5. White Heat (1949)
Dir. Raoul Walsh Cast: James Cagney, Virginia Mayo and Edmund OBrian As psychos go, Cody Jarrett (James Cagney) is one of the craziest. Hes a bank robber who loves his mum just a little bit too much. He gets terrible headaches and these make him very angry. Like The Joker, hes just one bad day away from completely losing all touch with reality White Heat is a cracking thriller thanks to the performance of James Cagney. This was his best role and he lights up the screen . I dont want to give any spoilers away but theres a famous scene where Jarrett receives some bad news in a crowded placeits a genius scene in that we hear the bad news before Jarrett and have to wait until the info reaches him, and then when it does This is one of the better psycho-gangster noir movies. Key Line: Jarrett: You stay away from that radio. If that battery isnt dead itll have company.