The Big Heat
Tags: violence, cult, revenge, murder, sadist

Plot synopsis:
Homicide detective Sergeant Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford) is an honest cop who investigates the death of fellow officer Tom Duncan. It would seem to be an open-and-shut case, suicide brought on by depression, but Bannion is then contacted by the late cop's mistress, Lucy Chapman (Dorothy Green), who claims that it could not have been suicide.She explains that Duncan was in perfect health and had no reason to do it. All the evidence points to a self-inflicted gunshot wound and Bannion is prepared to believe that Chapman is just talking tales as a means of making a little money. But he is intrigued to learn that the Duncans had a second home which would simply not have been possible on his salary.Bannion visits Mrs Duncan (Jeanette Nolan) and raises the subject but she resents the implication of his suspicions. The next day Bannion gets a dressing-down by Lieutenant Ted Wilks (Willis Bouchey) who is under pressure from "upstairs" to close the case with as little grief to the widow as possible.Chapman is later found dead after being tortured and covered with cigarette burns. After counting "every single one of them" Bannion sets about investigating her murder even though it is not his case or his jurisdiction. Threatening calls are then made to his home and he goes to confront Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby), the local mob boss. It's an open secret that Lagana runs the city, even to the point that he has cops guarding his house while his daughter hosts a party. Lagana resents Bannion's accusations in his own home during such an event: "I've seen some dummies in my time, but you're in a class by yourself."Bannion's main problem is that people are just too scared to stand up to the crime syndicate that controls the city, including Lieutenant Wilks, who fears for his pension and whom Bannion dismisses as a "leaning tower of jelly". But, when the warnings to him go unheeded, Bannion's car is blown up and his wife (Jocelyn Brando) is killed.Feeling that the department will do little to bring the perpetrators to justice (they insist on going over all his old cases which will just delay matters), and disgusted by Police Commissioner Higgins' (Howard Wendell) clichéd condolences, Bannion resigns the force and sets off on a one-man crusade to get Lagana and his second-in-command Vince Stone (Lee Marvin).When Stone drunkenly attacks a girl in a nightclub, Bannion stands up to him and orders him and his bodyguard out of the joint. This impresses Stone's girlfriend Debby Marsh (Gloria Grahame). She tries to get friendly with Bannion who keeps pointing out that she gets her money from a thief. Marsh states: "I've been rich and I've been poor. Believe me, rich is better." But when she unwittingly reminds him of the time he courted his late wife he sends her packing: "Well, you're about as romantic as a pair of handcuffs," she remarks.Marsh was seen with Bannion and when she returns to Stone's penthouse, he accuses her of talking to Bannion about his activities and throws boiling hot coffee at her face.She is taken to hospital by none other than Commissioner Higgins who was playing poker with Stone and his friends at the flat. When Higgins warns that he will have to file a report, Stone reminds him that he pays him to deal with that sort of thing.Her lovely face half-scarred, Marsh returns to Bannion who agrees to put her up for a while. He's been looking for a man called Larry who hired a mechanic to set the dynamite in the car that killed his wife. Marsh reveals that it is Larry Gordon (Adam Williams), one of Stone's associates.Bannion confronts and strangles Gordon until he admits that he did organise the bombing of his car. This whole thing has started because Bertha Duncan, widow of the cop who committed suicide, has papers he collected that could expose Stone and Lagana. They were really intended for the DA, but Mrs Duncan has kept them for herself and is collecting from Lagana. If she is not paid, or if anything happens to her, the well-hidden papers will be made public.Bannion has been warned by Marsh that killing for revenge would make him no better than those who killed his wife. He thus refrains from killing Gordon, instead spreading the word that he talked. Gordon is seized and murdered by Stone's men before he can make his escape.Bannion now confronts Mrs Duncan accusing her of betraying Chapman to her death and of protecting "Lagana and Stone for the sake of a soft plush life", but then cops sent by Lagana make him leave.Stone decides to try and kidnap Bannion's little daughter Joyce (Linda Bennett) who is staying with her aunt and uncle with a police guard outside their flat. When the guard suddenly leaves the uncle calls in a few army buddies to take over. Satisfied that she is in good hands, Bannion sets off to deal with Stone. On the way he meets Lieutenant Wilks, the "leaning tower of jelly", who is now prepared to make a stand against the mob, admitting that, in spite of his own wife's pressure over what will happen to his pension, "It's the first time in years I've breathed good clean air."Debbie Marsh, slowly coming to terms with her disfigurement, confronts Mrs Duncan. They've both benefited from their association with mobsters as can be shown by their very-similar and expensive mink coats: "We're sisters under the mink," says Marsh. She then kills Mrs Duncan, thus starting the process that will see Tom Duncan's evidence surface and bring about Stone and Lagana's downfall. When Stone returns to his penthouse, Marsh throws boiling coffee over him like he did to her.Stone shoots Marsh and after a short gun battle is captured by Bannion who had followed him to the flat. As Marsh lies dying, Bannion describes his late wife to her in terms of their relationship rather than the physical "police description" he gave earlier: "You and Katie would have gotten along fine," he tells her.Stone is arrested for Marsh's murder. When Duncan's evidence is made public Lagana and Commissioner Higgins are indicted. Bannion returns to his job at Homicide.

