White Heat
A volatile ex-con plans a daring heist on a chemical plant’s payroll, but his obsessive bond with his mother and the ruthless gang he reassembles threaten to turn the robbery into a deadly spiral of chaos.
“Pick up the pieces folks, Jimmy's in action again!”
Synopsis
A psychopathic criminal with a deep-seated mother complex escapes from prison and reunites with his former gang to carry out a heist targeting the payroll of a chemical plant. Following the successful robbery, the situation spirals into increasingly chaotic and unpredictable events.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 118+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Owen MarksShot by Sidney HickoxScored by Max Steiner
Box Office
1949 · Box office
✅ Made its money back — grossed 2.7× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$3.5M
Also known as
- (Flemish)Bloeddorstig
- Maschinenpistolende
- Sprung in den Todde
- Al rojo vivoes
- L'enfer est à luifr
- La furia umanait
- (French)L'enfer est à lui
Release dates around the world3 countries · showhide
- United StatesAug 25, 1949
- United KingdomNov 11, 1949
- CanadaDec 2, 1949
Production & Distribution
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Cast & Crew
118 unique people credited
Top billed cast
James Cagney
as Cody Jarrett
Virginia Mayo
as Verna Jarrett
Edmond O Brien
as Hank Fallon aka Vic Pardo
Margaret Wycherly
as Ma Jarrett
Steve Cochran
as Big Ed Somers
John Archer
as Philip Evans
Wally Cassell
as Cotton Valletti
Fred Clark
as The Trader aka Winston
Joel Allen
as Operative
Claudia Barrett
as Cashier
Ray Bennett
as Guard
Marshall Bradford
as Chief of Police
Supporting cast
68Chet Brandenburg
as Convict
John Butler
as Motorist at Gas Station
Robert Carson
as Agent at Directional Map
Bill Cartledge
as Car-Hop at Drive-In Theatre
Bill Clark
as Guard
Leo Cleary
as Railroad Fireman
Fred Coby
as Happy Taylor
Tom Coleman
as Court Officer
G Pat Collins
as The Reader
Bing Conley
as Convict
Garrett Craig
as Ted Clark
Herschel Daugherty
as Policeman
Charles Ferguson
as Plant Detective
Art Foster
as Guard
Eddie Foster
as Lefeld
Robert Foulk
as Oil Refinery Payroll Guard
Rudy Germane
as Detective
Jack Gordon
as Convict
Buddy Gorman
as Vendor at Drive-in
Paul Guilfoyle
as Roy Parker
Sherry Hall
as Court Clerk
Carl Harbaugh
as Foreman
Jack Henderson
as Convict
Clarence Hennecke
as Small Role
Perry Ivins
as Dr. Simpson
Colin Kenny
as Prison Guard
Mickey Knox
as Het Kohler
Mike Lally
as Convict
Richard Lamarr
as Convict
Harry Lauter
as Man with Microphone in Back Seat of Car
Deforrest Lawrence
as Jim Donovan
Nolan Leary
as Russ
Murray Leonard
as Engineer
Ian Macdonald
as Bo Creel
Larry Mcgrath
as Clocker
John Mcguire
as Psychiatrist #2
Sid Melton
as Russell Hughes
Art Miles
as Guard
Frank Mitchell
as Convict in Line for Shots
Ray Montgomery
as Ernie
Mike Morelli
as Russ Hughes
Terry O Sullivan
as Radio Announcer
Robert Osterloh
as Tommy Ryley
Milton Parsons
as Willie Rolf
Jack Perrin
as Policeman
Jack Perry
as Convict
Lee Phelps
as Prison Tower Guard
Eddie Phillips
as T-Man
John Pickard
as T-Man Driving Car C
Ford Rainey
as Zuckie Hommell
Joey Ray
as T-Man
Anthony Redondo
as Convict
Grandon Rhodes
as Dr. Harris
John Rice
as Guard
John Roy
as Convict
Jeffrey Sayre
as Plant Detective
Allen D Sewall
as Old Man
Cap Somers
as Convict
George Spaulding
as Judge
Harry Strang
as Prison Infirmary Guard
Frank Sully
as Policeman
George Taylor
as Police Surgeon at Tahoe Morgue
Jim Thorpe
as Big Convict
Jim Toney
as Brakeman
Aline Towne
as Margaret Baxter
Sid Troy
as Convict
Ralph Volkie
as Jerry - The Reader's Lawyer
Jack Worth
as Guard
Directors
1Writers
3Producers
1Other crew
35Edward Carrere
Art Director
Russell Saunders
assistant director (uncredited)
Mike Joyce
camera operator (uncredited)
Sidney Hickox
Cinematographer, director of photography (as Sid Hickox)
Max Steiner
Composer
Eugene Joseff
costume jeweller (uncredited)
Joan Joseff
costume jeweller (uncredited)
Owen Marks
Editor
Paul Burnett
gaffer (uncredited)
Dudie Maschmeyer
grip (uncredited)
Gertrude Wheeler
hair stylist (uncredited)
Micaela Giustiniani
Italian voice dubbing: Aline Towne (uncredited)
Parents Guide
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