There’s no psychological character assessment in The Big Heat. It’s a brisk, straight to the point black and white crime noir story.
On the trail of corruption in and out of City Hall, Detective Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford) sees his wife murdered in a car explosion. Answerable to smooth crime boss Mike Lagana, it’s the slippery Vince Stone (Lee Marvin) Bannion needs to keep his eye on. Handing in his badge to weed out the bad apples, he finds an unexpected ally in wise-cracking Debby Marsh (Gloria Grahame), abused girlfriend of Stone.
Famed for the hot coffee in the face scene, directed by Fritz Lang The Big Heat is a gripping cop story of good versus bad and with the threat of violence always simmering below the surface (and occasionally bubbling over).
Rating: 70%
Director: Fritz Lang (M, The Testament of Dr Mabuse)
Writer: Sydney Boehm (The Atomic City, When Worlds Collide) – based on the radio series by William P. McGivern
Main cast: Glenn Ford (Gilda, Blackboard Jungle), Lee Marvin (The Wild One, Paint Your Wagon), Gloria Grahame (Crossfire, The Bad & the Beautiful)
An Opinion or Two 