191 reviews
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.
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.
Coming full cycle, Hollywood seems to be back on the theme of good cop vs. bad cops controlled by the mob. Recently "16 Blocks" successfully pitted honest Bruce Willis against dishonest city hall. For a time, with "The Big Easy" being an early example, this type movie presented the image of a totally corrupt government from top to bottom with omnipresent mob ties indicating cynical times, even the one good cop being tainted, just not as much as others. "The Big Heat" is a prime example of this type film in the early Cold War period, emphasizing the importance of one good man standing up against all odds, in particular unconcerned citizens who either themselves become tainted or who are simply apathetic as long as they are left alone. "The Big Heat" like "High Noon" showed that the good must take a stand or the entire house will come crumbling down with the rodents taking over.
Glenn Ford was never a versatile actor. In the right role he could carry the load sufficiently to get by. In the wrong role, his acting was amateurish. That he had potential is indicated by his performances in two movies, "Gilda" and "The Big Heat." Arguably, his role as Det. Sgt. Dave Bannion is the better of the two. Perhaps it is the inimitable director Fritz Lang that prods Ford on to realize his true talents. There is no doubt that Ford makes Sgt. Bannion come alive and puts real flesh on his bones. Ford is so good in this film and in "Gilda" that he deserved more recognition than he got from the Hollywood big wigs.
The two shining performances are given by Gloria Grahame and Lee Marvin who run away with the show. They provide one of the legendary scenes in film history that just about everyone has either seen or read about, when Vince Stone (Marvin)--note the last name of Stone--pitches a container of boiling coffee into Debby Marsh's (Grahame) face, scarring her for life. Vince Stone's demise is also memorable. The coffee sequence alone is worth the price of admission.
Glenn Ford was never a versatile actor. In the right role he could carry the load sufficiently to get by. In the wrong role, his acting was amateurish. That he had potential is indicated by his performances in two movies, "Gilda" and "The Big Heat." Arguably, his role as Det. Sgt. Dave Bannion is the better of the two. Perhaps it is the inimitable director Fritz Lang that prods Ford on to realize his true talents. There is no doubt that Ford makes Sgt. Bannion come alive and puts real flesh on his bones. Ford is so good in this film and in "Gilda" that he deserved more recognition than he got from the Hollywood big wigs.
The two shining performances are given by Gloria Grahame and Lee Marvin who run away with the show. They provide one of the legendary scenes in film history that just about everyone has either seen or read about, when Vince Stone (Marvin)--note the last name of Stone--pitches a container of boiling coffee into Debby Marsh's (Grahame) face, scarring her for life. Vince Stone's demise is also memorable. The coffee sequence alone is worth the price of admission.
This punchy little noir moves along at brisk clip. Glenn Ford simmers the whole time like a boiling kettle about to blow . This man has no pleasures that are obvious except his Westinghouse wife and child. Lee Marvin barely maintains control for much of the film. He is a catalogue of evil and greedy excess. Gloria Grahame is marvelous, witty, beautiful, bitter beyond hope. There is no redemption to be had for most of the characters in this sordid little universe. Conspiracy theorists of the 21st century will look back at the kind of simple-minded corrupt worldview espoused by Lang in this and other films and lament its loss. In THE BIG HEAT, evil and rot have names and faces and with enough fortitude, and the willingness to lose everything, they can be conquered. At least for a day. We know today that the whole infrastructure of power is poisoned beyond repair. The fifties held out a modicum of hope. Brief, fleeting hope. This is a violent film. Others have commented that much of the horror is committed off screen. But you can easily imagine it. Lang doesn't pull many punches here. The treadmill of denouement speeds up rapidly in the last few sections of the film. After viewing a film like THE BIG HEAT, I often want to wander down some dark street and find a corner diner, something like the one portrayed in Hoppers's NIGHTHAWKS, and have a cup of java, listen to some Brubeck on the jukebox, and wait for someone to come in from the chilly street . But the diners in my neighbourhood are either in the middle of the block or close early because of street crime. So I stay home, have a cup of tea, and dream noirish thoughts half asleep on my couch. This is a fine entry into the film noir lexicon.
