''White Heat'' is a 1949 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

starring

James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...

Virginia Mayo Virginia Mayo (born Virginia Clara Jones; November 30, 1920 – January 17, 2005) was an American actress and dancer. She was in a series of popular comedy films with Danny Kaye and was Warner Bros.' biggest box-office draw in the late 1940s. S ...

, and

Edmond O'Brien Eamon Joseph O'Brien (; September 10, 1915 – May 9, 1985) was an American actor of stage, screen, and television, and film director. His career spanned almost 40 years, and he won one Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two stars on th ...

, and directed by

Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent cinema actor George Walsh. He wa ...

. Written by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, ''White Heat'' is based on a story by Virginia Kellogg, and is considered to be one of the best gangster movies of all time. In 2003, ''White Heat'' was added to the

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation (library and archival science), preservation, each selected for its cultural, historical, and aestheti ...

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Plot

Arthur "Cody" Jarrett is a ruthless, psychotic criminal and leader of the Jarrett gang. Although married to Verna, he is overly attached to his equally crooked and determined mother, "Ma" Jarrett. Cody and his gang rob a mail train in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

mountains, killing four members of the train's crew. While on the lam, Cody has a severe migraine, through which Ma nurses him. Afterward, Ma and Cody have a quick drink and toast, "Top of the world!", before rejoining the others. The gang splits up. One gang member was severely scalded, though, during the attack by escaping steam from the locomotive. The gang had left the helpless man in their hiding place. His body puts the police on Cody's trail. Informants enable the authorities to close in on a motor court in Los Angeles, where Cody, Verna, and Ma are holed up. Cody shoots and wounds

US Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current U.S. government departments. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and ...

investigator Philip Evans and makes his escape. He then puts his emergency scheme in motion - confess to a lesser crime committed by an associate in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

, at the same time as the train job—a federal crime—thus providing him with a false

alibi An alibi (, from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person under suspicion in a crime that they were in a different place when the offence was committed. During a police investigation, all suspects are usually a ...

and assuring him a lesser sentence. He turns himself in and is sentenced to one to three years in state prison. Evans, however, plants undercover agent Hank Fallon (as "Vic Pardo") in Cody's cell. His task is to find the "Trader," a fence who launders stolen money for Cody. On the outside, "Big Ed" Somers, Cody's ambitious right-hand man, takes charge. Verna betrays Cody and joins Ed. Ed pays inmate Roy Parker to kill Cody. In the prison workshop, Parker attempts to drop a heavy piece of machinery on Cody, but Hank pushes Cody out of the way, saving his life and gaining Cody's trust. Ma visits and vows to "take care of" Big Ed, despite Cody's frantic attempts to dissuade her. He starts worrying and decides to break out with Hank. Meanwhile, Verna is revealed to have murdered Ma, whom she despised (as well as vice versa), by shooting her in the back. Big Ed knows this and holds this information over Verna to keep her with him. When Cody learns of Ma's death from a new inmate, he goes berserk in the mess hall before deciding to escape. In the infirmary, he is diagnosed as having a "homicidal psychosis" and is recommended for transfer to an asylum. Another inmate sneaks him a gun, which Cody uses to take hostages, and along with Hank and their cellmates, Cody escapes. They also take along Parker, whom Cody later kills in cold blood. When they learn of Cody's escape, Big Ed and Verna anxiously await his return. Verna tries slipping away, but Cody catches her. Although Verna murdered Ma, she convinces Cody that Big Ed did it, so Cody guns him down. The gang welcome the escapees, including Hank, whom Cody likes and trusts. They start planning their next job. A stranger shows up at the gang's isolated hideout, asking to use the phone. Hank is concerned. Cody introduces the stranger as "The Trader", Daniel Winston. Cody plans to steal a chemical plant's payroll by using an empty tanker truck as a

Trojan horse In Greek mythology, the Trojan Horse () was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer, Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending ...

. Hank says he will repair Verna's radio, then rigs a signal transmitter and attaches it to the tanker; on the way to the plant, he manages to get a message to Evans. The police track the tanker and prepare an ambush. The gang gets into the payroll office, but the tanker driver, ex-con "Bo" Creel, recognizes Hank and informs Cody. Having tracked the truck to

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, using

direction finder Direction finding (DF), radio direction finding (RDF), or radiogoniometry is the use of radio wave Radio waves (formerly called Hertzian waves) are a type of electromagnetic radiation with the lowest frequencies and the longest wavele ...

s, the police surround the building and call on Cody to surrender; he decides to fight it out. When the police fire

tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the Mace (spray), early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the ey ...

into the office, Hank manages to escape. In the ensuing gun battle, the police kill most of Cody's gang and Verna is arrested. Cody shoots one of his own men for trying to surrender. Finally, only Cody is still loose. He flees to the top of a gigantic, globe-shaped gas storage tank. After Hank shoots Cody several times with a rifle, Cody fires at the tank, which bursts into flames. He shouts, "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!", before the tank explodes.

