White Heat
This article is on the 1949 film; for information on The Velvet Underground's second album, see White Light/White Heat.White Heat is a
1949 crime film starring
James Cagney,
Edmond O'Brien and
Virginia Mayo. Directed by
Raoul Walsh, it is considered one of the great
gangster films and a classic
film noir.
Cody Jarrett (Cagney) is a ruthless, mentally disturbed criminal who is overly attached to his mother, 'Ma' Jarret (
Margaret Wycherly). While in prison, he learns of her death and goes berserk in the mess hall in a memorable scene. 'Big Ed' Somers (
Steve Cochran), Cody's right hand man on the outside, has designs on both Cody's gang and his treacherous wife Verna (Mayo), so he hires a con, Roy Parker (Paul Guilfoyle), to kill him. He fails and when Cody breaks out with the help of fellow inmate Vic Pardo (film noir veteran O'Brien), he takes Parker along, forcing him to get into a car trunk. Later, when Parker complains "It's stuffy, I need some air.", Cody replies "Oh, stuffy, huh? I'll give ya a little air." and "creates" some airholes by emptying his gun into the trunk.
Once out, Cody invites Vic to join his gang both out of gratitude and a genuine liking for his fellow escapee. After dispatching Big Ed, he plans another robbery. The gang targets a company payroll, but is trapped in a chemical plant by police tipped off by Vic, who is actually an
undercover federal agent. Cody climbs a gigantic storage tank and, when he realizes there is no way out, starts shooting holes in the tank, shouting "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" just before it goes up in a spectacular explosion.
Critical reaction to the film was positive, and today it's considered a classic.
Tim Dirk on the website Greatfilms.org writes that the film may have also inspired many other successful films:
"This classic film anticipated the heist films of the early 50s (for example
John Huston's 1950
The Asphalt Jungle and
Stanley Kubrick's 1956
The Killing), accentuated the
semi-documentary style of films of the period (the 1948
The Naked City), and contained
film-noirish elements, including the shady
black and white cinematography, the
femme fatale character, and the twisted psyche of the criminal gangster."
It was also part of
Time's all-time 100 list.
*One of the convicts who passes along Jarrett's request to find out how his mother is, and then returns the information of her death, is played by legendary athlete
Jim Thorpe. The scene was parodied in the film
Johnny Dangerously.
*"Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" was picked as number 18 of
AFI's
100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes.
*Verna: "Cody, my radio won't work."
Cody: "Whuddya want for it, unemployment insurance?"
The movie was nominated for a Best Writing, Motion Picture Story at the Oscars and was nominated for Best Motion Picture at the
Edgar Allan Poe Awards.
In 2003, the National Film Preservation Board deemed the film "culturally significant" and selected for preservation in the
National Film Registry.
The character of Cody Jarrett was based on New York murderer Francis Crowley, who engaged in a pitched battle with police in the spring of 1931 at the age of 19. Executed on January 21, 1932, his last words were: "Send my love to my mother."
*
Greatest Films Web Site*
Rotten Tomatoes Reviews*
White Heat at Movie Tome*
Francis Crowley at *
The Internet Crime libraryEdmond O'Brien http://www.edmondobrien.com
