White Heat (1949)

After virtually defining the gangster genre during the 1930s, Jimmy Cagney played many different roles, tried independent filmmaking, finally returning to his gangster roots in Warner Bros explosive blockbuster White Heat.

White Heat is probably the ultimate gangster movie, perfectly melding the 1930s gangster style with the post WWII film noir sensibilities. Cagney was the most indelible gangster character, essaying the part many times for Warner Bros but in White Heat's Cody Jarrett he made the most memorable performance of his career. Jarrett was an irredeemable thug with a mean streak a mile wide.

Unlike Cagney's earlier gangster personas, this character had added psychological complexity thanks to Hollywood's discovery of Freud; an Oedipus complex and blinding migraine headaches were hung on the framework of Cagney's mean little thug, with Cagney's performance as Jarrett being nothing less than bravura. There are several things he does in this movie to illustrate his madness and it bears repeated watching as you probably won’t believe your eyes when you see a 50 year-old man sit on his mother’s lap.

The story is a cut above the usual gangster fiction, based on characters like the Ma Barker gang and there are a lot of thrilling developments leading up to the climax that is one of the great scenes in cinema history. Besides the plentiful action there are also complexities in the relationships. Cagney, of course, has a thing for his aged mother, played by Margaret Wycherly (Sergeant York) in a career performance. Cagney not only travels with his mother, but keeps it in the family bringing his wife (Virginia Mayo) a good looking moll with a wandering eye, along, too. The gang members are mostly loyal, except for Big Ed (Steve Cochran), who is mixing it up with Mayo on the sly and thinks he should be leading the gang, too. When Cody gets put in jail, Ed makes his move, but Cody still has a few tricks left.

In contrast to the colorful depiction of the criminals, the police are focused on technology with sophisticated tracking devices mounted in mobile units. The police, led by Edmund O'Brien, never have the polish or pizzazz afforded the gangsters.

Action specialist Raoul Walsh (The Roaring 20s, They Died with Their Boots On) was the perfect director to capture Cagney's tour de force. Walsh specialized in quick moving stories featuring men of action – his characters seldom talked when they could do something and this movie runs true to form. The first scene shows Cagney's gang sticking up a train and Cagney's remorseless killing of the witnesses when one of his men calls him by name. Walsh frames his action with medium to long shots with few close-ups; this approach keeps the action moving along and allows more information to be included in the frame. Walsh's muscular action sequences say more than pages of dialogue.

The Warner Bros DVD is made in the Warner Night at the Movies format, with the typical features that would be shown when the movie was first run at the theater. Besides the pristine B&W 113 – minute movie, there is a newsreel; a 20 minute comedy short; a Bugs Bunny cartoon; and the trailer from The Fountainhead - the movie that followed White Heat in 1949's release schedule. There is also a featurette on the "making of" White Heat and a full length commentary by film scholar Drew Casper. The featurette and commentary are very educational, if a bit dry, and will answer most of your questions about this fundamental movie.

White Heat gets my highest recommendation.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening