Fri 15 Apr 2011
HEAT LIGHTNING. Warner Brothers, 1934. Aline MacMahon, Ann Dvorak, Preston Foster, Lyle Talbot, Glenda Farrell, Frank McHugh, Ruth Donnelly, Jane Darwell, Edgar Kennedy. Based on a play by Leon Abrams & George Abbott. Director: Mervyn LeRoy.
There is some similarity between Heat Lightning and the much more famous The Petrified Forest, but the latter came along later (1936) and the plots (in my opinion) diverge rather quickly. But if you’re familiar with the later film, see how much alike the settings are: Heat Lightning takes place in the middle of the Mohave desert and an isolated gas station/restaurant/tourist camp is miles from the nearest town.
Two women, sisters, own the place. The older (and wiser) has a past she would like to think is forgotten (Olga, played by the efficient but rather glum and weary-looking Aline MacMahon), while Myra (Ann Dvorak) is looking forward to a future involving men and romance that she’s not likely to have, not as long as her older sister has any say about it.
For such an isolated location, there is a lot of traffic that goes by, but perhaps because it is one of those places that a sign saying “Last Gas for 20 Miles†is the absolute truth. Some come in, add water to a radiator, gas up and have a couple of Cokes (for a grand total of $3.65) before heading off again, while others hang around for a while.
The latter include a pair of fleeing would-be bank robbers — or make that killers, since at least one guard was killed in the process — one of whom knows Olga from before; and in fact they knew each other very well. Also staying overnight are two wealthy divorcees (Glenda Farrell, Ruth Donnelly) returning from Reno, along with their hardworking chauffeur (Frank McHugh), who on occasion is called upon to do other jobs as well.
Criminals on the run, an old flame, and two rich women make for a combustible situation, and the 63 minutes of running time is almost not enough to fit it all in. This was one of the last movies made before the Code came into being, and while there are no overt sexual scenes, there are several times there is no doubt what was going on when the cameras weren’t around and weren’t rolling.
The overall plot may be a little predictable, but not entirely. How will Olga get rid of George (Preston Foster) or will she fall for him again? The drama itself unfolds in fine fashion, with more than a dash of humor saucily tossed into the boiling kettle, figuratively speaking. The photography and staging are more than fine, enhanced by the equally fine remastering job done to the film before it was recently released on DVD.
Recommended.
April 16th, 2011 at 10:27 am
Sounds like the sort of film that, if it were shown on TCM, I would earmark for saving to my DVR for eventual downloading. The problem, of course, with the convenience of the DVR is that I record far more films than I will ever take the time to watch and if I download a film without watching as it’s recorded for a doubtful posterity it’s anybody’s guess as to whether I will ever watch it.
A good case in point is “Blind Adventure” (RKO, 1933), directed by Ernest B. Schoedsack, with Merian C. Cooper as Executive Producer, Max Steiner in charge of the music, and a cast featuring Robert Armstrong, Ralph Bellamy, Helen Mack, Roland Young, Laura Hope Crews and Henry Stephenson among the more than capable performers. It opens in London as Robert Armstrong after losing his way in a pea soup fog wanders into a house to inquire about directions to his hotel and finds a dead body in the living room. The film (based on what little I saw of it before I broke away for some weekend chores) is a stylish production that ought to make me eager to return to it.
Or someone who did watch the film might want to comment on it for you.
April 16th, 2011 at 1:47 pm
I’ve not been able to record any of the movies on TCM this month. Just another task that’s been beyond what I’ve been able to do. So I missed this one altogether, alas. It sounds terrific.
Getting back to HEAT LIGHTNING, the more I’ve been thinking about it, the more things I’ve been coming up with that I like about it. Most current reviewers feel the same way — that it’s a minor and pretty much unknown classic.
The reviewer at the New York Times at the time, Mordaunt Hall, didn’t think so. He begins with
“The production is undoubtedly a faithful transcription of the play, ‘Heat Lightning,’ but the stage work did not arouse much enthusiasm and the cinematic offspring is a drab melodrama with occasional flashes of forced comedy.”
and goes on from there. Here’s the link, but you may need to be a Times subscriber to read the review:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9407E3DB133EE53ABC4053DFB566838F629EDE
Mike Grost covers the film at his website, where he discusses the characters and the imagery in some detail:
http://mikegrost.com/leroy.htm#Lightning
April 16th, 2011 at 3:07 pm
I’ve just spotted HEAT LIGHTNING in TCM’s schedule for July:
http://www.tcm.com/schedule/monthly.html?tz=est&sdate=2011-07-01
It will be shown on Monday, July 11th, at 3:15 pm.
Program your VCRs and DVRs now!
April 16th, 2011 at 6:19 pm
Steve,
Thank you for the link!
I saw this and liked this on TCM, maybe a year ago.
At the same time, the knowledgeable cinephiles at davekehr.com mainly saw it too – and generally liked it very much. It is indeed one of those good gems.