Cast

as Arthur "Cody" Jarrett Crowther, Bosley
"James Cagney Back as Gangster in 'White Heat,' Thriller Now at the Strand"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', published September 3, 1949. Retrieved July 31, 2017. *

as Verna Jarrett *

as Hank Fallon, alias Vic Pardo * Margaret Wycherly as "Ma" Jarrett * Steve Cochran as "Big Ed" Somers * John Archer as Philip Evans *

Wally Cassell Wally Cassell (March 3, 1912 – April 2, 2015) was an Italian-born American character actor and businessman. Early years Wally Cassell was born as Oswaldo Silvestri Trippilini Rolando Vincenza Castellano. (A 1951 newspaper article gives C ...

as Giovanni "Cotton" Valletti *

Fred Clark Frederick Leonard Clark (March 19, 1914 – December 5, 1968) was an American movie and television character actor, often playing in authoritative roles. Early years Born in Lincoln, California, Clark was the son of Fred Clark Sr. He attended S ...

as Daniel "The Trader" Winston

Production

Development

After winning an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

for ''

Yankee Doodle Dandy ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' is a 1942 American biographical musical drama film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owned Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, Geo ...

'', Cagney left

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

in 1942 to form his own production company with his business manager and brother,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

. After making four unsuccessful movies (including the well-regarded, but "financially disastrous" adaptation of

William Saroyan William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''The ...

's '' The Time of Your Life''), Cagney returned to Warner Bros. in mid-1949.Moss, Ann Marilyn
Film Essay for White Heat
''

National Film Preservation Board The United States National Film Preservation Board (NFPB) is the board selecting films for preservation in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry. It was established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988. The National Film Regis ...

'', publishing date unknown. Retrieved July 29, 2017. His decision to return was purely financial; Cagney admitted he "needed the money",Eagan, pages 424-425. and that he never forgot the "hell" Warner put him through in the 1930s when it came to renewing his contract. Likewise, the last thing Jack Warner wanted to see was Cagney back on his lot; referring to him as "that little bastard", he vowed to never take him back. Cagney's new contract with Warner enabled him to make $250,000 per film on a schedule of one film per year, plus script approval and the opportunity to develop projects for his own company. To make good on his comeback, Cagney settled on the script for ''White Heat''; on May 6, 1949, he signed on to portray Arthur "Cody" Jarrett. Much to Jack Warner's dismay, writers Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts suggested him for the lead, claiming, "there's only one man who can play arrettand make the rafters rock."Vallance, Tom
"Obituary: Ivan Goff"
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', published September 27, 1999. Retrieved July 31, 2017. For years, Cagney resisted gangster roles in an effort to avoid typecasting, but decided to return to the genre after feeling his box-office power waning. Following Cagney's attachment, Warner Bros. increased the production budget to $1 million and hired

to direct. Walsh had previously worked with Cagney on '' The Roaring Twenties'' (in 1939) and '' The Strawberry Blonde'' (in 1941). However, Cagney was unhappy with the studio's decision to hire Walsh, in part, because he requested Frank McHugh be in the film, but Walsh turned his friend down in an attempt to cut costs.

Writing

Warner Bros. bought the rights to the story from Virginia Kellogg for $2,000.Nollen, chapter 15, page 1. Being "methodical craftsmen", it took Goff and Roberts six months to complete the first draft. They "would plot in complete detail before even beginning to write, then write their dialogue together, line by line." When Walsh saw it, he pleaded with Cagney's brother, William, to talk Cagney out of doing the picture. According to him, the draft was "bad—a real potboiler", but William reassured Walsh that "Jimmy

ould Ould is an English surname as well as an element of many Arabic names. In Arabic contexts it is a transliteration of the word wikt:ولد, ولد, meaning "son". Notable people with this surname include: English surname * Edward Ould (1852–190 ...

rewrite it as much as possible."Moss, page 169. ''White Heat'' was meant to be based on the true story of Ma Barker, a bank robber who raised her four sons as criminals, but this was changed along with Cagney's involvement; Ma Barker became Ma Jarrett, and her four children were reduced to two. Arthur Barker became Arthur "Cody" Jarrett, a psychopath with a mother fixation.Hughes, chapter 4, page 4. Cody's mental illness and the exact cause of his migraines remain a mystery throughout the film, though Philip Evans states in one scene that his father died in a mental institution. This was done intentionally, enabling viewers to use their imaginations and draw their own conclusions. The script received several rewrites, with input being given from some of Cagney's closest friends.

