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White Heat was on my "to watch" list for quite a long time. When I finally got round to watching it, I wasn't disappointed with it at all. In all fairness, I wouldn't call myself a big fan of gangster films but this one gripped me from start to finish. Personally, I think that every single gangster film before the release of The Godfather in 1972 is underrated. None of them have received half as what The Godfather has. This is one of those film where you get totally gripped by a powerful introduction where you just can't wait for more and where you just want more at the last scene when the film is finishing.
This film was the very first film I saw with James Cagney. His performance as Cody Jarrett was absolutely FANTASTIC!! Cody Jarrett is the ruthless, deranged leader of a criminal gang. He is married to a young woman called Verna and despite that he is married to her; he is even closer to his mother "Ma" Jarrett. Cody treats his mother not just like his mother but like his best friend so he trusts her more than anybody. She also acts like his boss so he is a bit of a "Mummy's boy" so to speak (like Norman Bates with Mrs. Bates). It is revealed in the film that Jarrett's father died in an insane asylum so we do clearly see that he didn't have an easy upbringing. The Cody Jarrett character was based on New York murderer Francis "Two Gun" Crowley who was executed by electric chair in Sing Sing Correctional Facility on 21st January 1932. His last words were "Send my love to my mother". Arthur Barker (a gangster of the 30s and a son of Ma Barker) might have been another inspiration to the Cody Jarrett character.
Raoul Walsh directed this film brilliantly!! I think the only currently living director who could have pulled off a great remake of this film would be Michael Mann. The screenplay was based on a story by Virginia Kellogg. White Heat was nominated for only 1 Academy Award: Best Writing Screenplay (but lost to The Stratton Story). AFI gave it a lot more credit than the Academy Awards did. They named it the fourth best gangster film and the quote "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" was #18 on AFI's greatest move quotes.
Overall, White Heat is a fantastic gangster film that is extremely underrated! I prefer it over famous gangster films like GoodFellas, Scarface (both remake and original) and most recently Public Enemies. It is without a doubt one of the best crime films of all time but not quite on my favourite films list.
9/10
