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The Big Heat
A police officer seems to have committed suicide, but Detective Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford) thinks there's more to the story. When a bomb meant for him kills his wife instead, Dave works outside the law's confines, obsessively search for the truth.
22 October 1923, Youngstown, Ohio, USA
28 April 1930, Amarillo, Texas, USA
9 December 1897, Falmouth, Kentucky, USA
30 December 1911, Los Angeles, California, USA
10 October 1915, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA
13 November 1913, Brooklyn, New York, USA
December 12, 1946 in Kentucky, USA
29 September 1916, New York, USA
16 June 1916, Los Angeles County, California, USA
15 December 1911, New York City, New York, USA
25 January 1908, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, USA
14 May 1923, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
April 08, 2007
One of Lang's most accomplished and influential noir crimers, with a top-notch turn from Glenn Ford as the avenging cop-angel, a role that Clint Eastwood (Dirty Harry) and Charles Bronson (Death Wish) would develop in their 1970s revenge thrillers.
July 20, 2002
In many ways, Fritz Lang's The Big Heat, scripted by former crime reporter Sydney Boehm, laid the groundwork not only for "Dirty Harry," but for the whole sub-genre of 'rogue cop' films that began to surface during the Vietnam era.
January 20, 2006
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.
April 09, 2008
Lang presents one of the great works of film noir. The acting is first rate, Boehm's script tough and efficient, and the whole affair is photographed with the appropriate expressionist, chiaroscuro lighting.
July 25, 2009
Everything about "The Big Heat" is "hard boiled."
December 05, 2009
Fritz Lang, once the master of grand expressionist scenes, directs with a stripped down style and a lean narrative drive...
April 09, 2008
Brutal, atmospheric, and exciting -- highly recommended.
April 09, 2008
A scalding face-full of harsh reality, courtesy Fritz Lang.
June 24, 2006
Lang strips down William P McGivern's novel to essentials, giving the story a narrative drive as efficient and powerful as a handgun.
May 20, 2003
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.
April 09, 2008
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.
May 22, 2012
For those who take their film black...Moral rot gets full play in Lang's 1953 police drama. [Blu-ray]