The Ballad of Little Jo (1993)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Maggie Greenwald

Writer (WGA):

Maggie Greenwald (written by)

Release Date:

20 August 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Western

Tagline:

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.

Plot:

Based on a true story, this is the tale of Josephine Monaghan, a young woman of the mid-19th century...

Plot Keywords:

Mining | Female Nudity | Attempted Rape | Gender Disguise | Male Female Relationship

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Little Man Jo (New Zealand: English title) (video title)

Runtime:

UK:121 min | USA:121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | UK:15 | USA:R | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Carbon County, Montana, USA

Company:

Joco

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: 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.

Quotes:

Tinman Wong: Who is this society?
Little Jo Monaghan: Me. Can you imagine?
Tinman Wong: I like you much better as your are.
Little Jo Monaghan: Why?
Tinman Wong: This white girl would never do this to me.

underrated

This is a great western that is hardly even known. It's directed by Maggie Greenwald and stars Suzy Amis as a woman in a rich family who is kicked out after she has a kid out of wedlock and she decides to go west. Amis knows she isn't going to survive as a woman because on the first night she is almost raped by two soldiers and barely escapes. So Amis decides to dress as a man and then makes a big cut on her face so it will leave a scar. Amis winds up staying in a mining town and the people believe she's man. Ian McKellen is a man who takes Amis in and shows her the ropes but he can get pretty violent when he's drunk. Amis doesn't stay with him long and winds up buying a place away from town so she can have her privacy. It's a great movie and i can't see why it isn't more well known.