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White Heat on DVD (1949)
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Radio Times
“Made it, Ma! Top of the world!” shrieks a demented James Cagney from the top of an oil tank before going out in a blaze of vainglory. Directed by Raoul Walsh, this is one of the greatest of all gangster pictures, a nightmarish excursion into the maladjusted mind of Arthur Cody Jarrett, a thug who sits on his mother's knee, steals and kills for pure pleasure, and probably sucks his thumb in private. All the major gangster heroes of the 1930s — one thinks of Paul Muni in Scarface, Cagney in The Public Enemy, Edward G Robinson in Little Caesar — had their psychological problems, but here Cagney is a whole library of Freudian theory put through the blender, and the poor lad suffers from epilepsy to boot. Operatic and sinisterly funny, the film is utterly compelling.
This searing melodrama reintroduced the old Cagney and then some: spellbinding suspense sequences complemented his vivid and hypnotic portrayal. Time Out White Heat = Scarface + Psycho. Cagney sits in his mother's lap as they plan their heists together with plans... Read more on www.timeout.com Members ReviewsReviews Voted Most HelpfulMost Recent Reviews |
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