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

and Frank McHugh worked "after hours" on revisions, with McHugh writing the film's opening scene. The script is notable for reworking many themes from Cagney's previous films with Warner Bros. Most notably, in '' The Public Enemy'', Cagney smashed a grapefruit into

Mae Clarke Mae Clarke (born Violet Mary Klotz; August 16, 1910 – April 29, 1992) was an American actress. She is widely remembered for playing Henry Frankenstein's bride Elizabeth, who is chased by Boris Karloff in ''Frankenstein'', and for being o ...

's face; in ''White Heat'' he kicks

off a chair. In '' Each Dawn I Die'', his character suffers the ill effects of prison; while here, his character has a breakdown in the prison mess hall. Furthermore, in '' The Roaring Twenties'', Cagney fought with rival gangsters in a similar fashion to how Cody Jarrett stalks the double-crossing "Big Ed" Somers (portrayed by Steve Cochran).

Filming

The production began on May 5, 1949, and lasted six weeks until completion on June 20. Walsh made use of a number of locations in Southern California, first by going to the

Santa Susana Mountains The Santa Susana Mountains are a transverse range of mountains in Southern California, north of the city of Los Angeles, in the United States. The range runs east-west, separating the San Fernando and Simi valleys on its south from the Santa ...

(near his home) to shoot "chase scenes". He then moved on to an old Southern Pacific tunnel near Chatsworth to stage the opening robbery scenes.Hughes, chapter 4, pages 5-6. Urban street scenes along with the "Milbank Hotel" were shot in and around

Van Nuys Van Nuys ( ) is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1 ...

. The "hideaway lodge sequences" were shot at the Warner ranch, the interior scenes in the studio itself, and the climax scene at an oil refinery near Torrance, south of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. The drive-in theater scenes were shot at the now-demolished San Val Drive-In in

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

. Jack Warner wanted the prison mess hall scene replaced for budgetary reasons, stating the "cost of a single scene with 600 extras and only one line of dialogue would be exorbitant." For this reason, Warner wanted the scene shot in a chapel, but relented when "the writers pointed out that, apart from the fact that Jarrett would ever be willingly caught in achapel", the whole point of the scene was to "have a lot of noise, with rattling knives and forks and chatter, that suddenly goes completely silent when Jarrett first screams." The scream was improvised by Cagney, and the shock on everyone's face was real, for neither Cagney nor Walsh informed any of the extras of what was going to happen. Warner agreed to the scene on the condition that it be shot in three hours, so "that the extras were through by lunchtime." A number of scenes were improvised; Walsh's "personal touches go beyond the script." When Cody and his gang hide out in their cabin just after the train heist, Cody has one of his "debilitating headaches", causing him to fall from his chair and fire off a round from his .45. This was Walsh's idea, as was the showing of Virginia Mayo's upper thigh on screen. Another scene involved Cody giving his wife, Verna, a "seething look", but Walsh improvised and had Cagney knock her off of her chair. Cagney claimed it was his idea "to have Cody climb onto Ma Jarrett's lap and sit there, being soothed during one of his psychotic pisodes, but Walsh has always denied this, claiming many years later that it was his idea.Moss, pages 192-195.

Reception

Box office

According to Warner Bros. records, the film earned $2,189,000 domestically and $1,294,000 overseas.

Critical response

Critical reaction to the film was positive, and today it is considered a classic.

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

of ''

'' called it "the acme of the gangster-prison film" and praised its "thermal intensity". In 2005, ''White Heat'' was listed in ''Time'''s top 100 films of all time. On review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has an approval rating of 94% based on 80 reviews, with a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

of 8.50/10. The site's consensus reads: "Raoul Walsh's crime drama goes further into the psychology of a gangster than most fear to tread, and James Cagney's portrayal of the tragic antihero is constantly volatile".

Awards and nominations

In 1950, Virginia Kellogg was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Story The Academy Award for Best Story was an Academy Award given from the beginning of the Academy Awards until 1956. This award can be a source of confusion for modern audiences, given its co-existence with the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenpl ...

