Main Cast: Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, Tommy Lee Jones, Bruce Dern, Lee Grant
Release Year: 1987
Country: US
Run Time: 110 minutes
Plot
The Big Town is Chicago, circa 1957. Matt Dillon stars as a small-town crapshooter who heads to the Windy City to seek his fortune. There he becomes the pawn of two high-rolling professional gamblers, played by Lee Grant and Bruce Dern. He later gets mixed up in a revenge scheme cooked up by Diane Lane, the embittered wife of strip-joint owner Tommy Lee Jones. Before he knows what's happened, Dillon is embroiled in two torrid romances, one with Lane and the other with "nice" girl Suzy Amis; he also nearly loses his life by ending up in the middle of a deadly feud between Dern and Jones. Based on The Arm, a novel by Clark Howard, Big Town tends towards uneveness, a result perhaps of the defection of its first director, Harold Becker. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Tom Skerritt - Phil Carpenter; Suzy Amis - Aggie Donaldson; David Marshall Grant - Sonny Binkley; Chris Benson - Shooter; Kirsten Bishop - Adele; Michael Caruana - Gem Club Gambler; Del Close - Deacon Daniels; Layne Coleman - Murphy; Richard Comar - Gem Club Gambler; Mark Danton - Prager; Lolita Davidovich - Black Lace Stripper; Gary Farmer - Duke; Don Francks - Carl Hooker; Diane Gordon - Mrs. Rogers; Meg Hogarth - Dorothy Cullen; Cherry Jones - Ginger McDonald; Don Lake - Patsy Fuqua; Sam Malkin - Bernstein; Sean McCann - Roy Mc Mullin; Ken McGregor - Bartender; Robert Morelli - Sideburns; Chris Owens - Garage Boy; Sarah Polley - Christy Donaldson; Angelo Rizacos - Harold; Errol Slue - Friendly Guy; Marc Strange - Madigan; Steve Yorke - Garage Boy; David James Elliott - Cool Guy; J. Winston Carroll - Detective; Alar Aedma - Doorman; Hugo Dann - Elmo; Kevin Fox - Boss's Son; Diego Matamoros - Sid; Gerry Pearson - Baptist Preacher; Len Doncheff - Gem Club Gambler; John Evans - Marvin Brown; Robert Collins - Gem Club Gamblers
Credit
Maher Ahmad - Art Director, Dan Yarhi - Art Director, Jon Turtle - Associate Producer, Nancy Klopper - Casting, Kelly Robinson - Choreography, Don Carmody - Co-producer, Wendy Partridge - Costume Designer, Don French - First Assistant Director, Ben Bolt - Director, Stuart H. Pappe - Editor, Michael Melvoin - Composer (Music Score), Johnny Cash - Songwriter, Lincoln Chase - Songwriter, Eddie Colley - Songwriter, Glen Douglas - Songwriter, Henry Glover - Songwriter, Earle Hagen - Songwriter, John Marascalco - Songwriter, Lillie McAlpin - Songwriter, Lattie Moore - Songwriter, George Motola - Songwriter, John Davenport - Songwriter, Katherine Southern - Makeup, Bill Kenney - Production Designer, Ralf Bode - Cinematographer, Martin Ransohoff - Producer, Raymond Fleischman - Set Designer, Mark Freeborn - Set Designer, Rose Marie McSherry - Set Designer, Neil Trifunovich - Special Effects, Stuntco Intl. - Stunts, Robert Roy Pool - Screenwriter, Bertolt Brecht - Featured Music, Cliff Friend - Featured Music, Ivory Joe Hunter - Featured Music, Irving Mills - Featured Music, Kurt Weill - Featured Music, Charles F. Calhoun - Featured Music, Clark Howard - Book Author
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In 1957, J. C. Cullen is a small-town crapshooter who heads to Chicago, Illinois to seek his fortune. There he becomes the pawn of two high-rolling professional gamblers, Mr. and Mrs. Edwards. He later gets mixed-up in a revenge scheme cooked up by Lorry Dane, the embittered stripper wife of strip-joint owner George Cole. Before he knows what's happened, Cullen is embroiled in two torrid romances, one with Dane and the other with nice girl Aggie Donaldson; he also nearly loses his life by ending up in the middle of a deadly feud between Edwards and Cole.