Good start, but then it gets ruined

An action-packed slog

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

During his investigation of the death of a fellow cop a police sergeant is warned off by his mob-corrupted superiors, and his defiance ends in tragedy for his family. Revenge is in the cards, but a gangster's moll plays her ace.Gangster story stuffed with devious characters. Some great actors, especially the women, but I didn't buy the lead male - too upright and uncompromised for a noir, and the punch ups didn't feel real. As Marlowe would say, No iron in his bones. Also his lines lacked the zing of Chandler.The actress playing the lead's wife has good presence (Brando's boozy older sister), but the main claim to fame is from Grahame who executes the perfectly doomed blonde, giving the movie a sense of innocence lost in a brutal world. The coffee scald scene is so cruel it becomes the engine for the revenge story, rather than the hero's loss.The pace is good, photography too although not moody enough. A nice close up on the scalded face, with division of light and dark. Standard orchestration of the music, and a bit obvious in the lead up during the famous car bomb scene - you just know the mood is going to switch dramatically.Overall - good entertainment, but the outcome is too moral for classic noir.

The Big Heat starts out as many crime films do. A detective investigates a death which could possibly be a murder and gradually things become more complicated. But usually, you get a whodunnit where everyone acts suspicious and slowly a mystery unravels and a culprit is found. The end. But here, we jump head-first into a major battle between a cop and a mob syndicate. The tone is ominous and the people and places are dangerous. But our hero is not happy to do as he's told and he can't stand being surrounded by those that do (because they're afraid).Movies maintain your interest with tension and changes to the situation. The plot moves and it keeps you involved. Some movies feel slow at times or predictable. If nothing is happening, the suspense fades away. The Big Heat contains many events that can be quite shocking and which shift the balance of power and motivation for the characters. It keeps getting more interesting. It can feel inevitable in retrospect, but the first time it's full of surprises.I really like Glenn Ford as Bannion. He seems like a good, passionate cop and a kind and caring husband and father. I was genuinely moved by his performance in several scenes. But that's also thanks to the direction, the story and the other performances. Jocelyn Brando (Marlon's older sister) is very good, a loving wife but in a real kind of way not a cheesy way. Gloria Grahame and Lee Marvin are excellent as well and bring lots of energy and character to their roles (I don't know how else to word it).I felt like some of the scenes were a bit typical at first (giving so much attention to an attractive woman, showing intimate family moments) but as the film progresses, you see that everything is there for a reason. What is white without black? You need contrast, a background, a context. Loss is not appreciated without seeing what is lost. An empty room has meaning if you know what used to be in it. Every scene in this movie serves a purpose. We might not be told the purpose, but we feel it in the greater scope of the whole film.The Big Heat is riveting all the way through. There is real menace and a feeling that anything could happen. It holds no punches - I was really affected by certain scenes, they have real impact and involve you even more in the film. There are a number of interesting similarities with The Dark Knight, another great film where a man takes the mob head on and tries to put an end to corruption and crime. Anyway, I immensely enjoyed it. It's uncompromising but very rewarding and entertaining. One of my new favourite movies.

THE BIG HEAT is a top-notch crime thriller and one of the best Fritz Lang film's I've watched. It's a pitch-perfect hardboiled film noir, featuring a stolid Glenn Ford playing a cop who has a dangerous and deadly run-in with a criminal organisation with roots at the very top of the city. Before long, Ford is involved with various femme fatales and encounters some truly sadistic criminals in his quest for justice.I'm not too familiar with Ford as an actor but he's in his element here, playing a quietly unstoppable character who has to be one of the most sympathetic leads out there. Ford underplays the role, allowing the showier parts to take over. The women in the storyline are particularly well served, with the likes of Gloria Grahame seemingly catalysts for the moments of stark violence that punctuate the production.Lang's direction is top dollar, and in particular he elicits some excellent turns from the entire cast. Best of the bunch is Lee Marvin as the bestial villain for whom violence against woman is a way of life. Although tame by modern standards of on-screen violence, this still feels like a graphic and nasty production, and the lean, fast-paced narrative also gives it a modern feel much unlike the stodgy B-pictures of the decade. THE BIG HEAT is unmissable entertainment.

Classic film-noir crime-thriller.A police detective, Sgt Dave Bannion (played by Glenn Ford) investigates the apparent suicide of a senior police officer. A woman approaches him and claims that it wasn't suicide - it was murder. Intrigue ensues...A great crime-thriller from master director Fritz Lang. While you know broadly who did it, you don't know all the details. Moreover, you mostly see it from the policeman's point-of-view, and feel his frustration as he is constrained in his abilities to crack the case.Great work from Glenn Ford in the lead role, especially as he is more known for westerns. Good support from Gloria Grahame, Alexander Scourby and an early-career Lee Marvin.Not perfect - Bannion's big break feels a bit contrived. In addition, the pacing is a bit off: after building the tension, the ending feels rushed. These are, however, minor negatives in an otherwise flawless movie.