- bkoganbing
- Apr 26, 2007
- Permalink
Normally, when I think of Film Noir, I DON'T think about Glenn Ford. Yes, he did a few, but his personality always seemed a little too "nice" to play in these gritty films. I was very pleasantly surprised then, when I saw this movie. Ford is an honest cop in a very crooked town. However, when the mob attacks and nearly kills him (killing his wife instead), he "pops a fuse" and becomes a very tough cop who won't take NO for an answer. I loved watching him slap people around and threaten his way to the top of the syndicate, as, with his life in ruins, he had nothing to lose.
Along the way, the headstrong Ford encounters a lot of amazing characters--all played exceptionally well. In particular, a young Lee Marvin gives perhaps his best supporting performances as a hood who has a penchant for beating up women. In one scene, he nearly breaks a bit actress' arm (and it happens to be Carolyn Jones in a performance before she was famous). In another scene, he throws scalding hot coffee in the face of his girlfriend, Gloria Grahame. It was so brutal and realistic, I flinched and found my stomach churning at its ferocity and cruelness. As for Miss Grahame, she plays the sort of excellent role she became known for--a "dame" who, down under layers and layers of scum, beats a real human heart.
Wonderful performances, terrific pacing and excellent writing make this one film well worth seeing and as a result, it's one of the best examples of Film Noir out there and a great example of a film about a cop who's seen enough and is on a rampage. This is probably Glenn Ford's best performance.
FYI--In what appears to be a cool inside joke, in one of the scenes where Ford is in the bar, the song "Mame" is playing in the background--the same song made so memorable by Rita Hayworth in GILDA--a Glenn Ford film from 1946.
Also FYI--I recently saw this film for the second time. I rarely watch films twice, but this one impressed me so much the first time, I couldn't resist. The film was, believe it or not, better the second time around and I noticed so many wonderful Film Noir touches that I truly love this movie.
Along the way, the headstrong Ford encounters a lot of amazing characters--all played exceptionally well. In particular, a young Lee Marvin gives perhaps his best supporting performances as a hood who has a penchant for beating up women. In one scene, he nearly breaks a bit actress' arm (and it happens to be Carolyn Jones in a performance before she was famous). In another scene, he throws scalding hot coffee in the face of his girlfriend, Gloria Grahame. It was so brutal and realistic, I flinched and found my stomach churning at its ferocity and cruelness. As for Miss Grahame, she plays the sort of excellent role she became known for--a "dame" who, down under layers and layers of scum, beats a real human heart.
Wonderful performances, terrific pacing and excellent writing make this one film well worth seeing and as a result, it's one of the best examples of Film Noir out there and a great example of a film about a cop who's seen enough and is on a rampage. This is probably Glenn Ford's best performance.
FYI--In what appears to be a cool inside joke, in one of the scenes where Ford is in the bar, the song "Mame" is playing in the background--the same song made so memorable by Rita Hayworth in GILDA--a Glenn Ford film from 1946.
Also FYI--I recently saw this film for the second time. I rarely watch films twice, but this one impressed me so much the first time, I couldn't resist. The film was, believe it or not, better the second time around and I noticed so many wonderful Film Noir touches that I truly love this movie.
- planktonrules
- Feb 7, 2006
- Permalink
- Movie_Man 500
- Jul 19, 2001
- Permalink
Fritz Lang can conjure up a paranoid thriller with the greatest of ease (actually, it's probably a lot of work, but it looks easy, which is a feat unto itself), and The Big Heat provides some of his classic paranoia to the proceedings of a story of a good, hard cop on the trail of a case that's gone way too corrupt. There are simple visual touches, amid what looks like a standard-shot thriller (when compared to, say, M, which is Godly in its vision of the darkness of humanity's layers peeled back). But it's got the kind of grit to it that most likely inspired Dirty Harry, even if, arguably, Glenn Ford isn't quite as great a star as Clint Eastwood. He's got a style to himself, anyway, like someone who is almost TOO good, and knows it, which is why he'll get the job done even if it means some busted knuckles and a few cracked heads. He's a compelling force as Dave Bannion, and he's perfectly cast against a bunch of sinister, slimy characters (save for the women, and even one of them is just rotten).
