from set to set resulting in an ordinary film product which is flawed, full of incongruities, and not equal to the sum of its parts. An okay watch for Dillon fans now on cable.