HEAT LIGHTNING (1934)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
"Heat Lightning" stars Aline MacMahon as Olga, a tough, possibly bitter woman who runs a service station where she is the lone fixer upper on servicing cars, and that includes fixing the engine! (Women did all kinds of jobs in this early period of Hollywood movies). Her younger sister, the ingenue Myra (Ann Dvorak, who may be best known as Scarface's sister in the original 1932 classic, "Scarface"), runs the cafe, handing out sandwiches and cold Coca-Cola bottles to weary travelers who want to get away from the intense heat. This is a lonely existence in the middle of the desert and, though Olga seems satisfied, Myra wants to escape, to get away. She wants to go to a dance but Olga disapproves, probably hoping she is not left alone to run the place (and she knows what the world of untrustworthy men is like beyond the desert). A quarrel ensues between them where Olga behaves more like a doting mother than a sister, and there is even a suggestion, possibly unmerited but you never know, of Olga having lesbian tendencies, or at least acting tomboyish to deflect any men from her direction (she wears a bandana, looking as unglamorous as possible).
For example, one day, an old flame of Olga's arrives at the cafe named George (Preston Foster), a thief and con man on the run from his latest heist with his partner (Lyle Talbot). George makes nice with Olga, trying to woo her back when in fact he is up to his old tricks. Olga resists yet she smiles, and even wears makeup and a dress to welcome back the former man in her life! There might be an intended or unintended subtext in there. Meanwhile, Myra persists and disobeys Olga by going to the dance while a boisterous Mexican family and two rich dames and their chauffeur from Reno find lodging, and there is the matter of some precious jewelry.
Based on a play by Leon Abrams and George Abbott, "Heat Lightning" has enough tension, atmosphere and hypnotic shots to merit a lasting impression, all in a little more than 64 minutes. Particularly effective are Aline MacMahon and Ann Dvorak, two sisters with opposite personalities and purpose, trying to live some semblance of a life in the middle of the desert. What is more remarkable is that this is possibly the first noir western we have ever had, especially one with such a remote setting. "The Petrified Forest" may have a similar setting but that was released 2 years later. Here, we have what starts as a character study that mixes in some noir characters, hence Olga's former bad boy lover, and other noirish aspects like sex, intrigue, jealousy betrayal with some comic relief thrown in.
"Heat Lightning" was later remade as "Highway West" in 1941, unseen by me. "Heat Lightning" deserves a wider audience and some context in its subversive combination of genres and its pre-code subject matter (and, again, with having two female protagonists). It has been shown on TCM but if you happen to catch it again, then you'll swear that 65 minutes have never induced such sweaty tension as this original.
