Despite not being widely recognized in the modern era, The great heat remains one of the greatest revenge stories ever told on the big screen. Launched in 1952, The great heat is a famous film noir with three big names in Hollywood: Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame and Lee Marvin. Glenn Ford, an actor who helped spearhead some of the best noir films of all time, played the lead role of Detective Dave Bannion, the subject of The Big Heat revenge narrative.
Revenge is among the most common themes in Hollywood films, with westerns and crime thrillers using it regularly for decades. Over the years, bloody crusades to right a wrong have provided all sorts of fascinating adventures, from High Plains Drifter to John Wick. Older films, even those subject to numerous content restrictions, have also found great success in making the quest for revenge the central focus of a story. In fact, revenge is a common plot element in film noir, a genre primarily associated with the 1940s and 1950s. One particular film from the 1950s utilized it so well that it has rarely been equaled.
Big Heat's Setup for Bannion's Revenge Story Is Surprisingly Dark
When it comes to film noir, there is a natural expectation of desolation. But despite this, The great heat he still manages to surprise with how far he is willing to go. It starts with a suicide and the investigation that followed, but that hardly defines the type of film The great heat will be. Instead, it creates what appears to be a standard murder mystery movie, where the hero - Glenn Ford's Detective Dave Bannion - angers both the criminal underworld and his own fellow cops when he starts asking too many questions about why a police officer killed himself. As it progresses, Bannion's story seems well suited to the course given to the genre, but that's what makes the actual setup of the plot so impressive.
The film occasionally interrupts Bannon's investigation with some quiet family moments, where he returns from work and interacts with his wife and daughter. One such scene shows him reading a bedtime story to his daughter while his wife goes out to do something. The camera remains focused on Bannon and his daughter when an explosion abruptly occurs; upon entering Bannion's car, his wife unknowingly detonates a bomb obviously intended for him. In an instant, The great heat becomes a completely different film as it now becomes evident that the desire to find his wife's killer was always the true point behind his story.
Dave Bannon is a great revenge film protagonist
Before the explosion, it may have been difficult to differentiate Dave Bannion from all the other film noir detectives willing to anger the powers that be if it meant getting to the truth. However, it doesn't take long to The great heat to transform Bannion into a truly great film noir protagonist. Ford expertly portrays Bannion as someone who is singularly focused on taking down Lagana, the crime boss he blames for his wife's death. Bannion's hatred of Lagana (and everything associated with him) helps Ford deliver some excellent, scorching lines, including "I wouldn't touch Vince Stone's girl with a ten foot pole."
Bannion is portrayed as a character who wholeheartedly despises criminals, so much so that he cannot tolerate anyone he associates with that world. Throughout history, The great heat gradually paints a picture of Bannion's views on morality, presenting him as someone who believes that people who commit crimes are less than human and are therefore free to be the targets of his crusade for revenge. This is evident when he physically threatens Mrs. Duncan, the widow of the original murder victim and a person paid to remain silent about the crime.
The Big Heat Shows How to Do Revenge Movies Right
Glenn Ford gives a compelling performance that helps make The Big Heat a film noir gem
The great heat is a perfect example of how to make a proper revenge film. Being a 1950s film, it was limited in terms of how much violence it could show on screen, but that doesn't hurt. The great heat because it's not an action film based on brutal fight scenes and shootouts. Instead, the film is more concerned with the personal, psychological element of the story.
At the center of any revenge story is hate, and that is, ultimately, the emotion that drives The great heat
At the center of any revenge story is hate, and that is, ultimately, the emotion that drives The great heat. Animosity towards the film's villains fuels the actions of David Bannion and the main female character played by Gloria Grahame. The great heat explores the emotional complexities of what the two characters are going through, what boundaries they are willing to cross, and the consequences of going down that path.