Heatwave!

Last updated

Heatwave!
GenreDrama
Teleplay by Peter Allan Fields
Mark Weingart
Story by Herbert F. Solow
Directed by Jerry Jameson
Starring Ben Murphy
Bonnie Bedelia
Lew Ayres
Theme music composer Fred Steiner
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producer Harve Bennett
ProducerHerbert F. Solow
Production locations Long Beach, California
Saugus, California
Cinematography Enzo A. Martinelli
Editors J. Terry Williams
Doug Young
Running time90 mins
Production company Universal Television
Original release
Network ABC
ReleaseJanuary 26, 1974 (1974-01-26)

Heatwave! is an American disaster movie that was broadcast on the ABC television network on January 26, 1974. It was an ABC Movie of the Week. Its running time was 90 minutes. The film was directed by Jerry Jameson, produced by Herbert F. Solow and Harve Bennett.

Contents

The plot focuses upon the effect an intense and prolonged heat wave and water shortage has on Frank Taylor and his pregnant wife Laura Taylor, both while they are in the city where they live and after they decide to relocate.

Plot

When the heat wave eventually causes a total blackout that shuts down the brokerage firm where Frank works, he and Laura decide to relocate to a mountain cabin in a remote small town—which is also affected by the heat, blackout, and water shortage.

On the way to the cabin, the Taylors' car is taken from them; and they are forced to walk eight miles to the town. When the Taylors reach the town, they go to see Dr. Grayson, who appears to be Laura's old family physician. Dr. Grayson advises Laura that it is important for her to rest given the stress she has been under in the hot, dry conditions.

After Laura has seen the doctor, the Taylors go to the cabin and find two young hikers have taken shelter there. After being briefly angry, the Taylors decide to allow the hikers to stay.

Laura rests in the cabin. However, she still gives birth prematurely.

After the baby is born, Dr. Grayson states the baby cannot survive without being in an incubator, particularly because of the extreme conditions. Dr. Grayson also states that he not only has no incubator but that he would be unable to run one as he has no fuel for his generator. (He is out, and the pumps fuel stations use are powered by electricity). However, with the assistance of the hikers and two town residents, Frank is able to build and power a makeshift incubator.

When the baby has been placed in the incubator, the characters hear that it is raining, which—in the movie—indicates the heat wave has broken and the water shortage will end.

Principal cast

Production

’Due to the complete lack of budget, a lot of things happen off screen. There are mentions of forest fires and constant references to ‘brown outs’ ’’. [1]

Alternative titles

This movie is also known by other titles outside the United States; they include the European English name of Heatwave and the French name of 120 degrés Fahrenheit.

Reception

A retrospective review finds that the film is "Really more a drama than a disaster movie". [2] Various reviewers express the lack of interest or empathy provoked by the main character: "Heatwave! suffers from an unlikable and ineffective main character in Frank, who by the time he inexplicably shrugs all that off to construct an advanced medical device from a fish tank, fan, mini-fridge and cloth, has completely lost the audience." [3] They also insist on the cinematographic challenge of visually showing a heatwave on screen, and failure of the film to do so: "The biggest hole of all, though, I have to say, is the premise itself. Unlike, say, earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanoes, or tsunamis, there is no visual component to a heat wave." [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Brief Encounter</i> 1945 British film directed by David Lean

Brief Encounter is a 1945 British romantic tragedy film directed by David Lean from a screenplay by Noël Coward, based on his 1936 one-act play Still Life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disaster film</span> Film genre

A disaster film or disaster movie is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject and primary plot device. Such disasters may include natural disasters, accidents, military/terrorist attacks or global catastrophes such as a pandemic. A subgenre of action films, these films usually feature some degree of build-up, the disaster itself, and sometimes the aftermath, usually from the point of view of specific individual characters or their families or portraying the survival tactics of different people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 European heatwave</span> Major heat wave in Europe

The 2003 European heat wave saw the hottest summer recorded in Europe since at least 1540. France was hit especially hard. The heat wave led to health crises in several countries and combined with drought to create a crop shortfall in parts of Southern Europe. The death toll has been estimated at more than 70,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolling blackout</span> Intentionally engineered electrical power shutdown

A rolling blackout, also referred to as rota or rotational load shedding, rota disconnection, feeder rotation, or a rotating outage, is an intentionally engineered electrical power shutdown in which electricity delivery is stopped for non-overlapping periods of time over different parts of the distribution region. Rolling blackouts are a last-resort measure used by an electric utility company to avoid a total blackout of the power system.

Love Is a Many Splendored Thing was an American daytime soap opera that aired on CBS from September 18, 1967, to March 23, 1973. The series was created by Irna Phillips, who served as the first head writer. She was replaced by Jane Avery and Ira Avery in 1968, who were followed by Don Ettlinger, James Lipton and finally Ann Marcus. John Conboy served as producer for most of the show's run.

<i>Mr. Majestyk</i> 1974 film by Richard Fleischer

Mr. Majestyk is a 1974 American action film directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Elmore Leonard. Charles Bronson stars as the title character, a melon farmer and Vietnam War veteran who comes into conflict with gangsters. Leonard, who wrote the film with an original screenplay, took the name Majestyk from a character in his 1969 crime novel The Big Bounce. He would also write the novelization of the film.

