Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 4-March-07
Spoiler Rating: Medium

The Big Heat (1953)

Sergeant Dave Bannion is doing all right. After 10 years on the police force he pulls down a modest salary that's enough to put steak on the table. He doesn't eat alone, but across from a pretty wife with whom he shares a close friendship, hot sex, and a healthy daughter. He's generally liked and he has friends. What's more, Dave can look any man in the eye since his integrity is firmly intact. Sadly, that's where his problems begin.

The crux of "The Big Heat," an especially fine example of Fritz Lang's work, is that good guys like Dave (Glenn Ford) are often at odds with this nasty world. He stumbles into trouble simply by doing his job. When a fellow cop commits suicide, he is sent to interview the widow (Jeanette Nolan) and closes the case when she explains that her husband was ill. He reopens it, however, after receiving a tip from the deceased's mistress, whose corpse is found on the side of the road a few hours later. This naturally peaks Dave's interest, but his continued investigation annoys the higher-ups in the police department as well as the local mob boss (Alexander Scourby) and his number-one heavy (Lee Marvin). So much so that somebody sends Dave a horrible message which turns his search for truth into a quest for revenge.

Under Lang's direction "The Big Heat" is gritty without being lurid and familiar without being uninspired. It examines the harsh fact that doing the right thing often comes with a price and maintains a fascinating undercurrent about the iniquity of social classes based on wealth. The characters conform to types but possess enough detail for authenticity. The best example of this is the hoodlum's moll played by Gloria Grahame. Strictly speaking, she's necessary to the plot only as a mechanism to allow Dave to have his cake and eat it too, i.e., to have his revenge while preserving his virtue. Yet some of the best scenes occur when she's on screen, the vain floozy who is drawn to Dave's strength and comes to satisfy her own need for retribution. She stands out among a handful of people who shed light into the hero's tormented soul by having the courage to help him. This is how the movie defines hope, the off chance of finding decency when none is expected.

"The Big Heat" is a classic example of how they made movies better back when. Crime saga, action flick, and revenge drama, it states its case with intellect and craftsmanship instead of noise.

Copyright © 2007 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.