The Ballad of Little Jo (1993)

After being thrown out of her home, a young woman decides to disguise herself as a man to survive the ruthless Wild West.

Director:

Maggie Greenwald

Writer:

Maggie Greenwald

Stars:

Suzy Amis, Bo Hopkins, Ian McKellen

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Suzy Amis	...	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	...	Mrs. 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 nineteenth century who is thrown out of her parents' home after being seduced by the family's portrait photographer and giving birth to his 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 secret?

---

Plot Keywords:

title directed by female | mining | f rated | death of hero | death of protagonist | 

---

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.

---

Genres:

Drama | Romance | Western

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality and some violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Theatrical movie debut of Vince O'Neil (Amos Monaghan).

---

Goofs

When Jo pulls the money out of the pouch in the general store, the way she holds the money and pouch changes in the next shot.

---

Quotes

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

---

Connections

Featured in A Night with Suzy Amis Cameron (2020)

User Reviews

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.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 August 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Ballad of Little Jo

Filming Locations:

Carbon County, Montana, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,773, 22 August 1993

Gross USA:

$543,091

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$543,091

Company Credits

Production Co:

Joco, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1