<i>Dead End</i> (2003 film) 2003 film

Dead End is a 2003 English-language French horror film written and directed by Jean-Baptiste Andrea and Fabrice Canepa, and starring Alexandra Holden, Ray Wise, Lin Shaye, Mick Cain, Billy Asher, and Amber Smith. It tells the story of a dysfunctional family who find themselves on a never-ending road in the middle of a forest during a routine drive on Christmas Eve, while under pursuit of a mysterious hearse and a woman dressed in white.

<i>Legion of Fire: Killer Ants!</i> 1998 television film

Legion of Fire: Killer Ants! is a 1998 made for TV horror movie, made for the Fox TV channel.

<i>The Night the World Exploded</i> 1957 film by Fred F. Sears

The Night the World Exploded is a 1957 science fiction, disaster film. The film was written by Jack Natteford and Luci Ward, and directed by Fred F. Sears for producer Sam Katzman. Both Katzman and Sears were great exponents of the low-budget B film genre. The film was theatrically released on a double bill with The Giant Claw.

<i>Its Alive</i> (2009 film) Film by Josef Rusnak

It's Alive is a 2009 American science fiction horror film directed by Josef Rusnak. It is a remake of the 1974 film written and directed by Larry Cohen. Bijou Phillips stars as a mother who has a mutant baby which kills anyone when scared. The film was released on April 2, 2009, as a direct-to-video and received mostly negative reviews upon release.

Rock Odyssey is an animated feature film produced by Hanna-Barbera for a television release in 1987. Directed by Robert Taylor, with storyboards by Pete Alvarado. This features Scatman Crothers in his final film appearance, released following his death. The film was dedicated to his memory.

More than 1,030 people were killed in the 2002 heatwave in South India. Most of the dead were poor and elderly and a majority of deaths occurred in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. In the districts that were impacted most, the heat was so severe that ponds and rivers evaporated and in those same districts birds had fallen from the sky and animals were collapsing from the intense heat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 southeastern Australia heat wave</span> Weather event in Australia

The 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave was a heat wave that commenced in late January and led to record-breaking prolonged high temperatures in the region. The heat wave is considered one of the, if not the, most extreme in the region's history. During the heat wave, fifty separate locations set various records for consecutive, highest daytime and overnight temperatures. The highest temperature recorded during the heat wave was 48.8 °C (119.8 °F) in Hopetoun, Victoria, a record for the state. Many locations through the region recorded all-time high temperatures including capital cities Adelaide, which reached its third-highest temperature, 45.7 °C (114.3 °F), and Melbourne, which recorded its highest-ever temperature on record, 46.4 °C (115.5 °F). Both cities broke records for the most consecutive days over 40 °C (104 °F), while Mildura, Victoria recorded an all-time record twelve consecutive days over 43 °C (109 °F).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Northern Hemisphere heat waves</span> Summer heat waves

The 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer heat waves included severe heat waves that impacted most of the United States, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, Hong Kong, North Africa and the European continent as a whole, along with parts of Canada, Russia, Indochina, South Korea and Japan during July 29, 2010. The first phase of the global heatwaves was caused by a moderate El Niño event, which lasted from June 2009 to May 2010. This lasted only from April 2010 to June 2010 and caused only moderate above-average temperatures in the affected regions, but it also set new record high temperatures for most of the area affected in the Northern Hemisphere.

The 2016 Indian heat wave was a major heat wave in April and May of that year. A national record high temperature of 51.0 °C (123.8 °F) was set in the town of Phalodi, in the state of Rajasthan. Over 1,100 people died with 330 million affected to some degree. There were also water shortages with drought worsening the impact of the heat wave.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 heat wave in India and Pakistan</span> Severe heatwave in India

From mid-May to mid-June 2019, the republics of India and Pakistan had a severe heat wave. It was one of the hottest and longest heat waves in the subcontinent since the two countries began recording weather reports. The highest temperatures occurred in Churu, Rajasthan, reaching up to 50.8 °C (123.4 °F), a near record high in India, missing the record of 51.0 °C (123.8 °F) set in 2016 by a fraction of a degree. As of 12 June 2019, 32 days are classified as parts of the heatwave, making it the second longest ever recorded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 India–Pakistan heat wave</span> 2022 heat wave in India and Pakistan

The 2022 India–Pakistan heat wave was an extreme weather event which resulted in the hottest March in the subcontinent since 1901. The hot season arrived unusually early in the year and extended into April, affecting a large part of India's northwest and Pakistan. The heatwave was combined with a drought, with rainfall being only a quarter to a third of normal. It occurred during a La Niña event, in which heat records are generally less likely.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 China heat wave</span> Heat wave affecting China

From June to 31 August 2022, China had a severe heat wave which affected several provinces and municipalities. To date, it is the country's worst heat wave to have existed. According to weather historian Maximiliano Herrera, it is the most severe heat wave recorded anywhere in the world.

Since April 2024, several Southeast Asian countries have experienced record-breaking temperatures which have left several people dead. Heat indices peaked at 53 °C (127 °F) in Iba in the Philippines on 28 April 2024. The heat wave has been attributed to a combination of causes, including climate change and El Niño.

References

  1. "Film Review: Heatwave!". I Love Disaster Movies!. 2 June 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  2. "Do You Really Believe All That?", More Than Things, UNP - Nebraska Paperback, pp. 117–130, retrieved 30 April 2023
  3. "Heatwave! (1974)". MonsterHunter. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  4. "In Which We Get Real Topical with a Look at "Heatwave!" (1974)". (Travalanche). 30 June 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2023.