Who directed the 1953 film noir The Big Heat?

Fritz Lang directed the 1953 film noir The Big Heat.

The film stars Glenn Ford as police sergeant Dave Bannion, who challenges the criminal syndicate controlling his city after a fellow officer's apparent suicide exposes deeper corruption. Gloria Grahame plays Debby Marsh, a gangster's associate whose personal transformation becomes central to the story.

Lang, a major German-born filmmaker associated with expressionism and suspense, shaped the film's bleak visual style and uncompromising violence. The screenplay was written by Sydney Boehm, based on William P. McGivern's serialized story and 1953 novel. The result is a hard-edged police drama about institutional corruption, revenge, and the cost of resisting organized crime.

The Big Heat is sometimes confused with other 1950s crime films because its cast and subject fit the era's noir cycle. It was not directed by Joseph H. Lewis, Anthony Mann, or Robert Siodmak. The black-and-white film later gained further recognition through its 2011 selection for the National Film Registry.