Right before Hayes Code started being enforced more severely starting in 1934, a movie called Heat Lightning was released. Because it was made right as the pre code era was just ending, it has some moments in it that definitely would not be allowed later on, due to their sexual or violent connotations. The movie is quite good despite only having one setting for the most part. Two sisters, Olga (Aline MacMahon) and Myra (Ann Dvorak) own a gas station in the middle of nowhere (technically the desert of the southwestern US). One day, Myra says she wants to go to a dance with a guy named Steve, but Olga doesn't allow it. Later that day, Olga's ex-boyfriend George (Preston Foster) shows up, who is the last person on earth she wants to see. George and his friend Jeff are secretly trying to escape justice after they tried to rob a bank earlier and killed 2 people. George and Jeff plan to stay for only a few hours until they can sneak across the border into mexico, but they later decide to stay after two wealthy women show up. Mrs. Tifton (Glenda Farrell) and Ashton-Ashley both have a large amount of jewels, which catches George's attention. Later, the two rich women want to store their jewels in a safe because they don't want to leave them unguarded in a secluded area like this, and George finds out they're in there. He tries to get on Olga's good side again, reminding her of all the time in oklahoma they spent together, and he eventually sleeps with her. This allows him to lower her guard so that he won't be suspected of opening the safe. When Jeff tries to get it open, Olga overhears George say he was only nice to her to make himself not look like a criminal. Olga gets a pistol and kills George, but allows Jeff to escape. This is one of the shortest movies I've seen in a while, but it still manages to be interesting and exciting. The only thing I didn't like is the rather stupid ending. Olga kills George and then immediately regrets pulling the trigger, since she remembers they were friends once. Other than that, it's pretty memorable. The girl who plays Mrs. Tifton reminds me of Jean Harlow, and she's later caught off guard by someone who's watching her bathe outside (good example of a pre code moment). The plot in this movie isn't particularly strong and is quite linear, but I still enjoyed Heat Lightning because it was one of the last indecent movies to be produced before the enforcement of the code.
Review of Heat Lightning
