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The Big Heat
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Gloria Grahame as Debby Marsh sits at a bar in a fur stole, looking up at Glenn Ford as Dave Bannion, who stands in a trench coat and fedora in The Big Heat (1953).
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Gloria Grahame as Debby Marsh sits at a bar in a fur stole, looking up at Glenn Ford as Dave Bannion, who stands in a trench coat and fedora in The Big Heat (1953).
The Big Heat Glenn Ford and Gloria Grahame in The Big Heat (1953), directed by Fritz Lang.

The Big Heat

film by Lang [1953]
Written by
Lee Pfeiffer
Author/co-author of numerous books about the cinema and is regarded as one of the foremost James Bond scholars. His book The Essential Bond: An Authorized Guide to the World of 007 (written with...
Lee Pfeiffer
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

The Big Heat, American crime film, released in 1953, that was called the “definitive film noir” by critic Pauline Kael. It is also regarded as one of the highlights of director Fritz Lang’s career. Homicide detective Dave Bannion (played by Glenn Ford) is investigating the suicide of a fellow police officer. The dead man’s mistress tells Bannion that her lover could never have killed himself. Bannion investigates the matter and follows a trail of corruption...

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