White Heat
Pick up the pieces folks, Jimmy's in action again!
Country
Production
Budget
$1 300 000
Box office
$3 483 000
Director
Actors
Scenario
Producer
Camera operator
Composer
Artist
Audition
Editing
Short description
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.
What's left behind the scenes
- In 2003, the film was included in the National Film Registry.
- Filming took place in May and June 1949 in a railway tunnel under the Santa Susana Mountains, at the Shell oil refinery in Torrance, and in other areas of California.
- The film's screenplay was inspired by the real-life story of 'Bloody Mother' Barker, who led a whole gang of her sons during the Great Depression.
- The character of Arthur Jarrett, nicknamed Cody, was based on the murderer Francis Crowley (1912-1932), whose adventures ended in a shootout with the police and his arrest on May 7, 1931. Before his execution, he only asked to send his greetings to his mother.
- The idea to make Cody a psychopath belonged to James Cagney (1899-1986). While working on the image, Cagney remembered his father, who would become frantic when drunk, as well as patients of a mental hospital he once visited.
- The surprise of James Cagney’s fellow prisoners in the prison dining hall during the game looks completely genuine, and it was natural that it should be. Director Raoul Walsh (1887-1980) did not tell the other actors what would happen, so Cagney surprised them. In fact, Walsh himself didn’t know what to expect from Cagney. Cagney simply asked to have two of the largest extras playing prisoners seated next to him, and to film everything that followed without stopping the camera.
- At that time, they hadn’t yet begun using firecrackers to simulate bullets hitting obstacles during filming. For this purpose, they used snipers who fired bullets with a low velocity to break windows or show that a bullet had hit very close to a particular character. During the factory scene, Cagney himself was nearly hit several times.
- The character Arthur Jarrett, nicknamed Cody, was based on the killer Francis Crowley (1912-1932), whose crime spree ended in a shootout with police and his arrest on May 7, 1931. Before his execution, his only request was to send his love to his mother.
- The idea to make Cody a psychopath belonged to James Cagney (1899-1986). While developing the character, Cagney drew inspiration from his father, who would fly into rages while intoxicated, as well as patients in a psychiatric hospital he had once visited.
- The surprise of James Cagney's cellmates in the prison cafeteria during the game looks completely genuine because it was. Director Raoul Walsh (1887-1980) did not tell the other participants what was about to happen, so Cagney truly surprised them. In fact, Walsh himself didn't know what to expect from Cagney. Cagney had simply asked for the two largest extras playing prisoners to be seated next to him and for the cameras to keep rolling throughout everything that followed.
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Auditions in India
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