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White Heat (1949)

Rate: 10
Viewed: 10/08, 3/17

Wheat
10/08: Well...is White Heat one of the greatest pictures ever made?

Mocking Sarah Palin, "You betcha!" Before there was Norman Bates, there was Cody Jarrett. James Cagney gives the greatest performance of his career. The saddest part is he wasn't recognized for it. His "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" scene is among the all-time greatest endings ever. Watching it sends a chill down my spine.

Raoul Walsh's direction is slick and keeps the tension taut. What he did with the prison cafeteria scene when Cody found out what happened to his mother is legendary. That moment takes a real skill to pull off which makes James Cagney special. By the way, one of the prisoners who passed the word along is the great Olympian champion Jim Thorpe.

All in all, White Heat is the best gangster movie made of the pre-Godfather era.

3/17: White Heat is probably the greatest gangster picture to come out of the 40's with a career-defining performance by James Cagney.

Nothing is more dramatic than the ending when he went to the top of globe-like structure and yelled, "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" before the ensuing boom. Strange to say, he paints himself a sympathetic figure who has an endearing yet criminal relationship with his mother.

The other famous scene is when Cody found out his mother was dead and had a spontaneous moment of insanity. Nobody would've pulled it off better than James Cagney. The film has a great supporting cast which includes Margaret Wycherly, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien, and Steve Cochran.

All in all, because of James Cagney, White Heat is an all-time classic.