After a cop seems to have killed himself, the case looks open and shut. But there seems to be more for Bannion, as he didn't seem like a guy, from some accounts, to do himself in. Turns out there's a big cheese named Lagana who wants this put hush-hush like, and pays off the widow to keep a letter he wrote under wraps. But Bannion is suddenly put to the test, if only of himself, when his family is put in danger (with, of course, tragic results). Lang doesn't stop for a detail that isn't worthy of the attention of the narrative, and there's a connection that he makes between the world of the criminal underworld and the law: it's a place where there's some gray, but the black and white aspect rings through due to the situation at hand: corrupt cops, dirty criminals, and only a couple of dames to trust in the mix of it (one of them Debby, played in another great turn by Gloria Grahame, takes a savage incident with a pot of coffee via Lee Marvin's hand to wise up).
It might not have the depth of an M or Scarlett Street, but the Big Heat is about as solid a genre piece as one could ask for, getting more harrowing from the first gun shot of the picture all the way to the final moment when Bannion leaves the office for a hit-and-run case (a cop's work is never finished, one might suggest). It's also got more intelligence for its conventional roots with the little things; for example, there's a point in the movie where something pivotal could've happened with Bannion's daughter and the thugs, but Lang makes a good step to push aside it, keeping the focus squarely on the task at hand instead of sidestepping the climax into cliché. Land understands how, for the sake of a piece of pulp fiction like this, to keep the lines in order, even if it might seem standard for today: keep Bannion's family wholesome, maybe TOO wholesome, with stories of three little kittens, and keep the criminal elements savage, sinister in their grins and suits and violence brimming underneath.
One things for sure, it doesn't get much less thrilling than seeing Ford and Marvin in an unpredictable shoot-out. A+
After a cop seems to have killed himself, the case looks open and shut. But there seems to be more for Bannion, as he didn't seem like a guy, from some accounts, to do himself in. Turns out there's a big cheese named Lagana who wants this put hush-hush like, and pays off the widow to keep a letter he wrote under wraps. But Bannion is suddenly put to the test, if only of himself, when his family is put in danger (with, of course, tragic results). Lang doesn't stop for a detail that isn't worthy of the attention of the narrative, and there's a connection that he makes between the world of the criminal underworld and the law: it's a place where there's some gray, but the black and white aspect rings through due to the situation at hand: corrupt cops, dirty criminals, and only a couple of dames to trust in the mix of it (one of them Debby, played in another great turn by Gloria Grahame, takes a savage incident with a pot of coffee via Lee Marvin's hand to wise up).
It might not have the depth of an M or Scarlett Street, but the Big Heat is about as solid a genre piece as one could ask for, getting more harrowing from the first gun shot of the picture all the way to the final moment when Bannion leaves the office for a hit-and-run case (a cop's work is never finished, one might suggest). It's also got more intelligence for its conventional roots with the little things; for example, there's a point in the movie where something pivotal could've happened with Bannion's daughter and the thugs, but Lang makes a good step to push aside it, keeping the focus squarely on the task at hand instead of sidestepping the climax into cliché. Land understands how, for the sake of a piece of pulp fiction like this, to keep the lines in order, even if it might seem standard for today: keep Bannion's family wholesome, maybe TOO wholesome, with stories of three little kittens, and keep the criminal elements savage, sinister in their grins and suits and violence brimming underneath.
One things for sure, it doesn't get much less thrilling than seeing Ford and Marvin in an unpredictable shoot-out. A+
- Quinoa1984
- Jan 19, 2008
- Permalink
Glenn Ford is a police sergeant seeking retribution for the death of his wife in "The Big Heat," a 1953 film that also stars Gloria Graham and Lee Marvin. While investigating a police officer's alleged suicide, Ford's idyllic family life is ruptured when his lovely young wife is killed in a car bombing intended for him. Some have suggested the similar scene in "The Godfather" was inspired by "The Big Heat." It's certainly possible.
For 1953, the violence is uncompromising, particularly against the female character played by Gloria Graham when she crosses her boyfriend, Lee Marvin, in one of his early roles. Marvin is fantastic as a brute, and this characterization must have done a lot to raise his profile in films.
