Tough cop Dave Bannion takes on a politically powerful crime syndicate.
Buzzing comedies such as The Spy Who Dumped Me await you in our Summer Movie Guide. Check in for all the info you need.
Related News
-
No Other Kind: Close-Up on Fritz Lang's "Human Desire"
7 days ago | MUBI -
Odds Against Tomorrow
29 May 2018 | Trailers from Hell -
Action Figure: Lee Marvin
29 March 2018 | MUBI
User Lists
Related lists from IMDb users
Share this Rating
Title: The Big Heat (1953)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
2 wins & 1 nomination.
See more awards »
Learn more
People who liked this also liked...
In a Lonely Place
(1950)
Drama
|
Film-Noir
|
Mystery
Director:
Nicholas Ray
Stars:
Humphrey Bogart,
Gloria Grahame,
Frank Lovejoy
Out of the Past
(1947)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Film-Noir
Director:
Jacques Tourneur
Stars:
Robert Mitchum,
Jane Greer,
Kirk Douglas
The Asphalt Jungle
(1950)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Film-Noir
Director:
John Huston
Stars:
Sterling Hayden,
Louis Calhern,
Jean Hagen
Scarlet Street
(1945)
Drama
|
Film-Noir
|
Thriller
Director:
Fritz Lang
Stars:
Edward G. Robinson,
Joan Bennett,
Dan Duryea
White Heat
(1949)
Action
|
Crime
|
Drama
Director:
Raoul Walsh
Stars:
James Cagney,
Virginia Mayo,
Edmond O'Brien
The Killers
(1946)
Certificate: Passed
Crime
|
Drama
|
Film-Noir
Director:
Robert Siodmak
Stars:
Burt Lancaster,
Ava Gardner,
Edmond O'Brien
Gilda
(1946)
Drama
|
Film-Noir
|
Romance
Director:
Charles Vidor
Stars:
Rita Hayworth,
Glenn Ford,
George Macready
Laura
(1944)
Drama
|
Film-Noir
|
Mystery
Director:
Otto Preminger
Stars:
Gene Tierney,
Dana Andrews,
Clifton Webb
The Woman in the Window
(1944)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Film-Noir
Director:
Fritz Lang
Stars:
Edward G. Robinson,
Joan Bennett,
Raymond Massey
Kiss Me Deadly
(1955)
Crime
|
Film-Noir
|
Mystery
Director:
Robert Aldrich
Stars:
Ralph Meeker,
Albert Dekker,
Paul Stewart
Fury
(1936)
Crime
|
Drama
|
Film-Noir
Director:
Fritz Lang
Stars:
Sylvia Sidney,
Spencer Tracy,
Walter Abel
Ace in the Hole
(1951)
Drama
|
Film-Noir
Director:
Billy Wilder
Stars:
Kirk Douglas,
Jan Sterling,
Robert Arthur
Edit
Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Glenn Ford | ... | 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 | ... | Gus Burke | |
| Adam Williams | ... | Larry Gordon | |
 |
Howard Wendell | ... | Commissioner Higgins |
| Chris Alcaide | ... | George Rose | |
|
|
Michael Granger | ... | Hugo |
| Dorothy Green | ... | Lucy Chapman | |
| Carolyn Jones | ... | Doris | |
Edit
Plot Summary
|
Plot Synopsis
Storyline
Dave Bannion is an upright cop on the trail of a vicious gang he suspects holds power over the police force. Bannion is tipped off after a colleague's suicide and his fellow officers' suspicious silence lead him to believe that they are on the gangsters' payroll. When a bomb meant for him kills his wife instead, Bannion becomes a furious force of vengeance and justice, aided along the way by the gangster's spurned girlfriend Debby. As Bannion and Debby fall further and further into the Gangland's insidious and brutal trap, they must use any means necessary (including murder) to get to the truth. Written by alfiehitchie
Taglines:
A hard cop and a soft dame! See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
Edit
Edit
See more on IMDbPro »
See full technical specs »
Details
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
October 1953 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
Heißes Eisen See more »Filming Locations:
Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USAEdit
Box Office
Gross USA:
$1,250,000, 31 December 1953Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1
Edit
Debby Marsh: Oh, sure, Mr. Lagana, I always like to tell Vince you're calling. I like to see him jump.
See more »
(uncredited)
Written by Doris Fisher and Allan Roberts
Heard instrumentally during one of the scenes at The Retreat
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Columbia wanted to borrow Marilyn Monroe from 20th Century-Fox to play the role of Debby Marsh, but Fox's asking price was too high. Gloria Grahame was cast instead. See more »Goofs
As Bannion is moving out of his house, he goes to a back room to get something. As he goes around a corner, we see his shadow stop, then it just disappears. Bannion then comes back into the shot carrying his bag. An obvious cut, but done without the camera being moved. See more »Quotes
Mike Lagana: [on the phone] This is not a social call, Debby. Tell Vince I want him, right away.Debby Marsh: Oh, sure, Mr. Lagana, I always like to tell Vince you're calling. I like to see him jump.
See more »
Soundtracks
Put the Blame on Mame(uncredited)
Written by Doris Fisher and Allan Roberts
Heard instrumentally during one of the scenes at The Retreat
See more »
Frequently Asked Questions
See more »Contribute to This Page
Explore popular and recently added TV series available to stream now with Prime Video.
It's doubtful that even Dirty Harry in his most menacing moments could match the smouldering rage that Glenn Ford brings to the screen in this excellent 1953 Fritz Lang flick. From a modern POV there is nothing unfamiliar here, except maybe the dated hardboiled lingo. The maverick cop, the revenge theme, the underworld characters and heroines. It's just that whereas a modern director would make this into a predictable two hour yawn-fest with slow-motion car accidents and ten minute shootouts with shoulder-launched missiles, Lang's movie clocks in at under 90 minutes, and there isn't an ounce of fat on it. It's lean, fast-moving and engrossing. Not a single camera shot is wasted or unnecessary. The script crackles, the cast is uniformly excellent, and Ford and Lee Marvin in particular are unforgettably intense. Ford, just when he's about to go way over the top, reins himself in, adding to the aura of barely suppressed violence in his character.
The movie can also lurch from plot exposition to sudden, economical and unexpected explosions of violence which can still shock today and must have been extremely confronting fifty years ago. And from there it can become suddenly, unexpectedly sensitive and moving.
Nothing is wasted in this movie. Everything is nailed down just right. It's not that they don't make them like this any more; it's more that they've been making them like this ever since, and generally to lesser and lesser effect.
A strong 8 out of 10.