FilmFanaticFrankie Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Has there ever been a more riveting performance as Cagney's portrayal of Cody Jarret! What did he have to do to win an Oscar, as it didn't get much better than that. It may now be looked back as perhaps the quintessential gangser role, nothing is equal after viewing this pic! Mamma's boy is tough as nails but has a soft spot in his heart for Ma but doesn't let anyone catch on for fear he might be soft. The prison sequence where he loses it and the power plant ending is a complete masterpiece. What a performance. Was there a bad performance in the entire movie? Message was edited by: FilmFanaticFrankie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeedaddy Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 His cruel sadistic humor comes through when he puts one of his gang in the trunk of the car. The guy yells out that he needs some air and Cody helps him out with some air holes from a .45. The learns don't mess with Cody cause Cody don't care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OllieTSB Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 This film has so many memorable scenes. The cops chasing down the radio-beacon truck for the big hold-up, the prison scenes, even the informer's trying a rag "marker" on the bumper as Ma Margaret Wycherly is buying fresh strawberries for her boy. Wycherly delivered an eerily similar role in the recently-shown JOHNNY ANGEL with George Raft, but ends up wearing the white hat instead. It's a shame that only now I'm starting to notice her performances outside of WHITE HEAT. She was terrific in that film - here's a case where the maniac might have been born AND made! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdisonMcIntyre Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Wycherly always gets to me as Gary Cooper's mother in SERGEANT YORK, for which she received an Oscar nomination. She was a Brit who didn't make films in this country until she was almost 60, so her credit list is relatively short for her age. Very memorable lady. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redriver Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Absolutely amazing movie! The very best flat-out gangster film ever made. My favorite moments are the ones where Edmund O'Brien has to cover his actions so as not to get caught. I really fear for him. Everything about this wonderful classic is dynamite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OllieTSB Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 Edison, that's right! I forgot about Ma York! Red, White Heat conjures up so many memorable scenes. O'Brien's excuse for attaching the antenna - er, chain - to the truck. His attempt to get away at night, his repairs on the radio. Earlier, someone mentioned Fred Clark's first film credit in THE UNSUSPECTED. WHITE HEAT is Fred's 12th film credit, and his catalog of films seems to cover everything - gangsters, noirs, mysteries, comedies, musicals, war films. Always an easy face to see in a crowd, always delivering an excellent bit. It's funny to see O'Brien 'trap him' with questions, and yet earn even more brownie-points in Cody Jarrett's eyes for that caution. It's a great story. "Greatest Gangster Film" would be a worthy title, but "great film" in any category, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robindra Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Cody Jarrett was one of the best gangster villains of all time! This may sound crazy, but when I first saw this film I actually sympathised with his character. Maybe it's because I'm a big James Cagney fan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scsu1975 Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 The sympathy is understandable. We see him in pain, and we know how much he loves Ma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsclassic Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 I thoroughly enjoyed White Heat with Cagney going over the top !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sundown Posted August 28, 2008 Share Posted August 28, 2008 great in white heat but then again i dont think theres one film i did not like of james but my fav as to be angels with dirty faces Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickspade Posted August 28, 2008 Share Posted August 28, 2008 I'm a huge James Cagney fan, and proud to say I've seen every film he ever made; I think Cody Jarrett is his greatest performance. As others have said, White Heat has to rank at, or very near, the top of the list of all-time gangster films. The number of memorable scenes is endless, and the dialogue throughout is brilliant. My favorite lines: Cody to Verna (Virginia Mayo) talking about Steve Cochran's character, Big Ed: Cody: "You know, Verna, if I turned around long enough for Big Ed to put a hole in my back...there'd be a hole in my back." Last scene, after the huge oil refinery explosion. Evans: "Cody Jarrett." Fallon (Edmond O'Brien): "He finally made it to the top of the world, and it blew right up in his face." