- Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford) is the one cop in town who refuses to compromise. That's why he starts asking the tough questions when Bertha Duncan (Jeanette Nolan) gives reasons for her late husband's suicide that the man's former mistress, Lucy Chapman (Dorothy Green), doesn't believe. When Chapman's abused body is found abandoned along a county road, Bannion drops any considerations of jurisdiction and devotes himself to seeing that justice is done. While the other cops are busy waiting out their pensions, Bannion and his wife Katie (Jocelyn Brando) start getting death threats from the mob. Bannion marches in to the home of syndicate boss Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby) to show that he's not intimidated, but the repercussions for Bannion and his family are severe. Nevertheless, Bannion's resolve persists as the collateral damage continues to accumulate.
- Although the police commissioner strips him of his badge, Bannion strikes out independently to nail some of Lagana's lackeys on the way to the top. While staking out the local mob bar, the detective witnesses Lagana's right-hand man Vince Stone (Lee Marvin) enacting some violence that recalls the death of Miss Chapman. When Bannion intercedes, Stone's girlfriend Debby Marsh (Gloria Grahame) is so impressed that she follows the detective back to his hotel room. Unfortunately, the vicious Stone interprets this as a defection and deals with Debby in a way that seems extreme even by mob standards. Although horribly scarred, Debby helps Bannion by doing things that an upright homicide detective can't do, and the two of them finally manage to unravel Lagana's empire.
- Fritz Lang's The Big Heat is a very impressive detective noir that overflows with memorable characters and great performances. Gloria Grahame's brilliant portrayal of a jaded gun moll is nearly unrivaled in the genre, except perhaps by Claire Trevor in Key Largo. Debby's playful small talk ("rich is better") tells us more about her character than any monologue, and her appreciation of retributive justice is something to behold. Lee Marvin also gives an incredibly memorable performance as Vince Stone. The coffee scene shows Marvin at his most brutal, and that's saying a lot for someone who made his career out of playing the biggest bastard in the room. And then there's Bannion, played absolutely straight by Glenn Ford. He's the kind of guy who would burn down the haystack to find the needle, but his dedication and simplicity make him tough to dislike. Whether his approach is justified, though, I suppose depends on how much one blames him for the death of nearly every woman he meets. Like its protagonist, The Big Heat doesn't compromise and pulls no punches. I can't think of a better way to describe Fritz Lang's career.
