Fresh
Ford's portrayal of the homicide sergeant is honest and packs much wallop. Lang's direction builds taut suspense, throwing unexpected, and believable, thrills at the audience.
Variety Staff, Variety
The Big Heat
A hard cop and a soft dame.
1953 · 1h 29m · Approved
Crime, Thriller
Directed by
Fritz Lang
Overview
After the suspicious suicide of a fellow cop, tough homicide detective Dave Bannion takes the law into his own hands when he sets out to smash a vicious crime syndicate.
Director and cast
- Fritz Lang Director
- Glenn Ford as Det. Sgt. Dave Bannion
- Gloria Grahame as Debby Marsh
- Lee Marvin as Vince Stone
- Jeanette Nolan as Bertha Duncan
- Alexander Scourby as Mike Lagana
- Jocelyn Brando as Katie Bannion
- Peter Whitney as Tierney
- Willis Bouchey as Lt. Ted Wilks
- Robert Burton as Det. Gus Burke
- Adam Williams as Larry Gordon
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
95%
Tomatometer
Fresh
Brutal, atmospheric, and exciting -- highly recommended.
Don Druker, Chicago Reader
Fresh
Lang strips down William P McGivern's novel to essentials, giving the story a narrative drive as efficient and powerful as a handgun.
Wally Hammond, Time Out
Fresh
That's the beauty of Lang's moral ambidexterity. He tells the story of a heroic cop, while using it to mask another story, so much darker, beneath.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Fresh
Mr. Lang can direct a film. He has put his mind to it, in this instance, and he has brought forth a hot one with a sting.
Bosley Crowther, New York Times
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