Classic Movie Review: White Heat
By Josh Spiegel
April 5, 2010
White Heat is one such film that was able to use the Code to its advantage, as long as you know where to look for the signs. The plot of the film is that a federal agent, Hank Fallon, goes undercover within Cody Jarrett's gang to bring him down. Of course, to do so, he has to become incredibly close to Jarrett, earning the fierce man's trust and respect, while always being this close to getting killed. Jarrett's temper can be set off by anything, and the fact that he gets blindingly painful headaches doesn't help things. Something that doesn't happen in White Heat that might happen in a gangster movie these days is that Fallon never actually gets close to Jarrett. He plays the part well, but it's just acting.
Fallon, as played by Edmond O'Brien, is an interesting character, but too two-dimensional for us to truly relate to. Yes, he's the G-man, and as such, is the good guy. But he's either playing Jarrett's hand, or he's waiting to collar the criminal. Jarrett is far more interesting, and not just because of the excellent performance from James Cagney. Cagney, a pugnacious and energetic performer, is rarely better than he is here, as one of the truly scary mobsters of the era, heightened by the character's childish nature. He kills not only without remorse, but often without reason. His headaches, which began simply as a way for people to pay him some attention when he was a kid, have become a thing of reality, throwing him into fits where he slams his balled-up fists against anything that will take the blows.
Oh, and he's a real momma's boy. Yes, the beginning and the end of all the problems Cody has is his mother, played by Margaret Wycherly. Ma is a scheming, evil woman, someone who fuels Cody's psychosis and encourages it. His connection to her borders on being so over-the-top as to incite laughter. One scene that stands out is when Cody finds out that his Ma has died. Cody's in prison at this point, joined by Fallon, in his undercover ruse. Cody finds out while eating a meal, and the wild, frantic tantrum he throws, replete with screaming, crying, and even a bit of fighting, goes from being sad to laughable back to being sad. Cagney sells this anger, this grief so well that you're choking on your laughter, because the feelings are so raw and real.
White Heat is best remembered, of course, for that final scene, but it's Cagney's performance throughout that makes the climax so iconic. Put another actor in that setting, and it doesn't work. Cagney is a fully committed actor, in all of his films. Yankee Doodle Dandy, while being the complete opposite of White Heat, is a lot of flag-waving fun, mostly because of how dedicated a performance Cagney provides as George M. Cohan. From his earlier work, as in The Public Enemy, to his final role, in Ragtime, Cagney was not a performer to be trifled with. I found myself somewhat disappointed with the aspects of the film dealing with Fallon, who's made a bit more bland thanks to O'Brien. While it's wise for the actor to let Cagney to do his thing, he brings nothing to his role that another block-faced performer couldn't have done as well.
White Heat came near the end of Cagney's career, despite being released over 30 years before his final performance. In between 1949 and 1981, Cagney would appear in such films as Mister Roberts and Man of a Thousand Faces, but White Heat represents something of the beginning of the end of the actor. He was a singer, a dancer, and an actor, but his work in gangster movies is the stuff of legend, even if his most iconic scenes are the ones in which his viciousness is at its height (The Public Enemy features an infamous scene where he shoves a grapefruit in a woman's face). Cagney was a smooth performer, able to inhabit his characters so well while maintaining what his public persona was. For him alone, White Heat is well worth watching.
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