Une si belle garce

I'm giving this seven although the terrible music almost makes the picture unwatchable. What is interesting is Leigh Taylor-Young's portrayal of an under-age woman driven mad by being debauched, perverted and corrupted by a string of rich old men to whom she is pimped by her ageing moneybags employer. Dutch Leonard, author of the original novel, got his facts right here, and it gives the movie an underlying force that can't be denied. It's a surprise to find that the principal character is not Ryan O'Neal, who is wooden and sulky as the out-of-place "anglo" farm-worker in rural Monterey, but instead his then-wife and co-star Taylor-Young. Her character has gone over the edge as a result of being seduced by the local Senator at the instigation of her employer and bed-mate, the local landlord. Taylor-Young gets right into it, yipping and chortling as she turns over other cars and pumps bullets into mistaken interlopers. Her plan to rip off her employer for the fortune in his house-safe never comes off (at least not during the picture's action), and she escapes a murder charge, but as Van Heflin's character grimly points out: "Give it a month or ten years: she'll get hers". Worth watching just for Taylor-Young's performance, about one-third of which is in the nude. This film is a rare insight into female psychology, almost in spite of itself.

"Elmore Leonard called this adaptation of his book "an awful movie"...IMDB Trivia.

"The Big Bounce" is Ryan O'Neal's first theatrical film. I saw it mostly because one of the supporting actors is Van Heflin...a darn fine actor from Hollywood's golden age.

Jack (O'Neal) is a guy who's drifted since being discharged from the Army. He also is a guy with a criminal record for Burglary and Assault. Perhaps this is why Nancy (Leigh Taylor-Young) is so smitten with him. Regardless, she takes her clothes off OFTEN to get the drooling Jack to do what she wants. Now he protests a lot...but off come her clothes and he complies. This leads to complications, such as when she runs a dune buggy off the road (possibly killing the occupants) for kicks. She also proposes he help her with a robbery...one that will be 'fun'. And, once again, he agrees to go along with this flaky lady...and you assume it's because of her super-powers of persuasion...in other words, her hot bod. What's next? See the film yourself and find out.

In some ways this is a tough movie for some to watch. After all, there are not 'good guys' in the film. But it is a mildly interesting character study of a woman who appears to have a Borderline Personality with strong Antisocial features (I used to diagnose folks when I was a therapist and this one is right or at least close!).

You probably noticed the quote from IMDB where the writer calls this an awful film. Obviously he wasn't thrilled with it. I didn't think it was terrible, though a few of the characters and plots are WAY underdeveloped...especially the one involving Lee Grant and her onscreen daughter. It's almost criminally underdeveloped and it really doesn't work well...as if they edited out most of this plot but forgot to edit out it all. But as far as the plot involving Young, it is compelling. After all, you wonder....is she some nutty thrill-seeker or is she setting him up? Neither one is good...and possibly the nutty thrill-seeker angle is worse considering how extreme her behaviors are! I liked but didn't love the film...and think it's worth a look.

By the way, this film has a significant amount of nudity. You might not want to show it to your kids or your mom or Father O'Reilly.

Most of the other comments on here are pretty accurate. This movie really showed the loosening up of Hollywood as far as female nudity went. We get to see the beautiful Leigh Taylor-Young in various stages of nudity and looking good dressed too. Ryan never looked better. Lee Grant perfected the role of a perpetually uptight woman in Valley of The Dolls and this seems to be a continuation. The only actress in this movie that really shined was Cindy Eilbacher who could act rings around any other child actor of this or later era. Her few scenes really stand out and almost seem to be from another movie. Loved the cars, the clothes, the great character actors and YES I did love the music but it was all wrong for this movie. I think this music was meant for Dean Martin's last Matt Helm movie with Sharon Tate that never got made. It was lush orchestrated loungy pop music but was all wrong for a crime-noir movie. It really threw me off but I enjoyed hearing it from another room when I wasn't watching the screen. This also has some really great campy lines mainly from Van Heflin calling Leigh a "Quiff" in one scene and various other vague vulgarities. I really enjoyed watching Van go near the edge of camp and then pull back a bit. James Daly was perfect as a high class sleazebag. Look for Ryan's brother Kevin as the passenger in the dune buggy scene.

Overall much better than the horrendous remake, especially if you like movies that are so bad they are good.

Taking advantage of the enormous publicity from the small screen when cast members Ryan O'Neal and Leigh Taylor-Young became a small screen Dick and Liz, they were cast in The Big Bounce. Both were cast in roles suitable to each other, but Leigh made far more of it than Ryan.

O'Neal is a rather quick tempered drifter who is a Vietnam veteran and doing farm labor work for lack of something better. It also fits the unsettled character of his nature. As the film opens he's in trouble having stabbed one of the migrants, a fellow known for a nasty temper and the fact he was reputed to carry a knife.

Knowing all that the local town judge Van Heflin persuades the prosecutor to drop the whole thing and Heflin offers room, board, and a job at his motel. But O'Neal finds something Heflin can't compete with in the intriguing and sexy mantrap Leigh Taylor-Young.

Maybe Carroll Baker in Baby Doll made a sexier big screen debut, but she's the only one I can think of. Taylor-Young is a child of the Sixties. She's the kept mistress of Robert Webber manager of the pickle works and the biggest employer in the area. She's also one spoiled rotten and dangerously psychotic woman. What Taylor-Young is is all about kicks, getting them wherever she can.

The question is will O'Neal who isn't the strongest of characters be able to resist this woman and the dangerous things she does just to get what she calls The Big Bounce.

The Big Bounce is an inauspicious debut for O'Neal who would really hit it big shortly with Love Story. But it did guarantee him a lengthy career. But Mrs. O'Neal really runs away with this picture as the kind of woman that ought to come with a warning label.

Well basically my description says it all... not a bad movie but terrible music, especially from a period of such GREAT music. The music really ruins the movie. It's about a worker who gets in a fight and hits another worker in the face with a bat and well i dont want to ruin the movie if you feel like seeing it, despite the music....