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Community reviews
From TMDb members · 2 total- John Chard9/10
Fritz Lang deals nicely in obsession and corruption. Detective Dave Bannion is investigating the suicide of corrupt cop Tom Duncan. As he gets deeper, and his colleagues get nervous, his wife is inadvertently killed by a car bomb that was meant for him, he turns from mannered…
- griggs799/10
_The Big Heat_ is a blistering slice of film noir; its shocking violence—especially the infamous coffee-throwing scene—still jolts in its cruelty, surpassing most of its contemporaries. Fritz Lang crafts a relentlessly dark narrative of corruption and vengeance, with Gloria Graha…
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The Big Heat
“A hard cop and a soft dame.”
77%
Movie
1h 29m
AI Analysis
The Big Heat (1953) — AI movie analysis
WatchMind AI generated this AI analysis of The Big Heat (1953) — a movie tagged as Crime and Thriller with tense moods and fast-paced pacing.
Story & themes: After the suspicious suicide of a fellow cop, tough homicide detective Dave Bannion takes the law into his own hands when he sets out to smash a vicious crime syndicate. Our models also surface themes such as identity, conflict, and relationships from synopsis and genre signals.
Watch context: Best suited for general audiences. Expect fast-paced storytelling (~89 min).
Community signal: TMDb members rate The Big Heat 77% (550 votes) — strong audience scores for this movie.
AI verdict
The Big Heat is a film worth prioritising when you want something with strong audience scores — our AI analysis flags it as a strong match for its genre and tone profile.
Algorithmic AI analysis from genres, synopsis, pacing heuristics, and TMDb community scores — not a generative chatbot. How WatchMind works.
Insights
Audience & engagement
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TMDb audience score
77%
from 550 TMDb votes
WatchMind sentiment
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Views trend (14 days)
Daily title page views on WatchMind
Synopsis
After the suspicious suicide of a fellow cop, tough homicide detective Dave Bannion takes the law into his own hands when he sets out to smash a vicious crime syndicate.
Quick facts
- Type
- Movie
- Status
- Released
- Release date
- 1953-10-14
- Runtime
- 1h 29m
- TMDB rating
- 7.7
- TMDB ID
- 14580
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Frequently asked questions
Where can I watch The Big Heat (1953)?
The Big Heat is available for discovery on WatchMind. You can find official links to rent, buy, or stream from licensed digital stores like Apple TV and Amazon in our "Where to Watch" section.
Is there an official trailer for The Big Heat?
Yes, you can watch the official trailer for The Big Heat directly on this page. We pull the latest video metadata from TMDb and play it via YouTube integration.
What is The Big Heat about?
After the suspicious suicide of a fellow cop, tough homicide detective Dave Bannion takes the law into his own hands when he sets out to smash a vicious crime syndicate.
Is there an AI analysis for The Big Heat?
Yes. WatchMind publishes an AI analysis on this page — tone, pacing, audience fit, and community scores from TMDb metadata and recommendation models (not a chatbot). Scroll to the AI Analysis section or read the meta description summary.
How long is the movie The Big Heat?
The official runtime for The Big Heat is approximately 89 minutes.
Cast & crew
Names and photos from The Movie Database (TMDb). Follow links on themoviedb.org for full filmographies.
Directors & writers
Cast

Glenn Ford
Det. Sgt. Dave Bannion

Gloria Grahame
Debby Marsh

Jocelyn Brando
Katie Bannion

Alexander Scourby
Mike Lagana

Lee Marvin
Vince Stone

Jeanette Nolan
Bertha Duncan

Peter Whitney
Tierney

Willis Bouchey
Lt. Ted Wilks

Robert Burton
Det. Gus Burke

Adam Williams
Larry Gordon

Howard Wendell
Police Commissioner Higgins

Chris Alcaide
George Rose

Michael Granger
Hugo

Dorothy Green
Lucy Chapman

Carolyn Jones
Doris
- R
Ric Roman
Baldy
- D
Dan Seymour
Mr. Atkins

Edith Evanson
Selma Parker
Audience notes
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Community reviews
Written by TMDb members — same catalogue as our movie & TV metadata. API terms
Fritz Lang deals nicely in obsession and corruption. Detective Dave Bannion is investigating the suicide of corrupt cop Tom Duncan. As he gets deeper, and his colleagues get nervous, his wife is inadvertently killed by a car bomb that was meant for him, he turns from mannered family man into a vengeful obsessive, the heat is most definitely coming down on those responsible. Writer Sydney Boehm took a "Saturday Evening Post" serial (written by William McGiven), and crafted a tight, biting and incredibly bleak script. Handed it into director Fritz Lang's hands, who then cloaked it (along with Charles Lang's perfectly apt photography) with dripping noir nastiness. Playing out as a tale of murder, revenge and pure hatred, The Big Heat holds up now as one of the best of the dialogue driven noir pieces of the 50s. Lang isn't concerned with showing the violence exactly, more like the reaction of our protagonists to the violence in the piece, this makes for a sort of ethereal viewing, with the sets themselves becoming integral to our characters personalities. The cast are excellent, Glenn Ford as Bannion was never better than he is here, but even he is playing second fiddle to the fabulous Gloria Grahame as Debby Marsh, a Moll who makes a decision that has very far reaching consequences. It begs the question as to why Grahame never had a far better career, for here she is one of film noir's best (anti?) heroines. Rounding out a trio of great performances are Lee Marvin as the vile and brutal Vince Stone - Marvin of course would go on from here and deliver a ream of brilliant gruff hard bastard performances. A potent, gripping and superb piece of film noir. 9/10
_The Big Heat_ is a blistering slice of film noir; its shocking violence—especially the infamous coffee-throwing scene—still jolts in its cruelty, surpassing most of its contemporaries. Fritz Lang crafts a relentlessly dark narrative of corruption and vengeance, with Gloria Grahame and Lee Marvin delivering performances that are nothing short of magnetic. Their talent is sure to leave you appreciative and in awe. However, Glenn Ford's portrayal of Bannion feels disappointingly one-note, his stiffness paling against Marvin's menacing energy. A near-masterpiece, held back by its lead.
More to explore
Hand-picked from TMDb similar and recommended lists for The Big Heat. Each link opens a full WatchMind page with synopsis, trailer, community reviews, and official store links—so you can compare tone and audience overlap before you pick what to watch next.










