''Killing Heat'' (released in Sweden as ''Gräset sjunger'') is a 1981 film based on Doris Lessing's 1950 novel ''

The Grass Is Singing ''The Grass Is Singing'', published in 1950, is the first novel by the British author Doris Lessing. It takes place in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), in southern Africa, during the 1940s and deals with the racial politics between whites and ...

''. It stars

Karen Black Karen Blanche Black (née Ziegler; July 1, 1939 – August 8, 2013) was an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence for her work in various studio and independent films in the 1970s, frequently portr ...

and

John Thaw John Edward Thaw (3 January 1942 – 21 February 2002) was an English actor in television, stage and cinema, best known for his television roles starring as Detective Inspector Jack Regan in '' The Sweeney'' (1975—78) and as Detective Chief ...

and was filmed in

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. The film was released in Zimbabwe as ''The Grass is Singing''.

Plot

The film takes place in an unidentified nation in southern Africa in the early 1960s (implied strongly to be either

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

). Mary, a city woman from Livingstone in

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North ...

, marries a farmer named Dick Turner. Mary leaves the comfortable familiarity of her urban life and goes to live on Dick's struggling farm. Mary has little experience handling black Africans as servants or employees and is harsh and tactless in her treatment of them. Mary, who is deeply unhappy with her new life, eventually runs away from Dick and journeys back to Livingstone, only to find that she cannot get her old job back. This forces her to accept the realization she has nowhere to take permanent refuge and no means of financial support. She returns to the farm. Mary slowly becomes insane and begins an affair with a domestic servant, Moses. After the affair is discovered by Dick's new farm manager, Dick decides to separate from Mary and send her away. Learning of Mary's forthcoming departure, Moses murders Mary during a rainstorm. Moses is arrested by the police and led off in handcuffs.

Cast

as Mary Turner *

as Dick Turner *

John Kani Bonisile John Kani (born 30 August 1942) is a South African actor. He is known for portraying T'Chaka in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films '' Captain America: Civil War'' (2016) and ''Black Panther'' (2018), Rafiki in ''The Lion King'' (201 ...

as Moses *

Patrick Mynhardt Patrick Beattie Mynhardt (12 June 1932 – 25 October 2007) was a well-known South African film and theatre actor. He appeared in over 150 stage plays in South Africa and England, 100 local and international films, TV plays and serials as w ...

as Charlie Muller *

John Moulder-Brown John Moulder-Brown (born 3 June 1953) is an English actor, known for his appearances in the films '' The House That Screamed'' (1969), '' Deep End'' (1970), '' First Love'' (1970) and '' Ludwig'' (1973). Biography Moulder-Brown was born in Lo ...

as Tony Marston *Margaret Heale as Ellen Muller

References

External links

* 1981 films English-language Swedish films Films based on British novels Films about adultery Films set in the 1940s Films set in Rhodesia Films set in the British Empire Zambian drama films English-language Zambian films 1981 drama films 1980s English-language films Australian drama films Swedish drama films 1980s Swedish films {{1980s-Sweden-film-stub af:The Grass Is Singing sr:Трава пева sv:Gräset sjunger