White Heat (1949)
Grade: 90
In 1949, James Cagney revitalized his career by returning to the stereotype that first made him a star. Cagney's pugnacious, tough-guy onscreen persona was ideally suited for playing gangsters. In "White Heat", pathos is added to his character, giving him even more opportunity to dominate scenes and demonstrate his talents. It also helps that the direction is tight, the story is filled with action, the script has the right mix of colorful slang and one-liners, and the supporting cast (except for O'Brien) is excellent.
Cody Jarrett (Cagney) is the unstable, murderous leader of a gang that specializes in robberies. Verna (Virginia Mayo) is his selfish, unfaithful wife. Big Ed (Steve Cochran) harbors schemes to kill Cody, steal his wife, and take over the gang. Cody is devoted to his mother (Margaret Wycherly), a no-nonsense elderly woman who is part of the gang and lends Cody needed emotional support.
To avoid 'taking the fall' for a 'train job', Cody 'cops a rap' in another state. The 'Feds' plant 'copper' Hank Fallon (Edmond O'Brien) as Cody's cellmate. Fallon works his way into Cody's gang, which busts out of prison. Cody deals with Big Ed, but soon the police are on the trail, leading to a finale shootout.
"White Heat" has two Cagney scenes which have become famous in film circles. He has a nervous breakdown in the prison cafeteria, complete with kicking, screaming, crawling on tables, and punching multiple guards. The film's ending involves an industrial plant that suffers massive explosions, and has Cagney shouting 'Top of the World, Ma!' as the fireballs swell.
Cagney, Mayo and Wycherly are particularly good. O'Brien is competent, but curiously dislikable, perhaps because his pedestrian good-guy/hero role compares poorly with Cagney's charisma. His character has one of the crummiest jobs in filmdom: who would want to be an undercover prison inmate?
The script does has some psychobabble, and the revealing of the Trader's identity seems unlikely. Still, any minor problems that "White Heat" may have do not interfere with its status as an entertaining, intense crime drama.
kollers@mpsi.net http://members.tripod.com/~Brian_Koller/movies.html
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