There are some outstanding performances, including that of Jeannette Nolan as the late officer's wife who knows plenty. Glenn Ford, a handsome, solid actor who seems forgotten now, underplays his role but the coldness and rage he feels is evident as he goes from happy family man to angry avenger.
Excellently directed by Fritz Lang, "The Big Heat" packs a wallop.
For 1953, the violence is uncompromising, particularly against the female character played by Gloria Graham when she crosses her boyfriend, Lee Marvin, in one of his early roles. Marvin is fantastic as a brute, and this characterization must have done a lot to raise his profile in films.
There are some outstanding performances, including that of Jeannette Nolan as the late officer's wife who knows plenty. Glenn Ford, a handsome, solid actor who seems forgotten now, underplays his role but the coldness and rage he feels is evident as he goes from happy family man to angry avenger.
Excellently directed by Fritz Lang, "The Big Heat" packs a wallop.
Pretty brutal stuff is the best way to sum up the contents of THE BIG HEAT, easily a forerunner of two biggies that came along much later in time--L.A. CONFIDENTIAL (with its exposure of police corruption in Los Angeles) and THE BLACK DAHLIA (the same).
GLENN FORD is out for revenge when his wife is killed by the mobsters and he walks into some pretty scary situations when he tries to take justice into his own hands. JOCELYN BRANDO (Marlon's sister), who plays Ford's wife, is the unfortunate victim of a car bomb. JEANETTE NOLAN is a woman who wants to bribe the police department when she finds out some incriminating details in a letter her husband wrote before his suicide. LEE MARVIN is a brutal mobster with a pretty blonde girlfriend (GLORIA GRAHAME) who is treated so viciously by him that she decides to switch her allegiance and falls in with honest cop GLENN FORD.
It's a tight, taut, suspenseful film (with good chemistry between Ford and Grahame) that shows no mercy in dealing with several of its main characters for the sake of telling a gripping story about corruption and loyalties in the "crime does not pay" mold.
A definitive example of film noir and well worth sampling if you're a fan of this genre.
GLENN FORD is out for revenge when his wife is killed by the mobsters and he walks into some pretty scary situations when he tries to take justice into his own hands. JOCELYN BRANDO (Marlon's sister), who plays Ford's wife, is the unfortunate victim of a car bomb. JEANETTE NOLAN is a woman who wants to bribe the police department when she finds out some incriminating details in a letter her husband wrote before his suicide. LEE MARVIN is a brutal mobster with a pretty blonde girlfriend (GLORIA GRAHAME) who is treated so viciously by him that she decides to switch her allegiance and falls in with honest cop GLENN FORD.
It's a tight, taut, suspenseful film (with good chemistry between Ford and Grahame) that shows no mercy in dealing with several of its main characters for the sake of telling a gripping story about corruption and loyalties in the "crime does not pay" mold.
A definitive example of film noir and well worth sampling if you're a fan of this genre.
Effective film noir about a cop fighting the mob as well as his own corrupt superiors as he investigates a murder. Ford has perhaps the best role of his career as the good cop. His scenes with wife Brando are very nicely handled, adding poignancy to the tragedy that would befall the family. There are shades of Dirty Harry as Ford takes matters into his own hands. Marvin and Grahame are also good as a mobster and his moll, respectively. Lang, a master of this sort of film-making, keeps things moving at a snappy pace. Some of the violence is jarring but of course nothing graphic is shown, given the era the movie was made in. After an excellent start, the second half of the film becomes somewhat routine but it still packs a punch.
The storyline centers about a persistent and upright cop named Dave Bannion ( Glenn Ford ) happily married ( Jocelyn Brando ) and with a daughter . He is stubbornly adhering to track down a mobster ( Alexander Scourby ) and his henchman ( Lee Marvin ) . Dave is helped by the gangster's girlfriend ( Gloria Grahame ) . In spite of killings Bannion is determined to bust the criminal ring . But the corruption , ambition and greed create a spiral of hate, murder and vengeance.
