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White Heat
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White Heat (1949)

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User Rating: 8.1/10 (7,031 votes)
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Overview

Director:
Raoul Walsh
Writers:
Ivan Goff (screenplay) and
Ben Roberts (screenplay) ...
more
Release Date:
1952 (Austria) more
Genre:
Action | Crime | Film-Noir more
Tagline:
James Cagney Is Red Hot In "White Heat"! more
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 full summary | full synopsis (warning! may contain spoilers)
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
The Big Trail (From The AV Club. 20 May 2008, 9:02 PM, PDT)
Actress Virginia Mayo Dies at 84 (From WENN. 18 January 2005)
User Comments:
Bridges the gap between film noir and WB's classic gangster flicks. more

Cast

 (Complete credited cast)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
114 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Certification:
Sweden:(Banned) (1949) | UK:15 | West Germany:16 (nf) | Iceland:12 | Canada:PG (video rating) | Sweden:15 (1962) | Australia:PG | Finland:(Banned) (1950) | Finland:K-15 (re-rating) (2004) | USA:Approved (PCA #13852) | Australia:M (DVD rating)
MOVIEmeter: ?
V 16% since last week why?

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Ranked #4 on the American Film Institute's list of the 10 greatest films in the genre "Gangster" in June 2008. more
Goofs:
Miscellaneous: When Big Ed's lifeless body is kicked downstairs, although the scene is pulled off nicely, the moment his shoulder is shoved, his hand comes forward to protect his head during the fall. Dead bodies don't try to protect themselves. more
Quotes:
Ma Jarrett: I told you, Cody hasn't been in California for months.
Philip Evans: I suppose he shot me all the way from another state.
Ma Jarrett: What makes you think *he* shot you? Lots of people have guns.
Philip Evans: I was as close to him as I am to you.
Ma Jarrett: Anybody else see him?
Philip Evans: Just you. And his wife.
Ma Jarrett: Of course, being an old woman, I wouldn't know much about the law, but I hear you got to have *witnesses* to make anything stand up in court.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "The Replacements: Hollywoodn't (#3.11)" (2008) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
37 out of 57 people found the following comment useful:-
Bridges the gap between film noir and WB's classic gangster flicks., 9 June 2005
10/10
Author: Ham_and_Egger from Indianapolis, Indiana

An extraordinary performance from James Cagney turns what might have been a by-the-numbers movie into a masterpiece. Everything revolves around Cagney. Edmond O'Brien, Virginia Mayo, and Margaret Wycherly are all superb, but when Cagney is off the screen you wait for him to come back.

Cody Jarrett (Cagney) is a desperate gangster, standing on the ledge at the end of the Public Enemy era. But 'White Heat' gives us a much more intricate psychological portrait of it's anti-hero protagonist than earlier gangster movies. Cody's dependence on his "Ma" is at the crux of the story; there is no finer example of the corrupted mother in film history, even Mrs. Bates takes a backseat to Ma Jarrett.

Throughout the film, events, and characters, conspire against Cody all leading to his delivering of one of most iconic lines ever concocted by Hollywood. I won't repeat it, you know what it is even if you've never seen the movie, but even with prior knowledge it's still an extraordinarily moving moment given the context in which it's delivered.

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Message Boards

Discuss this title with other users on IMDb message board for White Heat (1949)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Fern Eggen in 'White Heat' The Daz
Pinky promise? saginaw1
Trivia on Cagney's Meltdown Scene BlondeVixen
Cagney's at his best vcrannyc-1
IS this the one where...? Nathan42
Top 250? cyrax_v
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