Trivia / The Big Heat

• Actor Allusion: At an early club scene, the music played by the band in the background is 'Put the Blame on Mame ' from Gilda, a movie Glenn Ford starred in.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Executive Producer Jerry Wald hoped to cast either Paul Muni, George Raft or Edward G. Robinson in the lead role.
  • Columbia Pictures wanted to borrow Marilyn Monroe from 20th Century Fox to play Debby Marsh, but Fox's asking price was too high.