Review – White Heat

This movie is primarily famous for the scene in which James Cagney yells “Top of the world, Ma!” from the top of a burning chemical factory. Most of the rest of it is disappointing. It starts out as a standard crime-never-pays portrait of a ruthless gangster whose only distinguishing characteristics are occasional seizures and excessive fondness for his partner-in-crime mother. But after he gets himself sent to the slammer as part of a scheme to avoid a death penalty trial, the cops decide to sneak one of their own into his cell to see if they can get the goods on him. Most of the rest of the picture from that point forward is an unimaginative parade of will-the-plant-get-caught-or-will-justice-prevail clichés. Mildly amusing