Columbia Pictures film production , put all the force of the screen into a challenging noir drama of furious passions and though there are pretty dialog and violent action is enough entertaining . It is a psychological , dark drama about fatalism , duplicity , pessimism , vengeance , human passions and corruption . Stylish , well designed and compelling drama , although is sometimes annoyingly shrill . The film is a classic cinema noir , packing riveting scenes with an interesting script plenty of surprises and twist plots . The movie gets usual Lang's characters , a man is caught web-like in seedy nightmares of his own making and a tremendously imaginative journey into the depths of human desperation . Love , hating , killing , revenge indeed figure strongly in this brightly seedy portraits of low life as Fritz Lang did also in ¨ Human desire ¨(1954) equally with Ford and Grahame . The well-designed atmosphere elaborately recreated is entirely convincing throughout , including the famous coffee hurtling scene . Wonderful performances from whole casting . Interpretation by Glenn Ford as revenger cop is first class , the evil racketeer Alexander Scourby is top notch and his underling Lee Marvin makes an absolutely hypnotic interpretation , also Willis Bouchey as corrupt Police Lieutenant is first rate . Smouldering Gloria Grahame -married by that time to Nicholas Ray- is magnificent and Jeanette Nolan as manipulating widow who subtly destroys them , winning yet another awesome acting in her account of the predatory domineering . The film contains stunning cinematography by Charles Lang , the photography is extraordinary , setting of lights and shades depict this type of noir cinema and Charles Lang along with John Alton and Nicholas Musuraca are the main cameramen . Good musical score fitting finely to the sensation of menace and suggestion . The motion picture is narrated with agility and slickness by the great director Fritz Lang . The German Lang is an expert on noir cinema such as proved in ¨ Beyond a reasonable doubt ¨, ¨ While the city sleeps ¨, ¨ Secret beyond the door ¨ , ¨ Scarlet Street ¨ , ¨ The woman in the window ¨ and many others . Rating : Above average , a real masterpiece . Worthwhile watching , it's a must see for noir cinema buffs .
Columbia Pictures film production , put all the force of the screen into a challenging noir drama of furious passions and though there are pretty dialog and violent action is enough entertaining . It is a psychological , dark drama about fatalism , duplicity , pessimism , vengeance , human passions and corruption . Stylish , well designed and compelling drama , although is sometimes annoyingly shrill . The film is a classic cinema noir , packing riveting scenes with an interesting script plenty of surprises and twist plots . The movie gets usual Lang's characters , a man is caught web-like in seedy nightmares of his own making and a tremendously imaginative journey into the depths of human desperation . Love , hating , killing , revenge indeed figure strongly in this brightly seedy portraits of low life as Fritz Lang did also in ¨ Human desire ¨(1954) equally with Ford and Grahame . The well-designed atmosphere elaborately recreated is entirely convincing throughout , including the famous coffee hurtling scene . Wonderful performances from whole casting . Interpretation by Glenn Ford as revenger cop is first class , the evil racketeer Alexander Scourby is top notch and his underling Lee Marvin makes an absolutely hypnotic interpretation , also Willis Bouchey as corrupt Police Lieutenant is first rate . Smouldering Gloria Grahame -married by that time to Nicholas Ray- is magnificent and Jeanette Nolan as manipulating widow who subtly destroys them , winning yet another awesome acting in her account of the predatory domineering . The film contains stunning cinematography by Charles Lang , the photography is extraordinary , setting of lights and shades depict this type of noir cinema and Charles Lang along with John Alton and Nicholas Musuraca are the main cameramen . Good musical score fitting finely to the sensation of menace and suggestion . The motion picture is narrated with agility and slickness by the great director Fritz Lang . The German Lang is an expert on noir cinema such as proved in ¨ Beyond a reasonable doubt ¨, ¨ While the city sleeps ¨, ¨ Secret beyond the door ¨ , ¨ Scarlet Street ¨ , ¨ The woman in the window ¨ and many others . Rating : Above average , a real masterpiece . Worthwhile watching , it's a must see for noir cinema buffs .
- tinyredspoons
- Mar 24, 2011
- Permalink
An honest, family man cop with a wife and daughter is put onto the investigation of another cop's suicide. He closes the case as suicide due to ill health. However when a women tells him another story and is promptly killed, Bannion just investigates further to find that powerful criminals and powerful politicians share the same table at dinner. When his family is split in an attack meant for him he loses his job and becomes bitter he starts to become more like his enemies as he pursues them.
