Orson Welles described James Cagney as "maybe the greatest actor to ever appear in front of a camera" though Cagney is probably not the name you would conjure if you were asked to name a good actor from the 1940s. This is partly because Cagney was typecast in gangster roles but when you watch them still plays a huge range of characters within this genre.
Cody Jarrett (James Cagney) is a ruthless, psychotic criminal who leads a gang that commits armed robberies. Though married to Verna (Virginia Mayo) the only person he has ever loved is his mother (Margaret Wycherly). When the police start pursuing the gang after a train robbery, Cody hatches a scheme to serve a prison sentence for a lighter offense in another state. A US Treasury undercover agent (Edmond O'Brien) is sent to befriend Cody, hoping to take him down once and for all.
Cody is a great character. I don't think I've ever seen such a violent film that was made under Hollywood's Hayes Production Code and virtually all the violence comes from Cody casually killing people, mostly in cold blood. He has quite a high death toll and is a totally ruthless man.
At the same time though he has enormous affection for his mother and a condition where he gets brief, enormously painful headaches. The condition is never fully explained and I don't think it is something that has any counterpart in reality. It's mentioned that when he was young he pretended to have the headaches and then he started getting them for real. The mother fixation gives him a Norman Bates vibe- you could read this film as being what would happen if Bates was a gangster. Cagney is fantastic in this role, giving enough charisma to make Cody a likeable protagonist whilst also being a horrendous human being.
The film generates lots of tension from the undercover agent plot. Fallon is in constant danger of being found out in various ways but he's a wiley character who can quickly think his way out of a situation with speed. Often these sorts of characters are a bit useless but Fallon is far from it, successfully working out how to get close to Cody and ultimately leading to his downfall.
I really like how this film is quite unpredictable and doesn't feel formulaic at all. It starts off with the big train robbery which feels like it could easily be the climax of a decent gangster film in itself. You think it's going to be a chase movie as the gang evades the police but then suddenly Cody is in prison with an undercover agent and it changes tone. Despite the two-year sentence the film manages to find a way to not be confined to the prison which eventually leads to an epic and explosive final showdown.
Though this is mainly a gangster film, it does sometimes veer into other genres. As the undercover agent is set up the focus is more on the US Treasury agents and feels like a police procedural. Virginia Mayo is a much smaller part of the film than the posters would have you think but as Cody's wife she plays a femme fatale character. There's also elements of black humour throughout the film with Cody actively enjoying murdering people.
White Heat inspired many subsequent filmmakers and perhaps that is the reason why it still stands up so well today and doesn't feel as dated as many other contemporary films. James Cagney in his most unhinged role is a pleasure to watch.
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