.22nd Academy Award Winners and Nominees
''

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

'', first published March 23, 1950. Retrieved July 31, 2017. Also that year, writers Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts were nominated for the

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

for Best Motion Picture, by the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the E ...

.1950 Edgar Award Winners and Nominees for Best Motion Picture
''

Edgar Awards The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor ...

'', published 1950. Retrieved July 31, 2017. In 2003, the United States

selected ''White Heat'' for preservation in the

.Cannady, Sheryl
"Librarian of Congress Adds 25 Films to National Film Registry"
''

'', published December 16, 2003. Retrieved August 1, 2017. On June 4, 2003, the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

named Cody Jarrett in its list of the best heroes and villains of the past 100 years, he was voted 26th."AFI's 100 YEARS...100 HEROES & VILLAINS"
''

'', published June 4, 2003. Retrieved August 2, 2017. Furthermore, in June 2005, "Made it, Ma! Top of the World!" was voted 18th in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes;"AFI'S 100 YEARS...100 MOVIE QUOTES"
''

'', published June 21, 2005. Retrieved August 2, 2017. while, in June 2008, ''White Heat'' was voted fourth in

AFI's 10 Top 10 AFI's 10 Top 10 honors the ten greatest American films in ten classic film genres. Presented by the American Film Institute (AFI), the lists were unveiled on a television special broadcast by CBS on June 17, 2008. In the special, various actors ...

list of gangster movies.TOP 10 GANGSTER"
''

'', published June 17, 2008. Retrieved August 2, 2017.

Legacy

Scenes of the film are featured in the 1992 crime-drama film ''

Juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or Cold-pressed juice, pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat ...

'', as well as the 1982 '' Hart to Hart'' episode "Hart and Sole". In the noir parody '' Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid'',

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...

acts in scenes with Cagney's character through special effects and cross-cutting. The "Made it ma! Top of the world" line is used in the 1991 film ''Ricochet'', in which

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, producer, and director. Known for his dramatic roles Denzel Washington on screen and stage, on stage and screen, Washington has received List of awards and nominations ...

recites the quote in the final scene atop a tower. A variation of the quote—"Top of the world, ma!"—appears in the 1986 movie '' Tough Guys'' during a scene in which

Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach ( ; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. Known for his character actor roles, his entertainment career spanned over six decades. He received a British Aca ...

shoots at cops from a train; the same variation is used in the 1990 film ''

The Adventures of Ford Fairlane ''The Adventures of Ford Fairlane'' is a 1990 American mystery action comedy film directed by Renny Harlin and written by David Arnott, James Cappe, and Daniel Waters based on a story by Arnott and Cappe. The film stars comedian Andrew Dic ...

'' by

Andrew Dice Clay Andrew Dice Clay (born Andrew Clay Silverstein; September 29, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He rose to prominence in the late 1980s with a brash, deliberately offensive persona known as "The Diceman". In 1990, he became the f ...

. when he escapes kidnappers and discovers that he is atop the

Capitol Records Building The Capitol Records Building, also known as the Capitol Records Tower, is a 13-story tower building in the Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Designed by Louis Naidorf of Welton Becket Associates, it is one of t ...

. It has also been quoted in a fifth-season episode of ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...

'', a second-season episode of ''

Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan for AMC (TV channel), AMC. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Breaking Bad), Walter White (Bryan Cran ...

''. and the series finale of '' Mixels''. The line is also quoted in the

Kings of the Sun ''Kings of the Sun'' is a 1963 DeLuxe Color film directed by J. Lee Thompson for Mirisch Productions set in Mesoamerica at the time of the conquest of Chichen Itza by Hunac Ceel. Location scenes were filmed in Mazatlán and Chichen Itza. The ...

song "Drop the Gun". The film has inspired songs such as

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

's "White Heat" on '' True Blue''; the song was also dedicated to Cagney. Sam Baker's "White Heat" references the plot and dialogue on his 2013 album ''Say Grace''. The "Made it ma! Top of the world" line also was used in the opening of 50 Cent and PnB Rock's "Crazy" song.

References

External links

"White Heat"
essay by Marilyn Ann Moss at the

* * * * {{Authority control 1940s crime thriller films 1949 films American black-and-white films American crime thriller films American heist films American prison films 1940s English-language films Films about organized crime in the United States Films directed by Raoul Walsh Film noir Films scored by Max Steiner Films set in California Films set in Long Beach, California Films set in Illinois United States National Film Registry films Warner Bros. films 1940s American films English-language crime thriller films