This is a hardboiled thriller that would still stand up today as a tough film violence and attitudes that make it feel more modern than it is. The story follows the descent of family man Bannion into violence and bitterness when he not only loses what is important to him, but when he finds that corruption at high levels has fed down into rank and file officers causing him to stand out when he tries to catch a criminal.
The brutality of this film shouldn't be underestimated Fritz Lang is no softy! Here we have women beaten and killed, we have sex crimes, we have a women disfigured by scalding coffee in her face. Of course all these things are unseen but this was the 50's! However it is still powerful and adds to the intensity of the film. The story may well have been done many times now but imagine seeing something like this back then!
The cast are great. Ford descends into bitterness really well and seems at ease as both thug and family man. The female cast are good in different ways but the one that catches the eye is a young Lee Marvin. I suspect Marvin got fame because his coffee attack stuck in people's minds even today he is best know as a tough guy in the movies.
Overall this is well worth hunting out it is still being copied by many video thrillers and it just goes to show that you don't have to show gory or graphic violence on screen to be powerful, gritty or shocking.
This is a hardboiled thriller that would still stand up today as a tough film violence and attitudes that make it feel more modern than it is. The story follows the descent of family man Bannion into violence and bitterness when he not only loses what is important to him, but when he finds that corruption at high levels has fed down into rank and file officers causing him to stand out when he tries to catch a criminal.
The brutality of this film shouldn't be underestimated Fritz Lang is no softy! Here we have women beaten and killed, we have sex crimes, we have a women disfigured by scalding coffee in her face. Of course all these things are unseen but this was the 50's! However it is still powerful and adds to the intensity of the film. The story may well have been done many times now but imagine seeing something like this back then!
The cast are great. Ford descends into bitterness really well and seems at ease as both thug and family man. The female cast are good in different ways but the one that catches the eye is a young Lee Marvin. I suspect Marvin got fame because his coffee attack stuck in people's minds even today he is best know as a tough guy in the movies.
Overall this is well worth hunting out it is still being copied by many video thrillers and it just goes to show that you don't have to show gory or graphic violence on screen to be powerful, gritty or shocking.
- bob the moo
- Jun 18, 2003
- Permalink
- Nazi_Fighter_David
- Oct 6, 2001
- Permalink
This is a classic film noir, beautifully directed by Fritz Lang.. Fast paced non stop plot line & action... Glenn Ford is the good guy with some shades of gray/ Lee Marvin is the bad guy and boy is he bad ; roughs up 2 women/ Carolyn Jones at the bar, slams her hand/ and poor Gloria Grahame/ throws hot boiling coffee in her gorgeous face.. This is a very sadistic scene, and very memorable!!Gloria plays her part to the hilt.. one of her greatest screen moments...She made several film noire movies, In A Lonely Place/ Naked Alibi etc. won her Oscar for a serio comedy role in The Bad & The Beautiful/ sang "I Cant Say No" in Oklahoma.. and was almost crushed by an elephant in The Greatest Show On Earth.. she had a great career... and will always be my favorite 50's bombshell...this film is not to be missed/ Great support by Alex. Scourby, Jeanette Nolan and others.. not to be missed !
A violent story about a detective working in a corrupt department who investigates the apparent suicide of a fellow officer. Worth seeing for Glenn Ford's prototypical performance and Gloria Grahme's show stealing portrayal of a boozing moll with a conscience. With facial disfigurement and cigarette burns it took violence up a notch from the standard gun play of the past, making it grimmer and more realistic, and giving the story more punch. Grahme's tough and tender role stands out and gives the film a tragic element, while certain of its portrayals of greed and corruption (namely the dead officer's wife) stand out for their attention to detail. In the end, it IS the details that give this formulaic story its clout, and we can thank director Fritz Lang for that.
- RanchoTuVu
- Mar 23, 2005
- Permalink
- ccthemovieman-1
- Apr 25, 2006
- Permalink
Since I love film noir, I enjoyed "The Big Heat," but I didn't feel that it distinguished itself from any number of other similar films from the same time period.
