horsegoggles I was very fortunate to DVR a pristine copy of this many years ago on TCM and I have watched it probably 30 times since.My dad made several auto trips across the US in the twenties and earlier. Though this was 1934, it provides me with a visual perspective on some of what he may have encountered before there was a national system of highways, or many paved roads for that matter.My enjoyment of this film comes mostly from the glimpses into early motoring. As a kid in the early fifties I made many a trip from California to Iowa with my folks on route 66. Motoring was not all that sophisticated even in the early fifties and that plays into it as well.This review/comment is not so much about the finer points of the movie as it is a statement on how enjoyable it is for me because of the time in which it was made.The fact that there is a great little drama playing out and lots of ventures into quirky personalities and side plots, is just icing on the cake.

moonspinner55 Interesting drama which bristles with pungent, often very amusing dialogue. Two sisters (a homely, bossy man-hater and a restless younger beauty who likes to kick up her heels) battle amongst themselves while running a filling station/diner/motel in the California desert; a pair of casual-acting bank robbers stop in one afternoon on their way to the border, one of whom knows the elder sister very well. Adaptation of Leon Abrams and George Abbott's play ran into trouble with the Catholic Legion of Decency in 1934--one presumes over the frank talk and implications of man-woman intimacy--yet the most surprising thing about this piece is the fact Aline MacMahon's plain, resentful Olga has a romantic past at all! Possibly conceived at one point as a lesbian, the character of Olga (who trades in her head-bandanna and dungarees for make-up and a frilly dress) is the story's central focus, and yet she doesn't emerge as a convincing, fully thought-out creation. The material goes noticeably soft at the halfway mark to accommodate Olga's actions, making the censorship stories even more ridiculous in hindsight. Still, the film has a quick pace and a lively cast, colorful patter between the guests, and a satisfying finish. **1/2 from ****

bkoganbing Heat Lightning was an early work by George Abbott, written and directed by him in 1933 it had only a run of 44 performances in that anemic Depression Era season on Broadway. It was not the best work Abbott was ever associated with, but I'm sure he was grateful that Warner Brothers bought the screen rights in those cash strapped times.It stars Aline McMahon and Ann Dvorak as a pair of sisters running a filling station, automobile camp out in the American west, very similar to the one Bette Davis and her family was running in The Petrified Forest. They're both a bit antsy being stuck out in the desert without the attention of the male of the species. But McMahon's been around the track a little too often and she tries to steer Dvorak right.The guy who gave her that ride a few times is Preston Foster and he's shown up with pal Lyle Talbot. On the lam as it turns out, but the sisters don't know it. Foster's putting the moves on Dvorak and McMahon ain't having any of that. Truth be told she's got a bit of a yen still left and the desert isolation ain't curing the yen.Some other characters pop up in this drama, a pair of would be divorcées heading for Reno with their 'chauffeur' played by Glenda Farrell, Ruth Donnelly and Frank McHugh. Also at the beginning Edgar Kennedy and Jane Darwell are a married couple going west. I wish we could have seen more of them. In fact I'm surprised that Jack Warner didn't recognize a good potential comic team there and made more films with them.As you can see there are a lot of similarities to The Petrified Forest, but I think that even with the tragedies that befall both Humphrey Bogart and Leslie Howard there, The Petrified Forest is a more optimistic play. Bette Davis does get her chance to leave and see the wider world. Not quite what happens here, but I can't say more.As compared to some of the legendary work George Abbott was associated with on stage Heat Lightning is definitely minor league. Yet it's not a bad piece of work, definitely in keeping with the times. Mervyn LeRoy did a good job in filling the screen and striking a nice balance between the comic and the dramatic. Very typical of what came from the working man's studio.

SumBuddy-3 After reading several reviews that enjoyed the film, I almost did not write a comment.However, after reading the one comparing it to a poor man's Petrified Forest, I wanted to say that's just plain unfair.I, was not around for the New York Times drab review in 1934, like the previous reviewer, but I can form my own opinion. I really liked the movie. Aline McMahon, pulled off the difficult character of playing a woman mechanic/business owner, and Preston Foster played the crook on the lam quite believable for the situation he was in.I personally wish Ann Dvorak had more of a developed part, I always like her, but sadly hers was the least developed of the several interesting characters in the film. Obviously made on a small budget, it's just unfair to compare this to Petrified Forest. They are not the same film at all.