Review: Fritz Lang, a man who knew the business like no other, is seen at the top of his craft with this interesting film noir that pays off in unexpected ways.
Surprisingly, Ms. Grahame and Mr. Ford show a lot of chemistry in their scenes together.The others in the film do good work under Mr. Lang's direction.
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.
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!
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..
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.
Fascinating noir film with a terrific performance by Glenn Ford and well directed by the master Fritz Lang.
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 .
Pretty unusual twist in a noir.Glenn Ford is a very limited actor, but he works perfectly in the narrow range of this role.While the film starts slow, what makes it work better than most noirs is how it deals with the multi-level complicity of ordinary people in evil, people just going along to get along, and one man going up against that (assisted by the old crippled woman who risks her life to give him a key tip).
Police sergeant Bannion (Glenn Ford) is a tough cop who steps on too many toes in and out of his corrupt department and finally wages a one-man war against the local crime syndicate, with the Irish Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby) at the head and Vince Stone (Lee Marvin) as his top lackey.
Stone's girl (Gloria Grahame) becomes a martyr to Bannion's cause, while a duplicitous policeman's widow (Jeanette Nolan) is the key to the mob's dirty secrets.Fritz Lang directed this potent crime thriller in a somewhat flat style, as Martin Scorsese has pointed out, in order to keep us at a certain distance from the action and the main character, whose apparent heroism may hide darker motives that are too dark even for him to see.
And Nolan is a consummate actress playing a woman who is a consummate actress, shedding crocodile tears and feigning grief for her unloved husband, who shoots himself moments before she coldly takes advantage of the situation.My only complaint is with the phony scenes with Bannion's phony wife (Jocelyn Brando, Marlon's sister) and phony young daughter (Linda Bennett, who several times anticipates what she is about to do before she is cued to do it), although the unconvincing sugary happiness of Bannion's home life, before tragedy strikes, may have been another way for Lang to keep us at arm's length..
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.
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).
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.
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..
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.
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.
Playing out as a tale of murder, revenge and pure hatred, The Big Heat holds up now as one of the best of the dialogue driven genre pieces of the 50s.Lang isn't concerned with showing the violence exactly, more like the reaction of our protagonists to the violence in the piece, this makes for a sort of ethereal viewing, with the sets themselves becoming integral to our characters personalities, it really is a wonderfully put together picture.
What ignites her fascinating transformation is a shocking scene of cringe-inducing violence, when Marvin accuses her of talking to a cop about his activities and throws boiling coffee at her face, a shot that betrays this grisly act, for Lang understands the augmented horror of what we can only hear and not see.Grahame is on the wrong side of the law who is driven to a means of justice, as we see in her greatly increased screen time during the last half of the film.
Classic thriller of a former police officer determination to bring to justice police corruption & mobster racketeer's such as Mike Lugana who think there above the law,Det.Sgt Dave Bannion(Glenn Ford)while investigating a apparent suicide & later that of a woman who frequented a night club called the Retreat he comes across corruption,with no help from his superior's who tell him to drop the case where upon a booby trap explodes which was meant for him but has dire consequence's for someone close to him & quit's the force to track down the hoodlum's,he meet's Debby Marsh(Gloria Grahame)the friend of Vince Stone(Lee Marvin)Lugana's hence-man who befriends him & that's a big mistake.Bannion's child is protected by his friend's,leaving the way to deal with ill mannered bar staff,lowlife & a grieving money grasping widow along with coffee scolding & gritty dialogue it boils down to the final showdown..
Great flick -- the only minor flaw might be the casting of Glenn Ford as the lead (Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of his) -- I just have a little problem with him physically asserting himself (Like he does in Blackboard Jungle with the young toughs), especially when put next to ultimate heel Lee Marvin.
Glenn Ford, in what was probably his best performance, is crusading cop Dave Bannion, after the men who killed his wife, (the bomb in her car was meant for him).
Lee Marvin is the vicious gangster behind her killing, (he throws scalding coffee in girlfriend Gloria Grahame's face) and Alexander Scourby is the corrupt political lynchpin: (he has wonderfully florid speeches; pointing to a painting of his grey-haired mother he tells Bannion, "they broke the mould the day they made her").For it's period (the early fifties) it was a very violent film.
Directed by Fritz Lang, this crime drama is witty and well paced.Along with Ford are fine performances from: Lee Marvin, Gloria Grahame, Howard Wendell, Jocelyn Brando and Willis Bouchey.
Gloria Grahame and Lee Marvin are excellent as well and bring lots of energy and character to their roles (I don't know how else to word it).I felt like some of the scenes were a bit typical at first (giving so much attention to an attractive woman, showing intimate family moments) but as the film progresses, you see that everything is there for a reason.
