MovieChat Forums > A Big Hand for the Little Lady (1966) Discussion > (SPOILERS) -- Hard to feel sorry for... ...

(SPOILERS) -- Hard to feel sorry for... -- (SPOILERS)

posted 11 years ago by vinidici
4 replies | jump to latest

...the "victims" of the poker scam, because:

1. Most of them had defrauded others in their daily business dealings

2. The entire lot of them, all throughout the movie, circled around their "prey" (Henry Fonda, who, in reality, was the "predator") like a flock of vultures, thanks to the bit of "misinformation" they'd been given about his being a failed ex-gambler -- so, for once, they were being given a taste of their own medicine

3. None of them were ruined by losing out to the wife of the supposedly indisposed Fonda (Joanne Woodward) and some of them actually came out better men for the experience (Charles Bickford and especially Jason Robards!)

4. Technically, Fonda & "wifey" didn't cheat! The hand was won on a bluff (though the con artistry among them, the banker and the doctor is undeniable)

Okay folks, show's over, nothing to see here!

[–] movieghoul 11 years ago

Can't agree on 4.

Fonda was a card mechanic who dealt all of the other players great hands so the pot would build up. That's cheating.

Also, it's possible that he dealt himself losing hands earlier in the game.

[–] vinidici 11 years ago

Ah. Lack of perception on my part, there. Thanks for straightering me out on that point.

Okay folks, show's over, nothing to see here!

[–] spookyrat1 10 years ago

Most of them had defrauded others in their daily business dealings

That point is made pretty clear throughout the movie and then spelt out again at the end. It was fairly predictable that they were going to receive some sort of comeuppance.🐭

[–] HarlemEagle42 (17735) 5 years ago

That's the idea. It makes the movie more fun to watch and less unpleasant if the marks are all conniving in their own right.