gimhoff Review of Heat Lightning

Heat Lightning (1934)

Desert heat, strangers meet, violence flares -- granddaddy of the genre

[8/10 · 16 October 1999]

This predecessor of The Petrified Forest (criminals on the lam change the lives of assorted characters at an isolated lunchroom) shows its origin as a Broadway play, but it's faster moving, less pretentious, and a lot less talky than the better known movie. The large cast is wonderful, especially the great Aline MacMahon; their characters well defined; and the direction and cinematography are crisp and professional. It's well worth the hour it takes to watch it.