The Big Bounce

The Big Bounce is a 1969 American drama film directed by Alex March, based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard and starring Ryan O'Neal, Van Heflin, and Leigh Taylor-Young in what was the first of several films based on Leonard's crime novels. Taylor-Young was nominated for a Laurel Award for her performance in the film. The film was shot on location in Monterey and Carmel, California. The book was also adapted into a film in 2004 with the same name. Plot Jack Ryan (Ryan O'Neal) quits his job as picker on a California farm after assaulting Comacho (Victor Paul), one of his Mexicano co-workers. Jack's boss orders him to leave town—which he intends to do, but not before visiting a local bar to wait for the next bus. While having a drink, Jack meets the town judge, Sam Mirakian (Van Heflin). Jack's honest but crusty attitude appeals to Sam, who offers him a job as handyman at his nearby motel. Jack accepts. At the motel, he cultivates a relationship with young, hot Nancy Barker (Leigh Taylor-Young), the secretary/mistress to Ray Ritchie (James Daly), a local agricultural magnate who has provided a spacious beach house for Nancy. She and Jack have several playful nighttime escapades along the beach, where she displays her penchant for antisocial and disruptive behavior. They soon become lovers. However, when her boss, Ray, orders Nancy to have sex with a senator in exchange for a business favor, she objects and realizes her stay at the beach house may soon end. One evening, while Nancy takes Jack for a drive along a coastal highway outside of town, a pair of unruly teen-age boys in a dune-buggy attempt to hassle them off the road. But Nancy knows that game; she spitefully forces them into a violent mishap, seriously injuring them. The lovers, realizing potential problems with the law, abandon the scene without offering aid. The next morning, Judge Sam warns Jack off Nancy, whose behavior has become increasingly unstable and erratic. Later, Jack is relieved to learn that the two boys survived the highway wreck.