The Big Heat

The Big Heat is a gripping film noir about the policeman Dave Bannion, who is determined to solve a case that at first glance looks like suicide but is in reality murder. Another murder follows without the police leadership being persuaded that Bannion's theory is worth testing. This convinces him that the Mafia is behind it, and he is right. The Mafia boss Lagana wants Bannion's investigation stopped at all costs, but a murder attempt fails when Bannion's wife becomes the victim of the car bomb. Bannion takes matters into his own hands against the wishes of his superiors, for which he is suspended. Only when he gets help from the gangster's moll Debby Marsh, girlfriend, now ex, of Lagana's right-hand man Vince Stone, does Bannion's undertaking look set to succeed.

The Big Heat has the hallmarks of film noir, as Lang makes liberal use of light and shadow effects.