"Heat Lightning" fancied itself having a strong female lead character.
I don't think so.
The lead character was a woman named Olga (Aline MacMahon). Olga and her sister Myra (Ann Dvorak) lived in the California desert. Based upon some of the context clues, they were in or near the Mojave Desert. Olga was a mechanic and ran her own service station. She wore overalls and a bandana and no make-up. She didn't talk of men, fashions, or nightlife, and she tried to keep her younger sister from those things. She conveyed a tough, no-nonsense, strong image.
Then an old flame came to town.
George (Preston Foster) and Jeff (Lyle Talbot) were passing through California on their way to Mexico to escape the law. They'd done a bank job and killed a guard or two in the process. While George was at the little pit stop he recognized his old flame Olga. At first she was very standoffish, but you wondered how long the posturing would last.
She told George that she had a new life now. She wasn't the showgirl he knew back in Tulsa whose looks were everything to her. She didn't want anything to do with him or that life, and she sounded very convincing. She didn't waver, she didn't look away to hide her true feelings, she didn't show any signs that she was just trying to convince herself that she was over him.
Then George said something that you'd think only worked on children. It was the lamest bit of reverse psychology you'll ever witness.
"Don't you worry about me trying to get you back, cuz there ain't a chance in the world sweetheart," George told her. It was such a childish comment. He even said it like a third grader on the school yard. It sounded fake like he was saying it to hurt her feelings more than state an actual fact.
Then Olga walked away to go inside the house; and the way she walked away you knew something was off. You knew that that comment may have just hit a nerve, but surely it didn't rattle her enough to make her change her demeanor and change her appearance?
The next time we saw Olga the overalls, bandana, and attitude were discarded and replaced with a dress, make-up, and feminity. But, did she do it to prove a point--to prove that George would desire her, because she wanted some male company for the night, or was it that she really wanted him back?
I couldn't tell you why she changed her appearance because she didn't change her general behavior towards George. One thing is for sure: she did want George to desire her, because when George stopped her to kiss her she put up no resistance. The next thing we saw, George was leaving her bedroom in the wee hours of the morning. This was a perturbing occurrence for me as a viewer and Olga's sister, Myra, who also saw George leaving Olga's room.
I was perturbed because Olga was another female character that talked tough, but was really seeking a man underneath it all. She was hiding in the desert from the temptations in the male form because she just couldn't trust herself around them (or at least George).
Myra was perturbed because all she ever heard was Olga's preaching and chastising about men, yet she fell for the charms of a man in just one night.
Before it was all over Olga had snapped back to her senses. Kind of. What happened was she overheard George telling his partner in crime, Jeff, to open the safe and that he "didn't spend all that time with that dame for nothing," in reference to charming Olga to perhaps lower her guard. That is what really woke her up.
When she awoke to what she'd done and what George was all about, she shot him--which led to more questions. Did she shoot him because he was stealing or did she shoot him because she was devastated? She'd betrayed herself and her sister then she heard the man she betrayed herself for state that he only spent time with her as a tactic. I'm sure her self-worth was at penny stock level at that point. As smart, savvy, and tough as she was, she wound up being used by a man just as easily as her sister was (Myra had just gotten unceremoniously dropped off after spending the night with her crush).
Olga was a conundrum and shooting George didn't make her stronger, it only made her weaker. Here was a woman whose bark was worse than her bite--a woman who was so weak she fell for a trick she knew was coming--and instead of facing facts, she shot the man she blamed for her downfall.
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I don't think so.
The lead character was a woman named Olga (Aline MacMahon). Olga and her sister Myra (Ann Dvorak) lived in the California desert. Based upon some of the context clues, they were in or near the Mojave Desert. Olga was a mechanic and ran her own service station. She wore overalls and a bandana and no make-up. She didn't talk of men, fashions, or nightlife, and she tried to keep her younger sister from those things. She conveyed a tough, no-nonsense, strong image.
Then an old flame came to town.
George (Preston Foster) and Jeff (Lyle Talbot) were passing through California on their way to Mexico to escape the law. They'd done a bank job and killed a guard or two in the process. While George was at the little pit stop he recognized his old flame Olga. At first she was very standoffish, but you wondered how long the posturing would last.
She told George that she had a new life now. She wasn't the showgirl he knew back in Tulsa whose looks were everything to her. She didn't want anything to do with him or that life, and she sounded very convincing. She didn't waver, she didn't look away to hide her true feelings, she didn't show any signs that she was just trying to convince herself that she was over him.
Then George said something that you'd think only worked on children. It was the lamest bit of reverse psychology you'll ever witness.
"Don't you worry about me trying to get you back, cuz there ain't a chance in the world sweetheart," George told her. It was such a childish comment. He even said it like a third grader on the school yard. It sounded fake like he was saying it to hurt her feelings more than state an actual fact.
Then Olga walked away to go inside the house; and the way she walked away you knew something was off. You knew that that comment may have just hit a nerve, but surely it didn't rattle her enough to make her change her demeanor and change her appearance?
The next time we saw Olga the overalls, bandana, and attitude were discarded and replaced with a dress, make-up, and feminity. But, did she do it to prove a point--to prove that George would desire her, because she wanted some male company for the night, or was it that she really wanted him back?
I couldn't tell you why she changed her appearance because she didn't change her general behavior towards George. One thing is for sure: she did want George to desire her, because when George stopped her to kiss her she put up no resistance. The next thing we saw, George was leaving her bedroom in the wee hours of the morning. This was a perturbing occurrence for me as a viewer and Olga's sister, Myra, who also saw George leaving Olga's room.
I was perturbed because Olga was another female character that talked tough, but was really seeking a man underneath it all. She was hiding in the desert from the temptations in the male form because she just couldn't trust herself around them (or at least George).
Myra was perturbed because all she ever heard was Olga's preaching and chastising about men, yet she fell for the charms of a man in just one night.
Before it was all over Olga had snapped back to her senses. Kind of. What happened was she overheard George telling his partner in crime, Jeff, to open the safe and that he "didn't spend all that time with that dame for nothing," in reference to charming Olga to perhaps lower her guard. That is what really woke her up.
When she awoke to what she'd done and what George was all about, she shot him--which led to more questions. Did she shoot him because he was stealing or did she shoot him because she was devastated? She'd betrayed herself and her sister then she heard the man she betrayed herself for state that he only spent time with her as a tactic. I'm sure her self-worth was at penny stock level at that point. As smart, savvy, and tough as she was, she wound up being used by a man just as easily as her sister was (Myra had just gotten unceremoniously dropped off after spending the night with her crush).
Olga was a conundrum and shooting George didn't make her stronger, it only made her weaker. Here was a woman whose bark was worse than her bite--a woman who was so weak she fell for a trick she knew was coming--and instead of facing facts, she shot the man she blamed for her downfall.
Free on Odnoklassniki.