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

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Overview

User Rating:
8.0/10   5,116 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 2% in popularity this week. See rank & trends on IMDbPro.
Director:
Fritz Lang
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:
more
Awards:
1 win more
NewsDesk:
(4 articles)
Glenn Ford: 1916 - 2006
 (From IMDb News. 31 August 2006)

Film Great Glenn Ford Dead At 90
 (From Studio Briefing - Film News. 31 August 2006)

User Comments:
The Good and the Bad are eternal more

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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Additional Details

Runtime:
89 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
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: When Sgt Bannion first meets Lucy Champam in 'The Retreat' bar the waiter pours Bannion a glass of beer with a head at least 2 inches thick. Bannion is then seen to sip from the glass and the beer has virtually no head at all. more
Quotes:
Debby Marsh: Well, you're about as romantic as a pair of handcuffs. 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
15 out of 19 people found the following comment useful:-
The Good and the Bad are eternal, 12 November 2004
10/10
Author: novisplova (novisplova@rcn.com) from New York

This film is a precursor to "Serpico" starring Al Pacino many years later. It's the story of an honest cop surrounded by corrupt and cowardly police officials who are in the take of a powerful city mafia. It's like Chicago during the times of Al Capone. The script is well written and has a good pace. The scenes are neither too short or too prolonged, just the right amount to move the story along. The actors played their parts well: Lee Marvin as a sadistic degenerate thug is very convincing as is Gloria Grahame playing his not so empty headed girlfriend, who has more depth and humanity than meets the eye. Jocelyn Brando (Marlon Brando's sister) played a small but very convincing role as Detective Bannion's loving and supporting wife, who encourages him to be the honest cop that he is. Their best scene together is right before she gets blown off in the car. It's a very tender, sentimental family scene when their daughter interrupts their kissing because she cannot go to bed. This is actually the pivotal scene of the film because Katie's violent death becomes Bannion's main motive in getting her killers. Jocelyn Brando plays the role of the perfect woman: dedicated wife, mother and the moral support behind her husband and Glenn Ford plays the role defending this order of things. In the end, he triumphs over those who seek to destroy this order: Lee Marvin and his thugs. The film makes a strong case for this theory with the hope that the natural order of things has been restored.

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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
The Dark Knight aarongleason
excellent 'in' joke for movie buffs colin2000
Gloria Grahame nicknazareth
SPOILER: How many guns has Dave? Phyg_LeGuy
Alexander Scourby's Character mrmime
Some of the best dialogue in a film noir...ever! jcremona
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