THE BIG HEAT Criterion 4K Blu-Ray

Review by Glenn Andreiev

THE BIG HEAT

Screenplay by Sydney Boehm

Cinematography by Charles Lang (no relation to Fritz)

Produced by Robert Arthur

Directed by Fritz Lang

Cast: Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Lee Marvin, Jocelyn Brando

1953 – Columbia / Criterion

Fritz Lang's 1953 THE BIG HEAT is a mob thriller with richly seasoned horror movie elements. Its plot has been often repeated in numerous "good cop gone bad" movies. Dave Bannion, played with a touch of madness by Glenn Ford, is an honest detective investigating the recent suicide of high-ranking official Tom Duncan. The case is soon connected with a local mob boss, Mike Lagana. There is no proof to convict Lagana, who has city leaders as well as Bannion's supervisor in his pocket. Employed by Lagana is the tough and psychotic Vince Stone, chillingly played by movie newcomer Lee Marvin. Bannion is becoming a threat to Lagana. One night, while at home with his young daughter and his beautiful wife, played by Jocelyn Brando (yes, the sister of that other Brando), his life shatters. As all seems peaceful, his wife steps outside and is instantly killed in a car bomb explosion. Now Bannion has only one goal, both professionally and privately: to hunt down the monsters responsible.

THE BIG HEAT may be Fritz Lang's most celebrated Hollywood film. After establishing himself as a top director in Germany, he made his Hollywood debut in 1936 with the expressionistic lynching drama FURY. His final Hollywood film was the 1956 courtroom drama BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT. Martin Scorsese once pointed out that Fritz Lang's German films, like METROPOLIS and M, have a very dark, expressionistic look, while his American films often have a flatter, almost soap-opera look. This is especially true with THE BIG HEAT. Scorsese and others feel that Lang’s silent films openly convey a creepy atmosphere, whereas in his American films, the audience has to project that creepiness onto the flat images themselves.

Criterion's recent Blu-ray release of THE BIG HEAT has a beautiful transfer that captures this flat visual quality in a positive, crystal-clear way. Despite the standard lighting, the film is still an expressionistic thriller only Fritz Lang could create. THE BIG HEAT also showcases his flair for visual storytelling. Consider the scene where the volatile Vince interrogates his girlfriend, played by the talented Gloria Grahame. We see a close-up of Lee Marvin losing self-control. He looks down. Cut to his point of view of a boiling coffee pot. I once showed this scene in a class on mob movies, and when the coffee pot appeared on screen, the audience let out a collective gasp. That’s all Lang needs to show for us to sense that something horrific is about to happen, and it does. Marvin pulls the pot away, and we hear an off-camera splash and scream. The camera lingers on the coffee heater. Lang doesn’t need to show Grahame’s face blistering. The horror is in our imagination. This moment recalls his famous scene from the 1931 German thriller M, where a little girl’s ball rolls out from under shrubbery, signaling her murder. Lang once again forces us to fill in the blanks. Interestingly, the first choice for Vince’s ill-fated girlfriend was Marilyn Monroe, but 20th Century Fox wanted too much money to loan her out.

Within seconds of the opening credits, the film presents a suicide, a recurring plot point throughout Lang’s career. Suicides appear or are referenced in films such as DR. MABUSE, METROPOLIS, SPIES, MAN HUNT, and THE 1000 EYES OF DR. MABUSE. This may have stemmed from the fact that Lisa Rosenthal, Lang's first wife, died from a gunshot wound, officially ruled a suicide. However, some in Hollywood, including famed cinematographer Karl Freund, believed Lang had murdered her.

Most disturbing is Dave Bannion’s character arc. He doesn’t start out entirely pure. In an early scene, while trying to assemble his child’s toy, he loses his temper slightly, frightening his little girl. Later comes the famous bedtime scene from THE BIG HEAT, often used in film clips and even borrowed by Scorsese in MEAN STREETS, where Bannion tucks his daughter into bed and flatly recites “The Three Little Kittens.” He rushes through the story, agitated and impatient: “They lost their mittens and they began to cry, and they had a terrible time... and the mother came home.” Is he overworked? Is the city’s corruption rubbing off on him? Soon after, the off-camera explosion kills his wife, and Bannion pulls her body from the burning car. This event ignites his bloodlust. Glenn Ford, equally adept at comedy and melodrama, delivers a chillingly realistic performance of a man becoming the very monster he hunts.

The Criterion Blu-ray of THE BIG HEAT not only has a beautiful transfer of this compelling thriller, but also two audio interviews conducted in the early 1970s with Fritz Lang, where he explains his American career and storytelling methods. There's also a terrific commentary track by film historians Alain Silver and James Ursini. And there is more. For the film noir fan, or the Fritz Lang fan, this beautiful Blu-ray is a must.