The Big Bounce is a 1969 film directed by Alex March, based on the novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard

Elmore Leonard

Elmore John Leonard Jr. , better known as Elmore Leonard, is an American novelist and screenwriter. His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, but Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.Among his...

. Taylor-Young was nominated for a Laurel Award for her performance in the film. The film was shot on location in Monterey

Monterey, California

The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...

 and Carmel, California

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California

Carmel-by-the-Sea, often called simply Carmel, is a small city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated in 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, the town is known for its natural scenery and rich artistic history...

.

The book was also adapted into a film in 2004 with the same name

The Big Bounce (2004 film)

The Big Bounce is a 2004 comedy caper film starring Owen Wilson, Charlie Sheen, Sara Foster and Morgan Freeman. It was directed by George Armitage and based on a novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard....

.

Plot

Jack Ryan (Ryan O'Neal

Ryan O'Neal

Charles Patrick Ryan O'Neal , better known as Ryan O'Neal, is an American actor best known for his appearances in the ABC nighttime soap opera Peyton Place and for his roles in such films as Paper Moon , Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon , A Bridge Too Far , and Love Story , for which he received...

) is a Vietnam veteran

Vietnam veteran

Vietnam veteran is a phrase used to describe someone who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War.The term has been used to describe veterans who were in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States armed forces, and countries allied to them, whether or...

 with a criminal record. He gets fired from his job as a migrant laborer on a California produce farm run by Bob Rodgers (Robert Webber

Robert Webber

Robert L. Webber was an American actor who starred as Juror #12 in the 1957 film 12 Angry Men.Webber was born in Santa Ana, California, the son of Alice and Robert Webber, who was a merchant seaman. He was a U.S. Marine during World War II serving on Guam and Okinawa...

) after hitting one of his Mexican co-workers in the face with a baseball bat. Ryan meets the beautiful Nancy Barker (Leigh Taylor-Young

Leigh Taylor-Young

Leigh Taylor-Young is an American actress who has appeared on stage, screen, and television.-Early life:Leigh Taylor-Young was born on January 25, 1945 in Washington, D.C. Her last name is an amalgamation of the last names of her father, a diplomat, and her stepfather, a successful Detroit executive...

), the secretary and mistress to the unscrupulous owner of the farm Ray Ritchie (James Daly

James Daly

James Daly was an American theater, film and television actor born in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, who is perhaps best-known for his role as Dr...

). Ryan finally gets a job as a handyman at a local motel owned by Sam Mirakian (Van Heflin

Van Heflin

Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man...

) a local justice-of-the-peace. Nancy asks Ryan to help her rob Ritchie's safe in his house which allegedly has more than $50,000 of payroll money for the Mexican migrant workers. After she causes an auto accident that injures two young men, Ryan wants no more to do with her. Jack has become distrustful of Nancy due to her erratic and unstable behavior.
He reluctantly agrees to help with the heist due to her threat of blaming him for the accident.

Principal cast

Actor	Role
Ryan O'Neal Ryan O'Neal Charles Patrick Ryan O'Neal , better known as Ryan O'Neal, is an American actor best known for his appearances in the ABC nighttime soap opera Peyton Place and for his roles in such films as Paper Moon , Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon , A Bridge Too Far , and Love Story , for which he received...	Jack Ryan
Leigh Taylor-Young Leigh Taylor-Young Leigh Taylor-Young is an American actress who has appeared on stage, screen, and television.-Early life:Leigh Taylor-Young was born on January 25, 1945 in Washington, D.C. Her last name is an amalgamation of the last names of her father, a diplomat, and her stepfather, a successful Detroit executive...	Nancy Barker
Van Heflin Van Heflin Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin, Jr. was an American film and theatre actor. He played mostly character parts over the course of his film career, but during the 1940s had a string of roles as a leading man...	Sam Mirakian
Lee Grant Lee Grant Lee Grant is an American stage, film and television actress, and film director. She was blacklisted for 12 years from film work beginning in the mid-1950s, but worked in the theatre, and would eventually win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Felicia Carp in the...	Joanne
James Daly James Daly James Daly was an American theater, film and television actor born in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, who is perhaps best-known for his role as Dr...	Ray Ritchie
Robert Webber Robert Webber Robert L. Webber was an American actor who starred as Juror #12 in the 1957 film 12 Angry Men.Webber was born in Santa Ana, California, the son of Alice and Robert Webber, who was a merchant seaman. He was a U.S. Marine during World War II serving on Guam and Okinawa...	Bob Rodgers
Phyllis Davis Phyllis Davis Phyllis Davis is an American actress who appeared primarily on television. She was most notably a part of the cast of Aaron Spelling's dramatic series Vega$, playing the character Beatrice Travis....	Bikini
Noam Pitlik Noam Pitlik Noam Pitlik was an American television director and actor. In 1979, Pitlik won an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for his work on the ABC-TV sitcom Barney Miller.-Early life and career:...	Sam Turner
Charles Cooper Charles Cooper (actor) Charles Darwin Cooper born 11 August 1926, is an actor who has played a wide variety of television and movie roles for over 50 years, from 1950 to 2001....	Senator

Critical reception

The film was not well received by critics. A.H. Weiler of The New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

ends his review: