The Big Heat (1953)

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Sydney Boehm (screenplay)
William P. McGivern (Saturday Evening Post serial)

Release Date:

14 October 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

A hard cop and a soft dame!

Plot:

Tough cop Dave Bannion takes on a politically powerful crime syndicate.

Plot Keywords:

Violence | Anonymous Phone Call | Shot In The Back | Suspended Policeman | Scar

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Glenn Ford	...	Det. Sgt. Dave Bannion
Gloria Grahame	...	Debby Marsh
Jocelyn Brando	...	Katie Bannion
Alexander Scourby	...	Mike Lagana
Lee Marvin	...	Vince Stone
Jeanette Nolan	...	Bertha Duncan
Peter Whitney	...	Tierney
Willis Bouchey	...	Lt. Ted Wilks
Robert Burton	...	Det. Gus Burke
Adam Williams	...	Larry Gordon
Howard Wendell	...	Police Commissioner Higgins
Chris Alcaide	...	George Rose
Michael Granger	...	Hugo (police clerk)
Dorothy Green	...	Lucy Chapman
Carolyn Jones	...	Doris

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Québec) | UK:X (original rating) | West Germany:18 (nf) (original rating) | UK:15 (re-rating) (1988) | Norway:16 | Germany:16 (nf) (re-rating) | Finland:(Banned) | Finland:K-16 (re-rating) (1966) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #16549) | Australia:PG | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

When Lee Marvin first sees Glenn Ford face to face, the music in the background is "Put the Blame on Mame," a reference to Ford's performance in Gilda (1946).

Goofs:

Continuity: Near the end of the film, Dave Bannion has an altercation with his brother-in-law's old army buddy in the stairwell. When he enters the apartment a second later, the sleeves of his suit are suddenly rolled up.

Quotes:

Debby Marsh: The main thing is to have the money. I've been rich and I've been poor. *Believe* me, rich is better.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Finding Forrester (2000)

The king of the film noir hill, bar none...

My interest in film noir goes all the way back to "The Maltese Falcon" and, in the last few years, I've managed to see quite a few good ones. But none of them come even close to what I saw this very day with "The Big Heat". Perhaps more than any other film noir I've seen to date, this one sums up it's genre almost completely.

I'm not the slightest bit suprised why such a story appealed to the film's director, the legendary Fritz Lang (whose earlier films, particularly "M", were instrumental in the creation of the film noir genre). An escapee from Nazi Germany, he had a special affinity for the kind of atmosphere portrayed here. When the basic ground rules are look the other way, pretend you didn't see it, you don't know anything we don't want you to, is there that much difference between the Third Reich and the corrupt city government portrayed here?

Sgt. Banion (played with low-key, but believable calm by Glenn Ford) pays a heavy price for bucking the cowardice of those around him. His wife is killed in a car bomb. He's suspended from duty. He loses yet another friend to Vince Stone (perhaps Lee Marvin's best role as a villain ever). But when push comes to shove, he eventually makes the right decision. Nothing about the way the plot moves is forced or unrealistic (though being blown in a car or shot in the head is a lot messier than portrayed here). This is not a film to be forgotten nor to be missed.