Heat Lightning

Nice, noir-ish 1934 quickie, with a highly likeable Lyle Talbot in the lineup, no less. The switch from location shooting to stage settings is a bit jarring, but no less so than most TV shows of the 1960s and 1970s, which went from on-site filming to a fake backdrop, sometimes within the same scene (from Gunsmoke to Mannix to the Wild, Wild West). And the sets, while not convincing, are quite artistically conceived, with a memorable heat lightning effect. The swift pacing is rather remarkable for the era, and Aline MacMahon gives a mesmerizing performance, though her character seems to shift from weak to iron-willed a little too casually. But that's where the swift pacing makes any doubtful character motivation irrelevant--the viewer is too caught up in the fascinating, nonstop story (laced with comedy bits which have held up amazingly well). Lyle Talbot makes a superb wimpy sidekick, though a couple of times he seemed to be on the verge of laughter. A gem!

In the Mohave Desert, Olga and her younger sister Myra run a gas station with diner in the middle of nowhere. Olga is perfectly happy with the isolation but Myra would like to go someplace, any place. The remote outpost gets a surprising number of visitors over a day's time including two bank robbers. One of them is Olga's former boyfriend Jerry and she knows he's up to no good. Then two rich dames stop by when their driver schemes for a rest.

I like the chaos of people keep showing up at this little place. I would like the filming to take place in the openness of the desert. It could have been epic in cinematography. I would also like for a more epic shootout. The story builds up so much possibility. It's almost anti-climatic but there is a bit of poetry in its execution. I really like the width of characters in this movie, even with some of side characters. From the first bickering couple to the two female hitchhikers, this movie is filled with great characters. I would love to see this remade with more noir touches.

After reading several reviews that enjoyed the film, I almost did not write a comment.

However, after reading the one comparing it to a poor man's Petrified Forest, I wanted to say that's just plain unfair.

I, was not around for the New York Times drab review in 1934, like the previous reviewer, but I can form my own opinion. I really liked the movie. Aline McMahon, pulled off the difficult character of playing a woman mechanic/business owner, and Preston Foster played the crook on the lam quite believable for the situation he was in.

I personally wish Ann Dvorak had more of a developed part, I always like her, but sadly hers was the least developed of the several interesting characters in the film. Obviously made on a small budget, it's just unfair to compare this to Petrified Forest. They are not the same film at all.

If you like a subtle and mature superbly acted drama with just enough humour to keep it light, you should enjoy this. Although an awful lot happens, the action somehow manages to seem inconsequential compared with the oppressive mundanity of the desert.

This film has a very modern feel to it. Set in an isolated oasis in the Nevada desert there's little to tie it down to a particular time - were it not for the old cars, it could be now. The other thing which makes this timeless is the acting, specifically that of Aline MacMahon whose character is the focus of this film. Being from the 'method school' her characterisation is much more natural than was typical in the early thirties. It's an outstanding performance.

She plays Olga who runs this little 'service station' isolated from the outside world, isolated, as we'll discover, from something in her past. We never quite find out what led her here, dragging her reluctant and resentful sister along and that's one of the things which makes this so intriguing. Whatever it was, she's not going to let it happen to her sister whom she keeps a tight rain on which in her sister's mind means stopping her having any fun.

She's content hiding from the world where her only interaction with people is with the strangers passing through. She's content hiding from who she was, hiding from being a woman until a sinister face from the past re-enters her life. When her mask slips, we perhaps get an idea of why she abandoned that former life.

It's totally addictive viewing but at the time you're not sure why. When it's over you realise that it's one of those pictures that you will always remember. Although the skies are bright and clear, the atmosphere is as thick as soup infused with something undefined but dark and dangerous. Its unrelenting oppressive heat permeates through the screen into your own world, you can taste the desert yourself - such is the brilliance of LeRoy's direction.

I was very fortunate to DVR a pristine copy of this many years ago on TCM and I have watched it probably 30 times since.

My dad made several auto trips across the US in the twenties and earlier. Though this was 1934, it provides me with a visual perspective on some of what he may have encountered before there was a national system of highways, or many paved roads for that matter.

My enjoyment of this film comes mostly from the glimpses into early motoring. As a kid in the early fifties I made many a trip from California to Iowa with my folks on route 66. Motoring was not all that sophisticated even in the early fifties and that plays into it as well.

This review/comment is not so much about the finer points of the movie as it is a statement on how enjoyable it is for me because of the time in which it was made.

The fact that there is a great little drama playing out and lots of ventures into quirky personalities and side plots, is just icing on the cake.