The Big Heat

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Cast & Crew

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

Michael Granger
Hugo (police clerk)

Dorothy Green
Lucy Chapman

Carolyn Jones
Doris

Fritz Lang
Director

William P. McGivern
Writer

Robert Arthur
Producer

Daniele Amfitheatrof
Original Music

Arthur Morton
Original Music

Charles Lang
Cinematographer

Charles Nelson
Film Editing

Robert Peterson
Art Director

William Kiernan
Set Decoration

Jean Louis
Costume Design

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News & Interviews for The Big Heat

Audience Reviews for The Big Heat

• Jul 15, 2018

  A deeply satisfying noir, with a gritty cop (Glenn Ford), femme fatale (Gloria Grahame), and powerful crime bosses (Lee Marvin and Alexander Scourby). I love how hardboiled this one is, with Ford becoming suspicious after some discrepancies in a fellow cop's suicide, and a woman getting viciously murdered. He's soon fighting upstream against a wave of corruption, and then getting threatened himself, but I won't say more about the plot. All of the performances are terrific. Ford is a sweet and decent guy with his family, brave and unflinching in confronting evil, and tough when he needs to be - tiptoeing along the line of being too tough in some cases, the moral ambiguity of which is interesting. Grahame is just delightful, particularly in the scene where she shimmies about during cocktail hour. Of the villains, Lee Marvin plays a sadist very well, and is explosive in every scene he's in. Director Fritz Lang harnesses it all well, including the strong script based on William P. McGivern's novel, and the pace is perfect. I loved how the film was clear enough to follow, but at the same time, had quite a bit of depth to it. Great stuff, and clearly influential.
  Antonius B Super Reviewer
• Feb 18, 2013

  A great hard-boiled mystery. Glenn Ford, Lee Marvin, and Gloria Grahame all deliver their punchy dialogue perfectly. Its a little sad to see a Fritz Lang film that's devoid of his earlier expressionist style, but he still serves this brutal material very well.
  

  Alec B Super Reviewer
• Jan 30, 2013

  One of the better examples of the noir genre. There are nice unexpected twists and turns that add to the drama and lead to a dramatic fulfilling conclusion.
  

  John B Super Reviewer
• Jun 15, 2011

  Film Noir that's for sure, they just don't make them like this anymore. Glenn Ford plays a detective who is working a case where city officials and the mob are involved, He's putting the heat on the mob trying to solve the apparent suicide of another police officer, and the mob is putting the heat on his family. Enjoyable scene's at home wife cooking dinner having a few cocktails. Beer at a bar cost 35 cents, a real phone booth that cost a dime had a door on the booth so no one could hear your conversation unlike today with cell phones. Overall an outstanding Black and White Film, Marlen Brando's sister played in this movie and she was pretty hot back in the day Jocelyn Brando. And Gloria Grahame played a gangsters girl and she was also hot, don't see women like this on the big screen today. No Class no Talent welcome to 2011. The movie is 4 1/2 stars all the way.
  Bruce B Super Reviewer