White Heat

Synopsis: Cody Jarrett is the sadistic leader of a ruthless gang of thieves. Afflicted by terrible headaches and fiercely devoted to his 'Ma,' Cody is a volatile, violent, and eccentric leader. Cody's top henchman wants to lead the gang and attempts to have an 'accident' happen to Cody, while he is running the gang from in jail. But Cody is saved by an undercover cop, who thereby befriends him and infiltrates the gang. Finally, the stage is set for Cody's ultimate betrayal and downfall, during a big heist at a chemical plant.
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Director(s): Raoul Walsh
Production: WARNER BROTHERS PICTURES
  Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.
 
IMDB:
8.2
Rotten Tomatoes:
100%
NOT RATED
Year:
1949
114 min
Website
534 Views


Conductor didn't want to play.

How's this guy?

Nice and willing.

Stop the train and let us off.

When we tell you.

Ed, Cotton, when we get the train

on the spur, start hopping. Go.

Zuckie, you know what to do?

Sure. I throw the switch,

and then I beat it back...

All right, just do it. Stop the gabbing.

All right. This is where we want off.

Stop it right here.

Get away from those controls.

What's this? A holdup?

No. You're seven minutes late.

We're just changing engineers.

A lot fancier than my old coal burner

on the C&O.

Shut up.

Open up and you won't get hurt.

Sounds bad, Cody.

Why don't you give my address, too?

Only the treasury stuff!

Hurry up.

You won't get away with it, Cody.

Cody, huh?

Go get the car started.

You've got a good memory for names.

Too good.

Zuckie got scalded.

Come on, let's get out of here.

A week has passed since bandits jumped

a mail train...

coming out of the High Sierra Tunnel...

and fled with $300,000 in federal currency,

leaving four dead.

Treasury authorities now believe

the gang has escaped to Arizona...

where today a bank was raided

and two tellers killed...

with the same cold-bloodedness

that characterized...

Now we're supposed to be in Arizona.

Any place would be better than this.

We got to blow out of here.

Cody calls

charging roadblocks unscientific.

It ain't safe having a crackpot

giving orders.

- It's about time somebody took over.

- Who?

A very good friend of mine: Me.

Where do you want the body sent?

Been golfing, Ed?

We got a sack full of dough and

we're holed up like a bunch of gophers.

When we moving out?

Maybe tomorrow. Maybe in the spring.

I'll give it a lot of thought. All right?

It smells good, Ma.

If you're getting hungry,

I could do with some help, son.

Verna. Help Ma with the groceries.

Well, if it ain't the sleeping beauty.

What else does a girl do

around this bear trap?

There's plenty you can do

without wearing out the mattress.

It's the only place I don't freeze.

I've been cold for a week. Not even a fire.

Who's gonna see a little bit of smoke

Help Ma with the grub.

He's getting worse. He needs a doc.

When the time comes.

- Want some coffee, Ed?

- Thanks, Verna.

Let him get it himself.

My wife don't wait on nobody.

You know something, Verna...

if I turn my back long enough

for Big Ed to put a hole in it...

there'd be a hole in it.

Big Ed. Great Big Ed.

You know why they call him that?

Because his ideas are big.

Someday he's gonna get a really big one

about me.

It'll be his last.

That's the second one he's had in a month.

He's nuts, just like his old man.

It's these mountains, Cody.

It's not good for you, cold all the time.

Can't breathe the air.

Let's get out, son.

It's going.

- It's going?

- Yeah.

- Are you sure?

- Yeah.

It's like having a red-hot buzz saw

inside my head.

No, not yet, son.

Don't let them see you like that.

Might give some of them ideas.

Always thinking about your Cody,

aren't you?

That's right.

Top of the world, son.

Don't know what I'd do without you, Ma.

- Better?

- Yeah.

Now go on out.

Show them you're all right.

What are you all gaping at?

And I thought I told you

to help Ma with the groceries.

Cody, there's a storm coming.

Every road's gonna be blocked,

the guy said.

- What guy?

- On the radio.

- How long did he give it?

- Tonight.

That's just what I've been waiting for.

Is everything packed?

We been packed for a week.

