I watched Lang's THE BIG HEAT last night for the first time.
It was everything I expected, and more.
Glenn Ford probably gave his best screen performance as Bannion, he was excellent throughout the picture. And Grahame's performance should have netted her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar...but sadly she wasn't even nominated. It contains many classic scenes and great moments, and is well-written, with surprisingly very few plot holes or weak/unnecessary twists.
I found Lang's film noir unusual in that it provides so many tough and tender moments. Those early scenes between Ford and Jocelyn Brando are beautifully played out-we finally get to see the cop away from the beat and the criminals, as a family man. These are lovely scenes...Brando cutting up that huge steak...the film has so many wonderful little bits of detail throughout...
It is violent and brutal yet so emotional....the scene where Bannion's wife is killed is both shocking and heart-breaking. And then, when asked how his little daughter is holding up, he puts it so achingly bluntly "She thinks her mother is on a trip".
Grahame's performance is a big highlight. Of course, everyone remembers the scene where Marvin (also perfectly cast, and very early in his career...his character reminds me of Dan Duryea)throws hot coffee on poor Debby- but I think her best scenes come with Ford. I just really loved her performance. Her last scene, where pays back Marvin for his brutal act by pouring coffee in his (along with blowing the lid on Lagana), is shot, and dies in Bannion's arms, is one of the most wonderfully acted scenes I think I've ever seen. The death scene with Ford had tears running down my cheeks, which is unusual for me when watching a noir...I think it's the best scene in the picture...
Grahame asks Ford tell her about his dead wife, what she was really like. It's such a perfectly written and acted scene- and we get the sense that Debby ("I like her...I like her a lot") wishes she had a man who loved her enough to say those lovely, simple, yet beautiful things about her . She wishes Ford could have loved her...or anyone really...and Bannion chokes up, realizing what he had and lost, and what Debby never had....
This noir packs a huge emotional punch (at least for me). One of the top noir picks of the 50's.
It was everything I expected, and more.
Glenn Ford probably gave his best screen performance as Bannion, he was excellent throughout the picture. And Grahame's performance should have netted her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar...but sadly she wasn't even nominated. It contains many classic scenes and great moments, and is well-written, with surprisingly very few plot holes or weak/unnecessary twists.
I found Lang's film noir unusual in that it provides so many tough and tender moments. Those early scenes between Ford and Jocelyn Brando are beautifully played out-we finally get to see the cop away from the beat and the criminals, as a family man. These are lovely scenes...Brando cutting up that huge steak...the film has so many wonderful little bits of detail throughout...
It is violent and brutal yet so emotional....the scene where Bannion's wife is killed is both shocking and heart-breaking. And then, when asked how his little daughter is holding up, he puts it so achingly bluntly "She thinks her mother is on a trip".
Grahame's performance is a big highlight. Of course, everyone remembers the scene where Marvin (also perfectly cast, and very early in his career...his character reminds me of Dan Duryea)throws hot coffee on poor Debby- but I think her best scenes come with Ford. I just really loved her performance. Her last scene, where pays back Marvin for his brutal act by pouring coffee in his (along with blowing the lid on Lagana), is shot, and dies in Bannion's arms, is one of the most wonderfully acted scenes I think I've ever seen. The death scene with Ford had tears running down my cheeks, which is unusual for me when watching a noir...I think it's the best scene in the picture...
Grahame asks Ford tell her about his dead wife, what she was really like. It's such a perfectly written and acted scene- and we get the sense that Debby ("I like her...I like her a lot") wishes she had a man who loved her enough to say those lovely, simple, yet beautiful things about her . She wishes Ford could have loved her...or anyone really...and Bannion chokes up, realizing what he had and lost, and what Debby never had....
This noir packs a huge emotional punch (at least for me). One of the top noir picks of the 50's.