The Big Heat Chapter Summary

Words: 1634
Pages: 7

The opening of The Big Heat begins with a shocking death, by way of an image of a revolver on a desk and a hand reaching out for it, the gun is lifted out of view, and a loud shot is fired. The faceless man’s body falls upon the desktop, he has taken his own life out of desperation, and left his police badge and a suicide note. His wife, Bertha Duncan (Jeanette Nolan), alerted by the gunshot, comes into the room with a cold, dispassionate stare at her husband’s corpse. She instantly picks up the last letter he wrote addressed to the D.A.’s office. Without hesitation or before telephoning the police, she calls Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby), the notorious gangster kingpin who controls most of the city with extortion, terrorism, and criminal activity. With just a few strokes on the phone dial with her fingers, Mrs Duncan has joined the ranks of …show more content…
Later, he returns to his hotel, and brings Debby some food. Their relationship has turned into a sort of odd friendship, both emotionally injured, and seeking justice. In a casual conversation, Bannion informs Debby if Mrs Duncan dies, her secret evidence left by her dead husband will end it all for the syndicate. Lagana, Stone, and all the other hoodlum cronies will be brought to justice, and it will be all over. This is where Debby becomes the avenging angel, once tainted goods in the eyes of society, a bad girl, she becomes the very thing that Bannion can’t become, the one who implements absolute justice, an eye for an eye evenhandedness, and Bannion’s unspoken partner to fix the wrong with the right. Debby visits Mrs Duncan on her own, and chit-chats her way into her house looking almost identical in matching mink coats, Mrs Duncan thinks Debby is a bit odd and is going to call Debby’s boyfriend, Vince Stone, to come get her, but Debby pulls out the same gun Bannion left for her protection against the mob, and she shoots Mrs Duncan three times, making sure she is