The Big Heat (1953)
A hard cop and a soft dame.
Director: Fritz Lang · Writer: Sydney Boehm
After the suspicious suicide of a fellow cop, tough homicide detective Dave Bannion takes the law into his own hands when he sets out to smash a vicious crime syndicate.
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Trailer
Director
Fritz Lang
Cast
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 User Reviews (2)
Fritz Lang deals nicely in obsession and corruption. Detective Dave Bannion is investigating the suicide of corrupt cop Tom Duncan. As he gets deeper, and his colleagues get nervous, his wife is inadvertently killed by a car bomb that was meant for him, he turns from mannered family man into a vengeful obsessive, the heat is most definitely coming down on those responsible. Writer Sydney Boehm took a "Saturday Evening Post" serial (written by William McGiven), and crafted a tight, biting and incredibly bleak script. Handed it into director Fritz Lang's hands, who then cloaked it (along with Charles Lang's perfectly apt photography) with dripping noir nastiness. 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 noir pieces of the 50s. Lang isn't concerned with showing the violence exactly, more like the …
_The Big Heat_ is a blistering slice of film noir; its shocking violence—especially the infamous coffee-throwing scene—still jolts in its cruelty, surpassing most of its contemporaries. Fritz Lang crafts a relentlessly dark narrative of corruption and vengeance, with Gloria Grahame and Lee Marvin delivering performances that are nothing short of magnetic. Their talent is sure to leave you appreciative and in awe. However, Glenn Ford's portrayal of Bannion feels disappointingly one-note, his stiffness paling against Marvin's menacing energy. A near-masterpiece, held back by its lead.
