A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966)

Director:

Fielder Cook

Writer:

Sidney Carroll (writer)

Release Date:

12 August 1966 (Finland)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Western

Tagline:

All the action you can take...all the adventure you can wish for!

Plot:

Comedy western in which a traveler bets more money than he can afford in a poker game, and unusual events follow.

Plot Keywords:

Poker | Poker Player | Card Playing | Homesteader | Country Doctor

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Henry Fonda	...	Meredith
Joanne Woodward	...	Mary
Jason Robards	...	Henry P.G. Drummond
Paul Ford	...	C.P. Ballinger
Charles Bickford	...	Benson Tropp
Burgess Meredith	...	Doc Joseph Scully
Kevin McCarthy	...	Otto Habershaw
Robert Middleton	...	Dennis Wilcox
John Qualen	...	Jesse Buford
Jean-Michel Michenaud	...	Jackie Meredith (as Gerald Michenaud)
James Berwick	...	Sam Rhine (as James Kenny)
Allen Collins	...	Toby
Jim Boles	...	Pete
Virginia Gregg	...	Mrs. Drummond
Chester Conklin	...	Chester
Mae Clarke	...	Mrs. Craig
Ned Glass	...	Owney Price
James Griffith	...	Mr. Stribling
Noah Keen	...	Sparrow
Milton Selzer	...	Fleeson
Louise Glenn	...	Celie Drummond
William Cort	...	Arthur McKenzie
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Victor Adamson	...	Saloon bystander (uncredited)
Fred Aldrich	...	Saloon Extra (uncredited)
Richard Alexander	...	Saloon bystander (uncredited)
Mark Allen	...	Blacksmith (uncredited)
Claudia Bryar	...	Mrs. Price (uncredited)
Richard H. Cutting	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Tom Fadden	...	Harry Tate (uncredited)
Tony Giorgio	...	Steamboat (uncredited)
Percy Helton	...	Kevin McKenzie (uncredited)
Jack Ingram	...	Saloon Extra (uncredited)
Thomas E. Jackson	...	Rt. Rev. Mr. Monckton (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp	...	Saloon Extra (uncredited)
Natalie Masters	...	Mrs. Stribling (uncredited)
Jackie Minty	...	Preston Drummond (uncredited)
Marilyn Powell	...	Singer (uncredited)
Kenneth Sanborn	...	Saloon bystander (uncredited)
Henry Slate	...	Piano Player (uncredited)
Max Wagner	...	Cashier (uncredited)

Directed by
Fielder Cook

Writing credits
Sidney Carroll		(writer)

Produced by
Fielder Cook	....	producer
Joel Freeman	....	associate producer

Original Music by
David Raksin

Cinematography by
Lee Garmes

Film Editing by
George R. Rohrs		(as George Rohrs)

Production Design by
Robert S. Smith		(as Robert Smith)

Set Decoration by
Ralph S. Hurst

Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup artist
Jean Burt Reilly	....	supervising hair stylist

Production Management
Joel Freeman	....	production supervisor (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Joseph E. Kenney	....	assistant director

Art Department
Joseph Musso	....	production illustrator (uncredited)
Ward Preston	....	set designer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Everett A. Hughes	....	sound (as Everett Hughes)

Stunts
Roydon Clark	....	stunts (uncredited)
Boyd Stockman	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
David Raksin	....	conductor
Edward B. Powell	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Norman Stuart	....	dialogue supervisor
Doris DeHerdt	....	script supervisor (uncredited)
Wayne Fitzgerald	....	title designer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Eden Productions Inc.

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1966) (USA) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1973) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Warner Home Video (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Big Deal at Dodge City (UK)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:S | Sweden:15

Company:

Eden Productions Inc.

Trivia:

Director Fielder Cook had liked James Berwick's performance so much that he insisted Berwick reprise his television role of barman Sam Rhine in this film, despite his lack of cinema experience. This was Berwick's only screen role of any note, all other appearances being bit parts.

Quotes:

Sam Rhine, Hotel Owner: I'm not in the thinking business.

The best card playing movie I've seen

Well, this movie certainly beats the pants off watching THE CINCINNATI KID (the only other poker movie I can think of off the top of my head). It is a very unusual film set in the old West about a family passing through town and the head of the family who gets suckered into playing a high-stakes poker game and seems on the verge of losing everything. And, at the crucial moment when he is on the edge of either winning or going bust, he becomes too ill to continue and his wife, by default, is brought in to take his place.

The movie, despite the BRIEF overview I gave, is far deeper and is a super-intelligently written film. There are many wonderful twists and turns, but if I let it out of the bag, it would ruin it for you. Just give the movie a chance--it's a buried treasure.