Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Consummate film tough-guy James Cagney was almost fifty years old in 1949 when White Heat was filmed but his talent comes through as strong as ever in his portrayal of the murderous criminal, Cody Jarrett. After his 1942 triumph in the musical classic Yankee Doodle Dandy, this film allows Cagney to reclaim his gangster image.

White Heat is not a run-of-the-mill gangster film. Mixed in with the requisite shoot-outs and gang killings are a few psychological elements, such as Jarrett's odd fixation with his mother. Ma Jarrett (Margaret Wycherly) is not only the object of Cody's affection and the only human being he really cares for. She is also Cody's protector and partner-in-crime.

White Heat is a very violent film and opens with the Jarrett gang robbing a mail train. During the robbery, the gang kills four people and make off with $300,000. Although the robbery is successful, the gang has to go into hiding in the mountains to avoid police. The members of the gang are uneasy with Jarrett's brutal leadership and discuss among themselves his fitness to lead them. "Big Ed" Somers (Steve Cochran) envies Cody's position but is leery of confronting Cody because Jarrett's reputation for eliminating opposition in any form is well known. Still, Ed tries to plant seeds of unrest among the other gang members. Also hiding out with the gang are Ma Jarrett and Verna (Virginia Mayo), Cody's sexy blonde wife. Verna is strongly attracted to Big Ed, but also fears the wrath of Jarrett. Cody's mother does not hide her contempt for the gold-digging Verna and uses every opportunity to warn Cody against trusting his wife. While Cody is aware of Verna's little deceptions, he dismisses them as unimportant since Verna is little more than a plaything for Cody and not considered a serious threat.

Cody's main problem is that he, during periods of stress, is prone to violent seizures that incapacitate him with almost unbearable pain and temporary blindness. When these episodes occur, Ma Jarrett has always been there to protect Cody from those who might attempt to take advantage of the situation.

The gang decides to leave the mountain cabin when they find that a winter storm is approaching. Since one of the gang members, Zuckie (Ford Rainey), was horribly burned and blinded during the train robbery, Cody sees him as a liability. As the gang prepares to leave, Jarrett tells another member of the gang, Cotton (Wally Cassell), to shoot Zuckie. Not wanting to kill the injured man, Cotton fires a shot and whispers that he will try to come back. Later, Zuckie's frozen body is found by hunters and police are notified. Police manage to find out who Zuckie is by his fingerprints. Knowing that he is a member of the Jarrett gang and figuring that his face was burned by steam, they deduce that the Jarrett gang is responsible for the train robbery.

The gang moves to a small hotel to hide out and Cody's mother goes into town to buy Cody his favorite treat--strawberries. It is this act of motherly affection that will mark the beginning of the end for the Jarrett gang. Since area police are already on their trail, Ma Jarrett's car is easily spotted and is trailed to town. The car is marked by police and followed back to the motel. Acting on a hunch by Ma Jarrett, the gang flees the hotel and Cody comes up with a plan. In preparation for the train robbery, Cody had committed another robbery around the same time in another state. Confessing to the lesser crime would net him a two-year sentence, while the train robbery would mean the death penalty. So, Cody turns himself in and prepares to do his two years, leaving the gang and money with his mother.

While Cody is in the penitentiary, the police plot to outwit the criminal and set a plan in motion that will result in his capture. There is a particularly dramatic scene in the penitentiary when Jarrett finds out that his mother is dead--the victim of a murder. After his release, Jarrett gets revenge for his mother's murder but later he, without his mother to protect him, falls into traps of his own making. He finally succumbs to the madness that had claimed his father and brother.

This Warner Brothers film was directed by Raoul Walsh, who had worked with Cagney years earlier in The Roaring Twenties. Both Walsh and Cagney deserved academy awards for their work on the film but neither received an Oscar. Even without Oscar recognition, White Heat remains a classic crime drama. The last scene is legendary, as is Cagney's powerful acting. The action in this film lasts throughout and right up until the final moment when the insane Cody refuses to be taken by police and climbs to certain death in a large chemical plant. As he causes a fatal explosion, the madman defiantly exclaims to his dead mother, "Made it Ma! Top of the world!".




Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: VHS