The defence The Big-Idea Head
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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White Heat
Crime · Drama · Thriller · 1949
A psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and then leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist. After the heist, events take a crazy turn.
Movie details
White Heat
“Pick up the pieces folks, Jimmy's in action again!”
1949 Crime · Drama · Thriller 1h 54m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.6 / 10
Community rating
A psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and then leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist. After the heist, events take a crazy turn.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over White Heat?
For the defence
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
The Killing
Crime · 1956
Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.
Bad Boys
Crime · 1983
Mick O'Brien is a young Chicago street thug torn between a life of petty crime and the love of his girlfriend. But when the heist of a local drug dealer goes tragically wrong Mick is sentenced to a brutal juvenile prison where violence is a rite of passage and respect is measured in vengeance.
King Ivory
Crime · 2025
Based on extensive research involving law enforcement and gang members, a never-before-seen, authentic look inside the underworld of fentanyl trafficking from gangs inside the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester a.k.a. "Big Mac."
The Grissom Gang
Crime · 1971
Violent crime caper set in 1930s Kansas in which a gang kidnap an heiress and attempt to recover a ransom. However, the scheme is jeopardised when the leader falls in love with their beautiful captive.
Shot Caller
Crime · 2017
A newly-released prison gangster is forced by the leaders of his gang to orchestrate a major crime with a brutal rival gang on the streets of Southern California.
Cape Fear
Drama · 1991
Sam Bowden is a small-town corporate attorney. Max Cady is a tattooed, cigar-smoking, Bible-quoting, psychotic rapist. What do they have in common? 14 years ago, Sam was a public defender assigned to Max Cady's rape trial, and he made a serious error: he hid a document from his illiterate client that could have gotten him acquitted. Now, the cagey Cady has been released, and he intends to teach Sam Bowden and his family a thing or two about loss.
The Informer
Drama · 2019
In New York, former convict Pete Koslow, related to the Polish mafia, must deal with both Klimek the General, his ruthless boss, and the twisted ambitions of two federal agents, as he tries to survive and protect the lives of his loved ones.
Butterfly on a Wheel
Crime · 2007
A sociopathic kidnapper methodically pushes a desperate pair of parents to their absolute breaking point.
Violent Ends
Thriller · 2025
Lucas Frost, an honest man brought up in a crime family whose only legacy is violence, tries to make his own life with his fiancée, Emma. He is suddenly pulled back into the family business he so despises when his cousin, Eli, perpetrates an armed robbery on a local scrap yard and an innocent life is caught in the crossfire.
Girl in the Basement
Thriller · 2021
Sara is a teen girl who is looking forward to her 18th birthday to move away from her controlling father Don. But before she could even blow out the candles, Don imprisons her in the basement of their home.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Raoul Walsh
Written by
Ivan Goff · Ben Roberts · Virginia Kellogg
James Cagney
Arthur 'Cody' Jarrett
Virginia Mayo
Verna Jarrett
Edmond O'Brien
Vic Pardo
Margaret Wycherly
Ma Jarrett
Steve Cochran
'Big Ed' Somers
John Archer
Philip Evans
Wally Cassell
'Cotton' Valletti
Court is in session
Put White Heat on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.