On account of the pandemic, you may be noticing a shortage of good, new movies on your streaming services. This shortage will hopefully correct itself soon, but in the meantime, this is a good opportunity to check out some older films that aren't quite as famous as “Citizen Kane” or “Casablanca.” “The Big Heat” is one I had never heard of, starring actors I had barely heard of, but it is an excellent noir about police corruption.
Glenn Ford plays police sergeant Dave Bannion, who is assigned to investigate the suicide of a fellow cop, Tom Duncan. Duncan's widow assures Bannion that her husband killed himself due to ill health, but when Duncan's mistress sings a different song, Bannion begins to suspect something is up. When he comes under increasing pressure to drop the case, he knows something is crooked.
“The Big Heat” was directed by Fritz Lang, and while most would say this was a decade or so after his prime, the film still has that touch of genius that sets it apart from the typical pulp films of its day. My only criticism is that the movie struggles to find its tone. Despite the fact that the movie starts with a suicide, I was still caught a bit off guard by how violent and dark it gets. In most noir films, the mood is tense throughout, but “The Big Heat” lulls us into complacency with some scenes of domestic bliss. Maybe this was intentional, to let us feel how unprepared Bannion is for the dark world into which he is thrown. In any case, it's a cool movie, with a memorable performance from Gloria Grahame. It's not exactly “Casablanca,” but in these pandemic years, we can't afford to be so picky.
3.5 stars out of 5
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