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.
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.
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.
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.
EmanuelLevy.Com
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.
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.