You sure it's safe, Cody?

A storm keeps everybody busy.

Clean up this place, and clean it up right.

And don't leave any calling cards.

I told you to keep away from that radio.

If that battery is dead, it'll have company.

It's your suitcase, Cody.

Why don't you keep it all?

You're cute. Come here.

Why don't you?

We could travel, buy things.

That's what money's for.

I look good in a mink coat, honey.

You'd look good in a shower curtain.

We're pals, Cotton.

You'll see that I get away all right,

see that I get to a doc?

Sure, Zuckie.

We're all set.

Cody, I was pretty good

back there on the train, huh?

- Pretty good for my first job, huh?

- Yeah, you were great.

You won't leave me here.

You'll take me with you.

We can't take chances

of being picked up with you in the car.

We'll send a doc back right away.

You're gonna let me die.

Cotton, don't leave me.

Suppose they find him?

You know how Zuckie talks.

He won't talk. Cotton.

You meant what you said

about sending a doc?

Yeah, sure. A specialist. You.

Here. If you're such a pal of his,

go back and make it easy for him.

Rest easy, Ma. We're 300 miles

from the tunnel. What have they got?

A corpse without a record.

Nothing to tie him in

with the tunnel job or us.

Don't make a sound. It's me, Cotton.

Look, I'll try to come back.

Here's some cigarettes.

Thanks, Cotton.

Ed, we'll separate.

Go east until you hit the highway,

and double back over the bridge.

Stay on dirt roads all the way. You hear?

Hope I didn't get you up here

on a wild goose chase, Mr. Evans.

Geese we're looking for are pretty wild.

A couple of hunters found him frozen

up in the mountains.

We started wondering: Stranger,

bullet hole in the roof of the cabin...

particularly the condition of his face.

Tell him, Doc.

Despite the third-degree burn...

the eyebrows and hairline

weren't even singed.

That means either boiling water or steam.

So, we thought of a steam engine.

Good hunch. Get me his clothes.

Ernie, get his fingerprints.

Take a mask of his face.

Here you are, Mr. Evans. Nothing in the

pockets but this pack of cigarettes.

So like you told me, Mr. Evans,

I made the rounds for a month.

Drifting, kind of. Not too eager.

You know, just dropping a word

in the right ear...

that I'm interested in picking up

a few hot dollars.

Not a buck from the tunnel job showed up.

They haven't buried it in tin cans, Willie.

Keep looking.

Okay.

I'll go out the back way, if you don't mind.

Any of the boys spotted me

coming up here, I'd be in a real jam.

- Did you get anything out of Willie?

- A blank.

This will cheer you up, Phil.

Spectrograph of dirt from the tunnel.

Spectrograph of dust deposits

taken from the dead man's clothes.

There's no doubt about it.

They're identical. It all adds up...

and places our friend in the morgue

right smack at the scene of the crime.

Looks like we're in business.

From Washington.

"Have no fingerprint record dead man. "

That's one I never expected.

Dead man, dead end.

"But prints on cellophane

of cigarette package...

"belong Giovanni 'Cotton' Valletti...

"known member, Jarrett gang. "

And I thought

you were never gonna talk, baby.

- Where's Ma?

- She went to the market.

- Which one?

- She don't tell me those details.

What difference does it make?

I'll tell you what difference it makes.

They've got Zuckie in a morgue upstate.

The T-men tied him in with us

on the tunnel job.

- What?

- Yeah. We're all as hot as pistols.

I don't know how they did it.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes

Ivan Goff

Ivan Goff (17 April 1910 – 23 September 1999) was an Australian screenwriter, best known for his collaborations with Ben Roberts including White Heat (1949), Man of a Thousand Faces (1957) and the pilot for Charlie's Angels (1976). more…

All Ivan Goff scripts | Ivan Goff Scripts

0 fans

Submitted on August 05, 2018

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "White Heat" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 Dec. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/white_heat_23383>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    White Heat

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.


    Quiz

    Are you a screenwriting master?

    »
    Who wrote the screenplay for "The Godfather"?
    A William Goldman
    B Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola
    C Robert Towne
    D Oliver Stone