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dewey1960 Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 What an utterly unrelenting film both from the standpoint of Cagney's once-in-a-lifetime performance and the electrifying direction of Raoul Walsh. Yet perhaps the single most disturbing aspect of this film is the queasy relationship between Cody Jarrett (Cagney) and Vic Pardo (Edmond O'Brien), the police informant who's brought in to bring the gangster down. The friendship they develop while they're in prison--and later once they escape--becomes that much more meaningful and real because of Cagney's uncanny ability to make an unrepentant psychotic so sympathetic. O'Brien's methodical betrayal of Cagney is at once expected and dreaded, casting a veil of uncertainty and confusion over our emotions regarding this action. (It is far more distressing to us than when Jarrett's wayward wife (Virginia Mayo) conspires with henchman Steve Cochrane to do the old boy in.) And therein lies the hidden love story in *WHITE HEAT* --Cagney and O'Brien. One that the censors clearly never spotted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Film_Fatale Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 Top of the world, ma - top of the world! ranks right up there with Whatcha hear, whatcha say?!? among my favourite Cagney movie lines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CineMaven Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 DEWEY: "And therein lies the hidden love story in WHITE HEAT --Cagney and O'Brien. One that the censors clearly never spotted." Wonderfully written post Dewey. I agree with you. I think a lot of film noir had these hidden love stories that were hiding in plain sight. What comes to mind is John Hodiak and Wendell Corey in "Desert Fury" or Henry Fonda and Anthony Quinn in the (unsung?) Western: "Warlock." Nicely dewed, Dewey. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dewey1960 Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 Thanks, CM. For another intriguing mano-a-mano noir relationship, check out Joseph H. Lewis' brilliant 1955 film *THE BIG COMBO.* The dynamic sexual tensions betwixt adversaries Cornel Wilde and Richard Conte are nothing short of revelatory--at least by 1950s standards. It's available on a beautiful DVD transfer from Image. Incidentally, it was photographed by the legendary cinematographer John Alton. Highly recommended! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Film_Fatale Posted August 31, 2008 Share Posted August 31, 2008 > {quote:title=CineMaven wrote:}{quote} > DEWEY: "And therein lies the hidden love story in WHITE HEAT --Cagney and O'Brien. One that the censors clearly never spotted." > > Wonderfully written post Dewey. I agree with you. I think a lot of film noir had these hidden love stories that were hiding in plain sight. What comes to mind is John Hodiak and Wendell Corey in "Desert Fury" or Henry Fonda and Anthony Quinn in the (unsung?) Western: "Warlock." > "Hidden Love Stories" - what a great TCM theme that would make Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronxgirl48 Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 What's (wonderfully) disturbing about WHITE HEAT is the id-explosiveness of Cody, contrasted with the rational-ego F.B.I. men out to "contain" him. Virginia Mayo was warming up for Verna in THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES. She's terrific. Needless to say, I love this movie. It used to run on Million Dollar Movie in the Bronx back in the day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dewey1960 Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 *What's (wonderfully) disturbing about WHITE HEAT is the id-explosiveness of Cody, contrasted with the rational-ego F.B.I. men out to "contain" him.* Hi Bg---Happy Labor Day! And yes, that very quality helps *WHITE HEAT* achieve its status as one of the most pre-code-like post-code Hollywood films ever made. Brutal on-screen violence, adulterous behavior (Mayo and Cochrane), a sympathetic portrayal of a psychopathic killer and a psychologically disturbing relationship between mother and son. Hardly seems like the ingredients for an American film released in 1949. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Film_Fatale Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 > {quote:title=Dewey1960 wrote:}{quote} > Hardly seems like the ingredients for an American film released in 1949. Gotta love the subversive directors who could get that kind of stuff past the censors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronxgirl48 Posted September 1, 2008 Share Posted September 1, 2008 And a good and safe holiday back at you, Dewey! You stated it perfectly (when don't you?) about the pre-code elements in WH. Love those ingredients in '49! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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