When Banion's wife is killed by a bomb meant for him, he gets even more angry but things are back to near normal at the end and he starts back to work.For its time in 1953, The Big Heat is rather violent, which makes it better.The cast includes Glenn Ford, Lee Marvin, Gloria Graham, Jocelyn Brando and Alexander Scrourby.
In "The Big Heat", Glenn Ford plays a cop who takes a case, but the case eventually turns into revenge for him.As is always the case with film noirs, there are detectives, gangsters, strange dames and a lot of gunfire, but this is no ordinary film noir.
With a cast headed by the likes of Glenn Ford, Gloria Graham, Jeanette Nolan, Lee Marvin, Alexander Scourby and aided by many solid and dependable supporting actors, this film is now on  my "favorites" list..
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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..
A deeply satisfying noir, with a gritty cop (Glenn Ford), femme fatale (Gloria Grahame), and powerful crime bosses (Lee Marvin and Alexander Scourby).
Lang also draws some great performances out from his actors, especially Lee Marvin, who manages to be sleazy and corrupt without ever seeming unreal -- he's the kind of villain you could see yourself being friends with and simply turning a blind eye to the shadier parts of his work.As for the rest of the film, it may be my apathy to film noir tropes, but it left me fairly cold (sorry).
Everyone else is a crook and a louse, except for Bannion's wife and the woman who works at the auto repair shop, and you can tell she's a good egg because she walks with a cane.The plot of The Big Heat forms a straight line from the first scene to the end, with a single I- can't-believe-they-did-that moment in the middle that's telegraphed so thoroughly the they should have saved their money and put a first class stamp on it.Still, even on an off day Fritz Lang can create eye candy out of nothing but lighting and camera angles.
The characters and their portrayals (by a very worthy cast) are shameless stereotypes of the form – Lee Marvin's heavy, Gloria Grahame's moll, Alexander Scourby's clean-handed mob boss and even the square-jawed, uncompromising hero played by Glenn Ford.
McGivern won an Edgar Allen Poe award for The Big Heat, and this is quite appropriate as there is something distinctly Poe-ish in this theme of a protagonist possessed by the memory of his lost love.The director here is Fritz Lang, a man often associated with the pessimism, not to mention the stark and shadowy look of film noir.
It took three years to do the work.German director Fritz Lang (Metropolis, Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler, M), who built a career on gangster films, gave a a film noir that was fast paced and had some really great lines given to some really remarkable actors.Glenn Ford (the original 3:10 to Yuma,Superman, Pocketful of Miracles) had the lead as a cop whose wife is killed by the mob.
Lang liked using everyman characters seeking revenge, and Ford was perfect in his relentless pursuit of those who did him wrong.Oscar winner Gloria Grahame (The Bad & the Beautiful, Violet in It's a Wonderful Life), was superb as the gangster's moll, who had boiling coffee thrown in her face.
Now, that's good cover.******** The Big Heat (10/14/53) Fritz Lang ~ Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Lee Marvin, Jocelyn Brando.
Fritz Lang directed this hard-hitting film noir that stars Glenn Ford as Detective Sgt. Bannion, who is a determined cop bent on taking down local mobster Mike Lagana(played by Alexander Scourby) and his brutal henchman Vince Stone(played by Lee Marvin) after his investigation of a policeman's suicide leads him to believe the police force is corrupt.
"The Big Heat" tells the story of a cop Dave Bannion, investigating the suicide of a man within the first min of the film.
And, I had a big surprise, some really impressive actor's recitals: Glenn Ford's best role in everything I've ever seen him, the exceptional Gloria Graham, perhaps her best role too, the very good Jeanette Nolan, the whole cast it's a big day, once again, you know one of the great conductors like Fritz Lang from the start.
THE BIG HEAT is a top-notch crime thriller and one of the best Fritz Lang film's I've watched.
Classic film-noir crime-thriller.A police detective, Sgt Dave Bannion (played by Glenn Ford) investigates the apparent suicide of a senior police officer.
Good support from Gloria Grahame, Alexander Scourby and an early-career Lee Marvin.Not perfect - Bannion's big break feels a bit contrived.
Big Heat, The (1953) *** (out of 4) Hard hitting, if familiar, crime drama from Fritz Lang has Glenn Ford taking on the mob in a one man war.
I thought the story of a cop finding himself alone going after the bad guys was something we've seen countless times but Lang certainly brings some style along and Ford is on fire throughout the film.
In The Big Heat, Fritz Lang by casting Glenn Ford against type, probably directed Ford to his greatest screen performance and one of the best noir films ever done.Ford is a homicide cop in an unnamed big mid-western city which is in the grip of systemic corruption from organized crime.
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.
I watched Lang's THE BIG HEAT last night for the first time.It was everything I expected, and more.Glenn Ford probably gave his best screen performance as Bannion, he was excellent throughout the picture.