German master Fritz Lang spent most of his post-German silent film career in Hollywood making film noirs and western B-movies. The Big Heat follows hardened police detective Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford) as he investigates the apparent suicide of a fellow police officer. He is suspicious, and after he is contacted by the deceased's mistresses who claims it could not possibly be suicide, Bannion begins to unravel foul play on a large scale. When he stands tall against a powerful crime syndicate against the warnings of his peers, he is hit hard and vows revenge and justice. He must come up against the likes of mob boss Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby) and woman-beating goon Vince Stone (a young Lee Marvin).
It's a shockingly brutal noir, complete with torture and facial scoldings. The rules and tradictions of film noir are interestingly flipped on their head, such as the classic figure of the femme fatale being completely missing. The women that Bannion comes across are weak, afflicted or morally ambiguous. Or all three. Glenn Ford's performance in the lead is staggeringly intense, as he punches and smart-mouths his way through gangsters and authority in his quest for closure. Bannion is often repulsive in his brutality and right-wing morality, and the film goes much further than what the typical noir allows it's anti-hero to go. One of, if not the best, film Fritz Lang directed after his relocation to the U.S.
Directed by: Fritz Lang
Country: USA
Rating: ****
Tom Gillespie
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