Heatwave!

One really would not think that extreme heat would make for the premise of a movie, at least not in the mid-1970s on TV, because it is a silent threat that one only feels, though it is one that can kill. And yet that's what happens in the 1974 made-for-TV melodrama HEATWAVE!, which, while it can't be called a masterpiece in the TV film genre by any stretch of the imagination, does a good enough job with a premise that, due to the lack of special effects, probably shouldn't work as well as it does.

The story basically centers on an isolated Southern California mountain community facing the ravages of a devastating heat wave in which the daytime temperatures climb rapidly towards 120 degrees. Among the residents in danger are a young couple, played by Ben Murphy (who had appeared in the TV series "Alias Smith And Jones") and Bonnie Bedelia (who had appeared in the 1969 Sydney Pollack film THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY?, and would later be Bruce Willis' wife in the 1988 blockbuster DIE HARD). Bedelia, as it so happens, is pregnant; and the extreme heat is putting both her and her soon-to-be-born in a hell of a lot of danger. Such a fairly uncomplicated premise, which, as another reviewer has said, is probably derived from a "Twilight Zone" episode (specifically "The Midnight Sun"), is made nevertheless fairly uncomfortable because of the way the heat affects the emotional behavior of those involved. The film includes such actors as Lew Ayres (ADVISE AND CONSENT), John Anderson (RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY), Dana Elcar (THE STING), and Richard Bull (HOUR OF THE GUN).

On a fairly low budget, director Jerry Jameson (who would specialize in many a made-for-TV disaster film for much of the rest of the 1970s, and direct a big-budget film in the genre, 1977's AIRPORT '77) and his cast do a fairly good job with the notion of a silent killer such as heat. And lest anyone think that this can't happen in real life as it did in this film, it should be noted that summers here in Southern California have gotten progressively hotter, with heat waves either lasting longer or being more severe over time.

In short, you have been warned. HEATWAVE! Will get a '7' rating from me.

During an extreme heat wave, a couple with relationship difficulties leave the sun-baked city and head for the mountains in the hope of cooler temperatures.

Heatwave is an example of that very 70's genre of film, the disaster movie. Although this is one of the ones that was made for TV, not the cinema. Consequently, it is much more modestly budgeted. To be fair though, heat is a phenomenon that requires a lot less money on screen than earthquakes or blazing buildings! So in order for it to really work it has to be conveyed principally by acting and while the dramatics are serviceable enough here, it's just too low-key to really make very much of an impact. For me, a better idea would have been to have never had the characters leave the city in the first place as it is within this environment that the effects of the heatwave can more interestingly be explored. As it is, once the couple head for the hills, things do slacken off somewhat. In summary, this is a little too underplayed to make the most of its premise, it's more of a low-key drama with a heatwave in the background creating an obstacle and I guess I was hoping for more of the disaster element to be at the forefront of this one.

Well, now we know the first sign that the end is near: restaurants limit customers to one glass of water.

This is a better than average 70s TVM. I don't know if it was inspired by the blossoming environmental movement or the disaster film craze. In 2021, I find it comforting to watch old disaster films from a more civilized era.

When the film begins, it's inexplicably hot in California. This heat wave isn't just hot...but unrelenting. In fact, it's so bad that through the course of the movie, Frank and Laura Taylor (Ben Murphy and Bonnie Bedelia) find that society is breaking down--folks are out of work, supplies start running thin and chaos is breaking out. In an effort to get away from the crazy city, they head to a family mountain retreat in the mountains...but things are so bad that they are soon attacked and their car stolen. Could it be any worse? Well, Laura is pregnant!! Will they survive or are they completely screwed?

"Heatwave" is a very competently made film and it has some interesting things to say about human nature...at its best as well as at its worst. However, the film does pull its punches a bit...especially at the very end of the picture. Worth seeing but not among the best of the series.

You know a disaster movie is serious businesses when there's an exclamation point in the title! Adding an exclamation means that the title, which is generally speaking just the type of disaster featuring in the film, still isn't powerful enough to underline how hopeless the situation is for the poor people in the story. Jerry & David Zucker understood this principle when they made their brilliant disaster movie parody "Airplane!" and Jerry Jameson cleverly understood the added value of the exclamation point as well, especially since his film is "only" a modestly budgeted made- for-TV production from the early 70s. After all, let's be honest: "Heatwave" merely sounds as if it's going to be a little hot & sweaty, whereas "Heatwave!" immediately rises the impression that people will die the heat! And they are damn right to add the exclamation point, because at one point in the film, there's an outside thermometer showing a temperature of 118°F. I'm from Europe, so I had no idea how warm that is, but I looked it up and convert to °C (Celsius) … And you know what, fellow Europeans? That's almost 50°C!

Personally I really liked "Heatwave!" and I truly appreciated that it's a small-scaled but intense, honest and compelling story rather than a massive blockbuster with fancy special effects or expensive fake set pieces. Unlike "The Towering Inferno", "The Poseidon Adventure" or any other Irwin Allen production, "Heatwave!" entirely relies on script, atmosphere and acting performances. This works wonderfully well, and I was particularly impressed with how realistically these ordinary and usually good-hearted people turned into monsters due to the unendurable temperatures. Throughout the entire movie, I kept thinking about a famous line of dialogue spoken by the almighty Jack Nicholson in "A Few Good Men"… There he says at one point: "I'm a decent guy, but this (swearing) heat is driving me absolutely crazy!" Too true, and the strongest quality of "Heatwave!" is how the film masterfully depicts how regular city people suddenly become very selfish, aggressive, cowardly and even violent. In the midst of all this, we have a young couple, Frank and Laura Taylor, trying to cope with the heatwave that now lasts for two weeks already. The girl is seven months pregnant and needs to take good care of herself, but there isn't any fresh food or bottled water left anywhere. When then also the power supplies, like electricity and gas stations, are switched out, they decide to head out to her family's holiday retreat up in the mountains. The journey turns out long, difficult and full of unforeseen obstacles, and the circumstances in the little mountain village aren't any better. The worst is yet to come when Laura goes into labor two months too soon. "Heatwave!" has everything I've come to expect from an adequate disaster movie… Extreme circumstances, genuine drama, some characters you care for and many others you wish will suffer, a handful of very memorable scenes and a (admittedly forced) happy ending. Great performances are coming from the entire cast, with specific compliments to Ben Murphy (?) and the unbelievable ravishing Bonnie Bedelia, that both carry the entire film without effort. After seeing her here and in "The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie", I honestly don't comprehend why Bedelia didn't become one of the most successful and desirable actresses of the late 70s and 80s.