Review of The Big Heat (1953) by Devon B — 11 Dec 2009

The Big Heat is right up there with "Touch of Evil" as one of the top noir films of the 1950s. The movie starts with the suicide of police sergeant which soon sets off a chain of events which will transform Detective David Bannion (Glenn Ford) into a single-minded machine.

The story of crime and corruption will be familiar to anyone who's ever seen similar cop movies and yet, it's not a tired film, it moves along at a fast and angry pace. Modern films like "Sin City" owe a great debt to this film, and Clint Eastwood seems to have modeled his entire career off of it (Who knew Glenn Ford of all people could inspire Dirty Harry?).

This is down-and-dirty gutter crime disguised in a 1950s package. Director Fritz Lang (Metropolis) makes use of cheap sets and backgrounds, if not ignoring them all together as his characters set fire to the screen.

Debby (Gloria Grahame) girlfriend of mobster Vince Stone (Lee Marvin) walks the tight rope above her violent boyfriend's temper, always willing to prod him, even though it might cost her. None of the characters seem too in charge of their own destinies though.

The mob bosses sit around, fretting over the rogue cop who pursues them, and the corrupt police officials watch impotently as the mob bosses beat and torture women. Only Bannion seems motivated by some specific purpose, and whether that's justice or revenge, no one can really say.

He's seemingly indestructable and unstoppable, and shows no sense of fear as he charges through rooms of petty criminals. Debby attempts to seduce him, more as a way of annoying Vince Stone than of getting any pleasure from him, but she can only elicit an unconscious disgust in Bannion: "I wouldn't Touch anything of Stone's" he snarls at her.

Such pure, unrestrained hatred rarely finds it's way onto the big screen, and it's alot of fun to watch. Artistic touches are subtle as Lang allows the story to unfold artfully, the directing style could be described as no-frills, but it's necessarily sparce, as it allows the story and performances to stand in the forefront.

Fans of crime drama should see this film, not because of it's historical importance, or because it inspired so many imitators, they should see it because it's just damned good.