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.

Heatwave! (1974)

** (out of 4)

ABC Movie of the Week has a large city battling one of the worst heatwaves the country has ever seen. Frank (Ben Murphy) and his pregnant wife Laura (Bonnie Bedelia) decide to jump in their car and try to make it to the top of a mountain where they hope to find a doctor as well as cooler temperatures but they hit one roadblock after another.

HEATWAVE! is a pretty bland movie from start to finish that's biggest flaw is its screenplay, which offers some rather unappealing characters as well as too many predictable moments. One of the biggest issues that I had with the film is how every single turn led the couple to another major issue. I'm not going to ruin some of the plot points here but let's just say that everything imaginable happens to the two but not for a second did I believe it. I also never really felt that the script was putting either of them into any real danger so that means there's no drama or suspense to be had.

Bedelia does turn in a good performance in the role of the 7 month pregnant woman who finds herself battling the heat. Murphy is also good in his role but his character is a major jerk, which is a turnoff as well. Lew Ayres shows up as a county doctor and it was fun seeing him and David Huddleston is also fun in his role as a beer salesman.

HEATWAVE! thankfully runs only 72 minutes or else it would have been more of a chore to sit through. As it is, it's mildly entertaining but there are just too many flaws for it to work.

Struggling independent young couple Murphy and Bedelia - he's a lowly clerk, she's pregnant - are two of the more memorable residents of a small town whom the heat is upon, where personal emotions and intensities are rising along with the temperature.

There's dramatically nothing new here, and it isn't new on a TV budget. But in saying that, the TV disaster cycle spawned by the success of the big-screen genre in the 70s was often to be found to be far more briskly entertaining than its bombastic big-budget counterparts. In fact, in Heat Wave! in particular, the tack factor remains pretty low and preposterousness is kept to a minimum, in favour of building tensions amidst characters and their situation.

It's a shame that these films aren't shown TV anymore, as in their way they can be a more thoughtful yet entertaining watch than today's mindless blockbusters, and often at half the length.

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.

Two things you could easily find in the 70s were disaster movies and made-for-TV movies. Heatwave! (I love the added exclamation point) combines the two. The end result is a nice, little, enjoyable film. The movie focuses on Frank and Laura Taylor (Ben Murphy and Bonnie Bedelia) as they try to cope with and survive an unrelenting heatwave. Complicating matters, Laura is seven months pregnant. They decide to try to escape the heat and general nastiness of the city and head to Laura's parent's cabin in the mountains. But the heat and nastiness follow them. They are forced to hike the last several miles, which is rough on the pregnant Laura. Fortunately, one of the few remaining residents on the mountain is an old doctor. Laura prematurely goes into labor. With no modern medical equipment, no power, and no way to get back to civilization, will the baby survive?

Unlike modern films with their overblown special effects, Heatwave! is a much smaller, more intimate movie. It's the kind of movie that I'm not sure you could make today. The movie works primarily due to some outstanding acting and writing. The two leads, Murphy and particularly Bedelia, are great. There were times when Murphy got on my nerves, but that had more to do with his character than him as an actor. The supporting cast is strong. Lew Ayres, David Huddleston, John Anderson, and Dana Elcar are all veterans and more than capable. The script is well-written and provides a good amount of tension and suspense. The run-ins that Frank and Laura have with other people are interesting. I'm sure the message here is that we are all living in a world that is just one small disaster away from breaking down into chaos. Frank's encounter with the old man on the road is proof of that. There were, however, moments of manufactured tension that didn't quite work. I got a chuckle out of Laura's overly dramatic encounter with a raccoon. This was a 70s made-for-TV movie so the happy ending should come as no surprise. Still, the ingenious way they all pull together in the end to save the baby, however improbable, was nice.