"The Big Bounce" scrambles to fit in all its elements, but holds your attention and has interesting stars: two starting their movie careers and one finishing his.
Jack Ryan (Ryan O'Neal), a Vietnam veteran and petty criminal attempting to go straight, has little direction in his life. After losing his job as a cucumber picker in California he meets two people: one, Sam Mirakian (Van Heflin), a worldly-wise magistrate, tries to help him, while the other, unpredictable party girl Nancy Barker (Leigh Taylor-Young), invites him to join her in a walk on the wild side.
Feeling a little like a TV movie, "The Big Bounce" is not helped by a rather detached score by Mike Curb – definitely of the elevator music variety. The film used to appear regularly on Australian television in the 70's and 80's, but the only place it pops up now is on TCM. At one stage they used to chop out all the nude scenes - which would have left a fair amount of footage on the cutting room floor - however of late, they seem to have reinstated them.
Ryan O'Neal in his first film is a little brittle in places although the camera loves the guy – you can appreciate his screen presence more now that he is no longer so high profile.
I have always enjoyed Van Heflin's work and here he gives a variation on that sage character he made his trademark – integrity personified. He was 57 when he made this but looked much older; it suits his character perfectly.
Leigh Taylor-Young, holds the spotlight with an uninhibited performance, surprisingly so as she was Ryan O'Neal's wife at the time.
If the film reminds me of any other it would be "Pretty Poison", especially the relationship between the guy, who thinks he's in charge, and the girl who is far more dangerous and scheming. Both films came out around the same time, but "Pretty Poison" has a lighter touch and genuine wit. In fact the major weakness of "The Big Bounce" is that it is rather humourless.
Of course that was the element Owen Wilson injected into the remake in 2004 and it worked to a point, but the film meandered; the 1969 version is actually a tighter movie.
It's not a classic, but "The Big Bounce" is still quite watchable, and the stars make it worth a look even after 40 years.
Jack Ryan (Ryan O'Neal), a Vietnam veteran and petty criminal attempting to go straight, has little direction in his life. After losing his job as a cucumber picker in California he meets two people: one, Sam Mirakian (Van Heflin), a worldly-wise magistrate, tries to help him, while the other, unpredictable party girl Nancy Barker (Leigh Taylor-Young), invites him to join her in a walk on the wild side.
Feeling a little like a TV movie, "The Big Bounce" is not helped by a rather detached score by Mike Curb – definitely of the elevator music variety. The film used to appear regularly on Australian television in the 70's and 80's, but the only place it pops up now is on TCM. At one stage they used to chop out all the nude scenes - which would have left a fair amount of footage on the cutting room floor - however of late, they seem to have reinstated them.
Ryan O'Neal in his first film is a little brittle in places although the camera loves the guy – you can appreciate his screen presence more now that he is no longer so high profile.
I have always enjoyed Van Heflin's work and here he gives a variation on that sage character he made his trademark – integrity personified. He was 57 when he made this but looked much older; it suits his character perfectly.
Leigh Taylor-Young, holds the spotlight with an uninhibited performance, surprisingly so as she was Ryan O'Neal's wife at the time.
If the film reminds me of any other it would be "Pretty Poison", especially the relationship between the guy, who thinks he's in charge, and the girl who is far more dangerous and scheming. Both films came out around the same time, but "Pretty Poison" has a lighter touch and genuine wit. In fact the major weakness of "The Big Bounce" is that it is rather humourless.
Of course that was the element Owen Wilson injected into the remake in 2004 and it worked to a point, but the film meandered; the 1969 version is actually a tighter movie.
It's not a classic, but "The Big Bounce" is still quite watchable, and the stars make it worth a look even after 40 years.