The Big Street is a 1942 American drama film starring Henry Fonda and Lucille Ball, based on the 1940 short story "Little Pinks" by Damon Runyon, who also produced it.

The film focuses on busboy Augustus Pinkerton II, known as Little Pinks, and his relationship with a pretty but cold-hearted singer, Gloria Lyons, who is crippled in a fall after her boyfriend, New York City nightclub owner Case Ables, knocks her down a flight of stairs in a fit of jealousy.

When Pinks sees socialite Mimi Venus wearing one, he breaks into her home, where he overhears her being blackmailed by one of Case's thugs, who is threatening to publicize her infidelity unless she gives him her jewelry.

Pinks disguises himself and retrieves the gems from the thief, then tells Case he will report him to the police unless he agrees to host a party with Gloria as the guest of honor.

Lombard suggested the producer consider her friend Lucille Ball and, despite pressure from RKO executives to hire a better-known actress, such as Barbara Stanwyck or Jean Arthur, Runyon offered her the role.

"[6] Variety wrote that screenwriter Spigelgass did "a neat job of transferring the spirit of the piece to the screen, studding it with typical Runyon humor," and felt that Ball "[came] through with high laurels" and Henry Fonda was "at his best.

"[7] Time Out London wrote that it "captures much of [Runyon's] low-life spirit and colorful vernacular, but occasionally spoils it all by wallowing in unnecessary sentimentality," and added, "Ball, in a rare straight role, is stunning.