Stark shadows. Amorality. Violence. With all those elements in common, it’s no shock that German expressionist innovator Fritz Lang became one of the greatest directors of postwar American noir, and 1953’s The Big Heat may be his most searing work of that era. Glenn Ford stars as Det. Sgt. Dave Bannion, a homicide cop caught in a web of sex, death, and lies as he tries to uncover the truth behind a suicide and runs afoul of Lee Marvin in one of his first, unforgettable roles as a mob enforcer. – Richard Whittaker
