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The Ballad of Little Jo
The Ballad of Little Jo

The Ballad of Little Jo (1993)

59% User Rating
2h 1min
Romance
Drama
Western

"In the Wild West, a woman had only two choices. She could be a wife or she could be a whore... Josephine Monaghan chose to be a man."

After being thrown out of her home, a young woman decides to disguise herself as a man to survive the ruthless Wild West.

Maggie GreenwaldDirector

Cast

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Suzy Amis

Suzy Amis

Jo Monaghan

Bo Hopkins

Bo Hopkins

Frank Badger

Ian McKellen

Ian McKellen

Percy Corcoran

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David Chung

Tinman Wong

Heather Graham

Heather Graham

Mary Addie

René Auberjonois

René Auberjonois

Streight Hollander

Carrie Snodgress

Carrie Snodgress

Ruth Badger

Anthony Heald

Anthony Heald

Henry Grey

Melissa Leo

Melissa Leo

Beatrice Grey

Sam Robards

Sam Robards

Jasper Hill

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Olinda Turturro

Elvira

Ruth Maleczech

Ruth Maleczech

Shopkeeper

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Jeffrey Andrews

Sam

Cathy Haase

Cathy Haase

Mrs. Addie

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Peadair S. Addie Sr.

Mr. Addie

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Irina V. Passmoore

Russian Mother

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Michael Ruud

Russian Father

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Sasha Pasmur

Nick - Age 14

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David Ruben Plowman

Nick - Age 9

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Rusty Pegar

Duke Billy

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Troy Smith

Soldier #1

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Keith Kamppinen

Soldier #2

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Jenny Lynch

Helen Monaghan

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Vince O'Neil

Amos Monaghan

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Vince O'Neil

Mortician

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Barbara Jean Marsh

Laundress

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Robert Erickson

Wilkins

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Sean Murphy

Young Henry Grey

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Renee Tafoya

Woman Photographer

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Richard Osterman

Traveling Judge

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Karen Johnson

Farm Wife

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Jaime Crabtree

Jo's Baby

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Tracy Mayfield

John

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Julianne Kirst

Nora Monaghan

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Deborah J. Richard

Mabel

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Netha Goodrich

Lucy

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Becca Busch

Little Sue

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Jim Dunkin

Mr. Brown

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Homer Simon

Fiddler in Addie's

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Eryn L. Bent

Russian Girl

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Peter Plowman

Young Russian Boy

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Joe Freed

Older Russian Boy

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Anne Plowman

Young Russian Girl

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Melissa Ladvala

Older Russian Girl

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Yeugeuiy Yasyriu

Russian Father

Tom Bower

Tom Bower

Lyle Hogg (uncredited)

Reviews (1)

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C
Charles Tatum
Rating 100%

September 30, 2023

Before watching this, do not make the mistake of lumping this film in with crossdressing comedies like "Tootsie" and "Mrs. Doubtfire." While based on a true story, director Greenwald sidesteps many western, and Hollywood, conventions to bring one of the best westerns of the 1990's. Suzy Amis plays Jo, a woman who is a little too trusting of some bad men. After escaping to the west and leaving her born-out-of-wedlock son behind, she is almost assaulted by two soldiers. To hide from them, she wears men's clothing and scars her face, eventually using her new facade to get what she needs to survive. Woman hater Percy (Ian McKellen) takes her in, believing she is a young man. She eventually befriends Frank (Bo Hopkins), who had his best role in years, and starts a sheep ranch. She falls in love with Tin Man, a Chinese man (David Chung) she was forced to hire as her cook, and must eventually do battle with a cattle conglomerate trying to get a foothold and driving the sheep ranchers out. Amis resembles Eric Stoltz in her scenes as a man, and is totally believable. McKellan and Rene Auberjonois have small but pivotal roles as older father figures who Amis trusts, but eventually turn on her. Bo Hopkins is great as the neighbor Amis tolerates, befriends, and tolerates. Chung plays Tin Man as an ailing, opium-addicted, flawed man- he looks perfect for the part, life scars and all. Heather Graham also has a small part as Amis' paramour Mary Addie, and does her best with it. The most surprising aspects of this film is what the film is not. There are no cute "Yentl" scenes, where Jo falls in love with a man as a man. The cattle company war, a standard western plot point, never overwhelms the story, or comes to a trite conclusion. The final scenes, with Jo's unmasking, seem almost like farce, but when thought about later, play very truthfully and touchingly, especially Frank's reaction. Greenwald's camera turns a small film into an epic, with gorgeous Montana scenery. Her script is also very smart, never going for cheap laughs or the kind of exploitation that another director may have gone for. I strongly recommend "The Ballad of Little Jo."

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