White Heat (1949)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writers:

Ivan Goff (screenplay) and
Ben Roberts (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

1952 (Austria)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Film-Noir

Tagline:

James Cagney Is Red Hot In "White Heat"!

Plot:

A psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist. Shortly after the plan takes place, events take a crazy turn

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Mother | Heist | Undercover | Gangster

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Mon. July 13

9:30 PM

TCM

Cast

James Cagney	...	Arthur 'Cody' Jarrett
Virginia Mayo	...	Verna Jarrett
Edmond O'Brien	...	Vic Pardo
Margaret Wycherly	...	Ma Jarrett
Steve Cochran	...	Big Ed Somers
John Archer	...	Philip Evans
Wally Cassell	...	'Cotton' Valletti
Fred Clark	...	Daniel Winston

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | UK:15 | West Germany:16 (nf) | Sweden:15 (re-rating) (1962) | Sweden:(Banned) (original rating) (1949) | Canada:PG (video rating) | South Korea:15 | Australia:PG | Finland:(Banned) (1950) | Finland:K-15 (re-rating) (2004) | USA:Approved (PCA #13852) | Australia:M (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

At the time of filming of White Heat (1949), Special Effects were not yet using squibs (tiny explosives that simulate the effects of bullets). The producers employed skilled marksmen who used low velocity bullets to break windows or show bullets hitting near the characters. In the factory scene, James Cagney was missed by mere inches.

Goofs:

Continuity: Roughly 33 minutes in. As Evans and Pardo drink coffee, Evans' coffee cup changes several times from a dark to a light cup.

Quotes:

Engineer: What's this, a hold-up?
Cody Jarrett: Naw, naw, you're seven minutes late. We're just changin' engineers.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Best of Film Noir (1999) (V)

Soundtrack:

Five O'Clock Whistle

Intelligent Thriller

Warner Brothers decided to kill off their cycle of gangster films with WHITE HEAT. A pity perhaps but what a film to end their success on . Cagney will always be remembered for playing gangsters and Cody Jarret is his most memorable performance , but Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts script is nearly as memorable as Cagney due to its high level of intelligence . I especially liked the way the gang tried to test Fallon by leaving the photograph of his wife on the table in the prison cell , little touches like that make WHITE HEAT a classic . If it was made nowadays we`d get bad language , graphic sex, bloodbaths and post modernist references to pop culture . Well you can keep all that Quentin Tarantino rubbish , this is how a good film should be made . Top of the world