Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

MartinHafer In many ways, this film reminds me of another Warner Brothers film made just a few years later, "The Petrified Forest". Both are set at isolated gas stations in the desert and both involve gangsters who come there to seek shelter. However, the films are certainly different enough to make it worth seeing them both.Olga (Aline MacMahon) is a world-weary soul who has chosen to move into the middle of nowhere because she's tired of people. Her sister, Myrna (Ann Dvorak), however, isn't tired of people and yearns for excitement and men-- and the pair couldn't be more different. Into their very dull and predictable lives come an assortment of folks to stay at their gas station/motor court. One pair are a couple of divorcées on their way from Reno after their latest conquest. Another are a pair of crooks on the run from the law. In a coincidence you'll only see in a play or movie, it turns out the boss (Preston Foster) was once Olga's lover! What's next? See the film.There are two main things going for this film--Foster and MacMahon. Their characters are interesting and the final scene between them is something to see! Unfortunately, Dvorak's role is very whiny and annoying--and the character significantly impairs the film with her overwrought performance. Overall, it is worth seeing but is far from brilliant work from the studio.

GManfred That was how the cast of 'Seinfeld' described their show. But they were beaten to the punch in 1934 by Warner Bros. with the release of "Heat Lightning", a static and unfunny comedy/drama taken from the Broadway show of the same name.The beginning was the best part, with Edgar Kennedy and Jane Darwell as a bickering married couple. It made you think that the best was yet to come, but no. The rest of the film is loaded with unnecessary, awkward situations and with the actors seeming ill at ease and mouthing stilted and clumsy dialogue which often falls flat. I cannot believe George Abbott had a hand in the movie script and must have been credited since he wrote the play, because this script is poorly written and lacking humor in humorous situations.This was a shame because Warners had assembled a great cast but saddled them with a boring story which lacks action and energy. Ann Dvorak, an excellent actress, comes off as whiny and annoying and Ruth Donnelly could have sued the script writer, her comic lines were so prosaic. And a contributor mentioned 'Key Largo'?! There is no similarity at all. "Heat Lightning" ran only 44 performances on Broadway for a reason, and I'll bet it wasn't the depression. The four rating points are for the cast despite the fact they were mistreated.

wes-connors Grease monkey Aline McMahon (as Olga) runs a "Service Station and Auto Camp" in the California desert, with help from attractive little sister Ann Dvorak (as Myra). Ms. MacMahon takes care of gas and gaskets (outside), while Ms. Dvorak serves cold beer and Coca-Cola (inside). MacMahon has sworn off cabarets, after a bad relationship - but, innocent Dvorak wants to go out and have fun. There are opportunities in the middle of the desert, as frequent travelers abound.While discouraging Dvorak, MacMahon has second thoughts about the male gender after old flame Preston Foster (as George, but MacMahon still calls him "Jerry") chances by the station, with "peeping Tom" pal Lyle Talbot (as Jeff). The pair are on the lam, after a bank heist and double-murder. MacMahon covers for Mr. Preston, when the sheriff comes looking for the crooks. MacMahon seems ready to re-succumb to Preston's masculine charms, but may want to reconsider… Everyone pretends to be hot, but Mervyn LeRoy's "Heat Lightning" is all subtest, and no steam. The cast is fun, though.***** Heat Lightning (3/3/34) Mervyn LeRoy ~ Aline MacMahon, Preston Foster, Ann Dvorak, Lyle Talbot

goblinhairedguy A fine example of minimalist film-making, this Warners B-pic offers a proto-feminist scenario delivered with some swell precode attitude. Two sisters (one world-weary, the other innocent) run a service-station-cum-caravansary on an isolated desert highway. Every passerby kids them about how dull and lonely this existence must be, but in the space of one night they serve host to a pair of criminals on the run, a couple of gold-diggers on the way back from Reno with their swag (and with a wise-guy chauffeur), plus a large family of Mexicans on the way to a fiesta.The main thrust of the film is melodramatic, as even in their isolation the women cannot avoid mistreatment by treacherous men. However, it's also filled with neat little comic bits and clever wisecracks. Director Mervyn Le Roy creates plenty of atmosphere with few resources, and the cheap-jack desert-palms backdrop (with the Mexican father tenderly serenading his family in the background) sticks in the memory. Le Roy uses an almost slow-motion tracking shot to great effect to show the hallucinatory influence of an ex-lover on the older sister as he intrudes into this sweaty environment. And it's pretty clear that there's a lot of casual sleeping around going on -- a lot of the jokes and situations probably wouldn't have survived the censors if this were a more prominent picture (and definitely not a year later). But the picture never flaunts its raciness -- sex is just part of the fabric of life.Though consistently enjoyable, the movie never builds up enough intensity to be classed with the immortal second features like Detour (though the climax does pack a punch). Surprisingly, the two leads never really click. Aline MacMahon and Ann Dvorak were always marvelously idiosyncratic in supporting roles, but here the former's baroque style seems overdone for the milieu, and the latter doesn't have much opportunity to vent her repressed passion (maybe the censor trimmed that bit). Overall, though, the performances from the many familiar faces are excellent, my particular favorite occurring in the opening scene featuring Edgar Kennedy as the henpecked spouse of Jane Darwell.Definitely worth seeking out for aficionados (but hard to find). Some might compare it to The Petrified Forest, but it gives me a bit of an offbeat Shack Out on 101 vibe, too.