Director: Raoul Walsh
Screenplay: Ivan Goff and Ben Robert, based on the story White Heat by Virginia Kellogg
Starring: James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien, Margaret Wycherly, Steve Cochrane,
Running Time: 113 minutes
Genre: Crime, thriller, film noir
This is one of the quintessential Hollywood gangster movies. Tracing the violent life of psychotic robber Cody Jarrett (Cagney) who despite being married to Verna (Mayo), has a deeply unhealthy bond with his equally ruthless mother (Wycherly) who is the only person that he seems to have any real feelings for.
This is an exciting, influential film and is widely regarded as one of the best films ever made. It has aged well, and the almost documentary style film-making is still in evidence today. The ending of the film has become one of the iconic scenes in movie history, and the prison cafeteria sequence is startling. James Cagney turns in a gripping performance as the savage, but strangely sympathetic Jarrett, and Virginia Mayo is impressive as Verna, who Jarrett cruelly ignores, but has her own capacity for extreme ruthlessness. Edmond O'Brien makes less of an impression, however, as the square-jawed hero. This is a must see for thriller fans.
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