The Ballad of Little Jo (1993)

Based on a true story, this is the tale of Josephine Monaghan, a young woman of the mid-19th century who is thrown out of her parents' home after being seduced by the family's portrait ... See full summary »

Director:

Maggie Greenwald

Writer:

Maggie Greenwald

Stars:

Suzy Amis, Bo Hopkins, Ian McKellen

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Suzy Amis	...	Josephine 'Jo' Monaghan
Bo Hopkins	...	Frank Badger
Ian McKellen	...	Percy Corcoran
David Chung	...	Tinman Wong
Heather Graham	...	Mary Addie
Rene Auberjonois	...	Streight Hollander
Carrie Snodgress	...	Ruth Badger
Anthony Heald	...	Henry Grey
Melissa Leo	...	Beatrice Grey
Sam Robards	...	Jasper Hill
Olinda Turturro	...	Elvira
Ruth Maleczech	...	Shopkeeper
Jeffrey Andrews	...	Sam
Cathy Haase	...	Mrs. Addie
Peadair S. Addie Sr.	...	Mr. Addie

Storyline

Based on a true story, this is the tale of Josephine Monaghan, a young woman of the mid-19th century who is thrown out of her parents' home after being seduced by the family's portrait photographer and giving birth to an illegitimate child. Josephine quickly learns that young, female, pretty, and alone are a bad combination for life in the wild west. In her desperation to survive, Josephine disguises herself as "Jo", a young man, and struggles to make a life for herself in a dingy frontier mining town. Can "Little Jo" live and love without revealing his/her secret?

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Plot Keywords:

mining | western town | interracial relationship | main character dies | teacher student relationship | 

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Taglines:

In the Wild West, a woman had only two choices. She could be a wife or she could be a whore... Josephine Monaghan chose to be a man.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and some violence

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 August 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ballada o malym Jo

Filming Locations:

Carbon County, Montana, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$514,451 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Joco, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Little Jo shoots his(her) first wolf, the wolf has a rope tied around his leg and it's being pulled on to make him lie down.

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Quotes

Frank Badger: Little Jo, you are the unfriendliest fella I ever met, and frankly quite pecular.

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Connections

Referenced in Siskel & Ebert: Bad Girls/The Inkwell/Naked in New York/Brainscan/Surviving the Game (1994)

User Reviews

Far from the beaten path.

Josephine made a fatal mistake: she got pregnant from a photographer, her father throws her out, she goes west. The film shows the options for a pretty woman like Josephine, alone, with no money, at that time on the west: to be sold like merchandise, to be raped.Her choice is to disguise herself as a man, so she becomes Little Jo. Suzy Amis has a great performance as Jo, she is very pretty, the fact that she does not really look like a man is not important, she is very convincing as a human being. Throughout the film you realize how Jo is a great person, she accepts her fate and tries to do the best she can about it. Bo Hopkins is Frank Badger, her tough friend and their relationship, and also Jo's relationship with David Chung are the best things of this western.