Review of The Big Heat (1953) by Camden N — 21 Nov 2008

Damn fine movie! One of the most brutal film noirs ever made, with only a totally bloodless suicide-by-gun sticking out like a sore thumb. Glenn Ford is appealing in the lead role as a hateful and violent ex-cop out for revenge, a man whose tough persona seems very cool but also confronts the audience with the disturbingly violent nature of his conduct. Lee Marvin is appropriately sleazy in the role of a criminal who does some pretty awful things to women (one such incident involving scalding coffee). The biggest star in the film may be Fritz Lang, who directs the film with the same flair he displayed in The Testament of Dr. Mabuse and M. And unlike a lot of films from this period, the violence in this film seems mostly realistic but with a minimum of actual bloodshed (as Fritz Lang came from the generation of filmmakers that relied more on suggestion with such things - he pulls it off beautifully, except for the previously mentioned suicide).

Maybe Fritz Lang's best American film. Not quite as good as his early German classics, but still a highlight of film noir. See it now, or else!

*spoilers ahead!*.

I must also note some interesting parallels this has with the recent Dark Knight. In both films, a character is horribly scarred on one side of their face, and then decide to take it out on the criminals that made them that way. The person in this film, Gloria Graham, even has an awesome one-liner before shooting a corrupt cop's less-than-angelic widow. The widow is growing uncomfortable with Gloria's conversation and picks up the phone to call Lee Marvin to pick her up. She says something like "You're obviously not well" and in a slightly distant manner Gloria replies with "I've never felt better." And then BAM! She shoots her. Awesome.