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The Big Heat
Fritz Lang
(1953)
85min
15 Certificate
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Review
Our Score
by
Tony Sloman
Glenn Ford crusades against Mob-led civic corruption and hunts for vengeance in this classic film noir from director Fritz Lang. Its most famous scene, when moll Gloria Grahame is scalded by hot coffee hurled by crook Lee Marvin, was trimmed by the censors before the movie could be released in Britain with an X certificate. Now fully restored, it's tame by today's standards, but still packs a punch. Ford is excellent as the cop with a mission - his character was based on the investigators who uncovered the bile in US cities during the televised 1950s Estes Kefauver Senate inquiry - and Lang gives the vicious exposé a sleek and glossy surface.
Summary
A scrupulously honest detective investigates after a cop leaves a suicide note detailing corruption in the force and gangland connections, but gets taken off the case when his own wife is killed by the Mob. However, convinced the officers in charge are covering their tracks, he decides to go it alone. Fritz Lang's noir crime drama, with Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Lee Marvin and Alexander Scourby.
Cast & Crew
Det Sgt Dave Bannion
Glenn Ford
Debby Marsh
Gloria Grahame
Vince Stone
Lee Marvin
Katie Bannion
Jocelyn Brando
Mike Lagana
Alexander Scourby
Bertha Duncan
Jeanette Nolan
Tierney
Peter Whitney
Lt Ted Wilks
Willis Bouchey
Director
Fritz Lang
see more
Other Information
Language:
English
Black and white
Theatrical distributor:
Columbia Picture Corp. Ltd
Guidance:
Contains violence.
Available on:
video, DVD and Blu-ray
Released on:
24 Nov 2017
Drama
Full Episode Guide
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