History Trivia / WhiteHeat

* BeamMeUpScotty: The page quote is often misheard as "Top of the world, Ma!"

* ExecutiveMeddling: Edmond O'Brien had been promised equal billing with Creator/JamesCagney, but at the last minute the studio decided against it. Since Cagney hadn't made many movies since leaving Warner Bros. in the early '40s, publicists thought if audiences saw "Cagney" and "O'Brien" billed together, they would assume it was a reissue of one of the six movies Cagney made with Pat O'Brien between 1934 and 1940 and avoid the film.

* EnforcedMethodActing: The extras in the scene where Jarrett goes ape after being informed of his mother's death were not told of how far Creator/JamesCagney would go. Their surprise was real.

* ShownTheirWork: All the locations and bearings radioed back and forth during the triangulation tracking of the gasoline truck, as it moves southwest across the Los Angeles basin, are accurate. They can all be found on a modern map of Los Angeles. Even the view of the Los Angeles City Hall shows up at the appropriate time.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: The character of Cody Jarrett was based on New York murderer Francis Crowley, who engaged in a pitched battle with police in the spring of 1931 at the age of 18. Murdered on January 21, 1932, his last words were: "Send my love to my mother." Another inspiration may have been Fred Barker and Arthur Barker, notorious gangsters of the 1930s famously devoted to their domineering mother, Ma Barker.
** The train robbery that opens the film appears to have been closely based on the robbery of Southern Pacific's "Gold Special" by the DeAutremont Brothers in 1923.

* UsefulNotes/AFIS100YearsSeries
** AFIS100Years100HeroesAndVillains:
*** #26 Villain, Cody Jarrett
** AFIS100Years100MovieQuotes:
*** #18, "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!"
** AFIS10Top10:
*** #4, Gangster

* AFIS100YearsSeries

* CreatorBacklash: Although Creator/JamesCagney found this to be a good picture on a number of levels, in his 1985 autobiography Cagney called the film "another cheapjack job" because of its limited shooting schedule and the studio's decision to "put everybody in it they could get for six bits." Cagney was particularly irritated by the fact that he pressed them to cast his old friend Frank McHugh in the small role of Tommy in order to bring a touch of humour and lightness to the otherwise heavy piece. According to the star, Warners repeatedly agreed to do it, putting Cagney off until the first day of shooting when he was told McHugh wasn't available. Cagney found out later McHugh had never even been asked.

* FatalMethodActing: Averted. At the time of filming, special effects were not yet using squibs (tiny explosives that simulate the effects of bullets). The producers employed skilled marksmen who used low-velocity bullets to break windows or show bullets hitting near the characters. In the factory scene, Creator/JamesCagney was missed by mere inches.

** The scene where Cody sits on his mother's lap was Cagney's idea. He told Creator/RaoulWalsh: "Let's see if we can get away with this", to which Walsh agreed. However, in his 1974 autobiography "Each Man in His Time", Walsh took credit for the idea and said the scene worked because Cagney and Margaret Wycherly made it so convincing.

** Virginia Mayo, who played Verna, revealed in an interview that Cagney was hiding in a different spot than where she had been told he would be during the scene when they are reunited after he's been in prison. He then deliberately missed his cue, causing her shock and fear to be real. She said for a few seconds, she was actually afraid he was going to kill her.

* AFIS100Years100HeroesAndVillains:
** #26 Villain, Cody Jarrett
* AFIS100Years100MovieQuotes:
** #18, "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!"
* AFIS10Top10:
** #4, Gangster
* AwardSnub: Seriously, Creator/JamesCagney didn't even get ''nominated'' for Best Actor that year?
* AwesomeMusic: The score is one of Music/MaxSteiner's best.

* EnforcedMethodActing: The extras in the scene where Jarrett goes ape after being informed of his mother's death were not told of how far Cagney would go. Their surprise was real.

* AwardSnub: Seriously, Cagney didn't even get ''nominated'' for Best Actor that year?
* AwesomeMusic: The score is one of MaxSteiner's best.

* ThrowItIn: In the scene where Cody has his VillainousBreakdown, he had the two biggest extras seated on both sides of him and had the camera follow him no matter what.