This surprised me somewhat, as I don't think of Fritz Lang as an anonymous director, and he's usually able to imprint a strong visual style on his films. Not so for this story about a good and honest cop (Glenn Ford) who's dragged into the seedy underworld after his wife dies in a booby trap meant for him. Many of the themes common to this genre are present here: the blurred lines between the criminals and the law, the insidious encroachment of the scary city on the peaceful idyll of the wholesome suburb. It also picked up a main theme from "The Asphalt Jungle": cops and robbers alike have families and lives separate from their work, and this fact makes them more like one another than they might want to admit.
This film is most notable for a feisty performance from Gloria Grahame, who plays a gangster's moll who gets tired of being used and abused by her thug of a boyfriend (a repulsive Lee Marvin) and gets her scalding revenge. I've always felt that Grahame was never really used to her fullest potential by any film director, but she has such a strong screen presence that she's able to make this film all about her.
Grade: B+
This surprised me somewhat, as I don't think of Fritz Lang as an anonymous director, and he's usually able to imprint a strong visual style on his films. Not so for this story about a good and honest cop (Glenn Ford) who's dragged into the seedy underworld after his wife dies in a booby trap meant for him. Many of the themes common to this genre are present here: the blurred lines between the criminals and the law, the insidious encroachment of the scary city on the peaceful idyll of the wholesome suburb. It also picked up a main theme from "The Asphalt Jungle": cops and robbers alike have families and lives separate from their work, and this fact makes them more like one another than they might want to admit.
This film is most notable for a feisty performance from Gloria Grahame, who plays a gangster's moll who gets tired of being used and abused by her thug of a boyfriend (a repulsive Lee Marvin) and gets her scalding revenge. I've always felt that Grahame was never really used to her fullest potential by any film director, but she has such a strong screen presence that she's able to make this film all about her.
Grade: B+
- evanston_dad
- May 3, 2007
- Permalink
- gagekdiabo
- Apr 21, 2014
- Permalink
- rmax304823
- Aug 12, 2009
- Permalink
- novisplova
- Nov 11, 2004
- Permalink
Despite being directed by Fritz Lang, The Big Heat is a rather undistinguished film noir that I found disappointing considering its reputation and its director. Lang is a master film maker whose film M remains one of the most powerful and disturbing films of the 20th century, but The Big Heat lacks distinction; there's nothing notable about the plot or style of the film. Even the much talked about scene involving Lee Marvin, Gloria Grahanm and a coffee pot is hardly shocking or unforgettable. The acting is fine, but the behavior of the characters is often too recklessly and unbelievably naive, and overall the film has a perfunctory air about it. Gloria Graham is fun and much more Oscar worthy here than in The Bad and the Beautiful, and Jeanette Nolan's performance as Duncan's widow is genuinely chilling. Overall, The Big Heat is rather pedestrian and no threat to Aldrich's noir masterpiece, Kiss Me, Deadly(1955).
I expected more from this. Probably because it's from Fritz Lang. I imagined a top-shelf picture with some major set-pieces. Also after recently admiring Glenn Ford in Gilda, I wanted to see more of his range. Instead I felt this was a B movie with little heft to it. The sets are pretty junky and the premise is by now exhausted. I also don't feel a very strong directorly hand guiding this. I preferred Where the Sidewalk Ends, which is kind of similar to this. Glenn Ford is just P.O'd for too long here.
And I would personally offer to dig a grave for the film that introduced the "wife-and-child-in-peril-initiating-the-hubbies-grudge" volition. I cannot stand this plot, and to this day every half-assed director uses it at one point or another in their career. The only movie earlier than this where I saw it used, was Hitchcock's The Man who Knew too Much with Nova Pilbeam in which viewers were somehow spared looking at the hubbies annoying self-righteous anger for the entire running time.
And I would personally offer to dig a grave for the film that introduced the "wife-and-child-in-peril-initiating-the-hubbies-grudge" volition. I cannot stand this plot, and to this day every half-assed director uses it at one point or another in their career. The only movie earlier than this where I saw it used, was Hitchcock's The Man who Knew too Much with Nova Pilbeam in which viewers were somehow spared looking at the hubbies annoying self-righteous anger for the entire running time.
- onepotato2
- Nov 5, 2007
- Permalink