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The Big Heat
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The Big Heat (1953) More at IMDbPro »

Videos
The Big Heat (1953) -- Trailer for this crime drama directed by Fritz Lang

IMDb Holiday Movie Guide

Overview

User Rating:
8.0/10   5,561 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 34% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Sydney Boehm (screenplay)
William P. McGivern (Saturday Evening Post serial)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Big Heat on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
14 October 1953 (USA) more
Tagline:
A hard cop and a soft dame! more
Plot:
Tough cop Dave Bannion takes on a politically powerful crime syndicate. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
1 win more
NewsDesk:
(14 articles)
Payback is making a comeback
 (From The Guardian - Film News. 20 November 2009, 4:15 PM, PST)

New On DVD This Week
 (From The Flickcast. 3 November 2009, 3:35 PM, PST)

User Comments:
One Of The Fastest-Movie Film Noirs more (75 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

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
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Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:
89 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:
Norway:16 | UK:15 (re-rating) (1988) | UK:X (original rating) | Canada:G (Nova Scotia/Québec) | Germany:16 (nf) (re-rating) | West Germany:18 (nf) (original rating) | South Korea:15 | Finland:(Banned) | Finland:K-16 (re-rating) (1966) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (certificate #16549) | Australia:PG | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Bannion's wife Katie is played by Jocelyn Brando, older sister of Marlon. more
Goofs:
Continuity: The street address for the junk yard on Bannyon's list is "101", yet the number "1024" is seen on a large sign over the yard's shed. more
Quotes:
Vince Stone: Hey, that's nice perfume.
Debby Marsh: Something new. It attracts mosquitoes and repels men.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Finding Forrester (2000) more
Soundtrack:
Put the Blame on Mame more

FAQ

New York Opening Happened When?
Chicago Opening Happened When and Where?
more
33 out of 42 people found the following comment useful.
One Of The Fastest-Movie Film Noirs, 26 April 2006
9/10
Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

Intense characters, led by Glenn Ford's portrayal of "Det. Sgt. Dave Bannion," make this one of the better film noirs of the period, at least one of the ones I enjoyed the most.

Ford is a believably 100 percent honest and tough cop who is unrelenting in getting his wife's killer. (His wife is killed early on in a car bomb.) Ford takes the law into his own hands, which really contradicts what he stands for, and is not least bit apologetic for his actions, either. Make no mistake: this is a pure "revenge" film.

Gloria Grahame, Lee Marvin, Jocelyn Brando, Alexader Scourby, Jeanette Noland and Carolyn Jones complete the cast of "name" actors of the period. No surprise that Marvin plays the lead villain. Grahame almost steals the show as Marvin's girl who gets scalded when the latter throws hot coffee in her face - one of the more shocking scenes in film noir history. She then, understandably, switches allegiances.

It was kind of fun to see Marvin at such a young age. This was my first look at Scourby. Pro football fans know his distinctive voice well, as he became the voice of the NFL Films for many years.

One of the attractions of this story is the pace: it is fast-moving, and it's not too dated either, despite being over 40 years old. This is highly recommended for crime buffs of any era.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Big Heat (1953)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Gloria Grahame nicknazareth
excellent 'in' joke for movie buffs colin2000
Some of the best dialogue in a film noir...ever! jcremona
The Dark Knight aarongleason
SPOILER: How many guns has Dave? Phyg_LeGuy
Alexander Scourby's Character mrmime
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