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The Big Heat 1953 |
Review by Jonathan Cornwell |
Directed by Fritz Lang
NR, 89 min. (strong violence) |
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Starring: Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Alexander Scourby, Lee Marvin, Jeanette Nolan, Peter Whitney, Willis Bouchey, Robert Burton, Adam Williams, Howard Wendell
Producer: Robert Arthur
Screenplay: Sydney Boehm
Cinematography: Charles Lang
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Released: 10.14.53 |
Rating:
 (out of ) |
When Fritz Lang's masterpiece The Big Heat was released in 1953, America was undergoing self-examination of crime
syndicates and the public servants that were in league with them. Dark, bleak, and nihilistic, The Big Heat is at times
a shocking film with an intense duality between bowing to corruption and individual courage to change a cowardice society.
It's also one of the best of film noirs, pitting a flawed but decent hero against seemingly insurmountable odds. Maybe
the most violent and grim picture to date in Hollywood, The Big Heat bludgeoned its audience with the effects of unchecked
corruption. The film's claim to fame comes in the form of pervasive violence towards women, and, in particular, a scene
where scalding hot coffee is thrown onto the face of the story's heroine, badly scarring her. Lang's incessant need for
depravity in the storyline made even staunch fans of film noir a bit uneasy, but when taken as a whole the film proves a
daring and brilliant work by an exceptional artist.
Lang, who also directed such masterpieces as Metropolis and M, sees his characters as pawns in a game larger than
themselves. His answer to corruption - when a few courageous individuals sacrifice themselves to stand against it - emboldens
the viewer to take an agressive stance towards societal malaise. Audiences at the time must have been at the same
time appalled and invigorated, but also truly awakened to the inherent dangers lurking beneath their white-picket fences and
rosy-cheeked public officials. The film's protagonist recognizes this danger, and pays a heavy price for his convictions.
David Bannion (Glenn Ford) is an idealistic detective that becomes entangled in a web of deceit and corruption at the highest
levels when he is assigned a suicide investigation of a fellow cop. As he begins to unpeel layers of questionable activity
between the department and notorious crime boss Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby), he puts himself and his family -
wife Katie (Jocelyn Brando) and daughter Joyce (Linda Bennett) - in danger. After confronting Lagana, retaliation in
the form of his wife's murder tests Bannion's intestinal fortitude, turning his righteous anger into a driven, hateful man
bent on revenge. Lagana's right hand man, Vince Stone (Lee Marvin), is assigned to eliminate Bannion, but girlfriend
Debby (Gloria Grahame), once an uninterested spectator, becomes Bannion's enlightened ally after she's brutally scarred
by Stone (the infamous coffee scene) during a fight. Now, together, Bannion and Debby risk their lives to take down
the syndicate.
Ford, in one of his greatest performances, plays Bannion to near-perfection. He played a similar hero in arguably his
best film, Gilda, but his effort here is a powerful portrayal of man overwhelmed with hatred and revenge. An idealist with
steadfast conviction, his Bannion turns from upright family man to vigilante executioner in short order. Confronted with
compromised friends and corrupted bosses, it's ironic that he would return to morality with the help of the enemy (Debby).
It took Debby's simple-minded examination of right and wrong to save Bannion from a life of misery and despair.
Ford is able to capture the bottled fury and gentle humanity that mark his character's dual nature. And Grahame's
solid turn as Debby gives additional weight to a dark script.
Lang is able to communicate the effects of societal corruption on the individual, notably through a secretary who provides
intregral help to Bannion's investigation of his wife's murder. She is simple woman, crippled and afraid of the immoral
morass around her, but resilient enough to seek out Bannion - an action she deems as penance for her past silence.
This is Lang's plead to society as a whole, especially at the time, that even the smallest action can have an essential impact
on the larger picture.
Lee Marvin's Vince Stone embodies the film's idea of evil - a man without conviction or moral compass, bent on self-preservation
through misguided obedience to a life of crime. Stone is pychosis personified, detached from others and inherently alone.
Only a subservient girlfriend, Debby, gives him some pleasure, mostly in the form of a punching bag and confidence booster
to his own distorted view of success. It's important that the film sees him as a hopeless slave to a life chosen without thought
of consequence or conviction. Stone is about as miserable a screen character ever framed - by the time his own face
has been scarred, he's begging for release from his life in the form of death.
The Big Heat wasn't nominated for a single Academy Award, but that seemed unlikely considering its stark view
of violence in society. Of course, now the film is considered one of the early 50's best films, and certainly one of Lang's
finest efforts. With a talented cast and riveting storyline, emboldened by countless metaphors and masterful direction,
The Big Heat has meaning even for today, not to mention a highly involving motion picture experience.
© 2002 Jonathan Cornwell
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 | Masterpiece - Film perfection |
 | Excellent - A Must See |
| Good - Highly Recommended |
| Fair - Worth seeing |
| Average - Viewable, but not recommended |
| Below average - View at own risk |
| Poor - Avoid at all costs |
| Very poor - An embarassment to the film industry |
| Zero | Awful - One of the worst films ever made |
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