''Heatwave!'' is an American

disaster movie ''Disaster Movie'' is a 2008 American parody film written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer and produced by Peter Safran, Friedberg, and Seltzer. It stars Matt Lanter, Vanessa Minnillo, Gary "G Thang" Johnson, Crista Flanaga ...

that was broadcast on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

television network on January 26, 1974. It was an

ABC Movie of the Week The ''ABC Movie of the Week'' is an American weekly television anthology series featuring Television film, made-for-TV movies that aired on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network in various permutations from 1969 in television, 1969 t ...

. Its running time was 90 minutes. The film was directed by

Jerry Jameson Jerry Jameson (born November 26, 1934) is an American television program, television and film director, film editing, editor and film producer, producer. Biography Highly prolific, he began his career in 1964 as an editor on the episode "List ...

, produced by Herbert F. Solow and

Harve Bennett Harve Bennett (born Harvard Bennett Fischman; August 17, 1930 – February 25, 2015) was an American television and film producer and screenwriter. Early years Bennett was born to a Jewish family in Chicago, Illinois, in 1930, the son of Kathry ...

. The plot focuses upon the effect an intense and prolonged

heat wave A heat wave or heatwave, sometimes described as extreme heat, is a period of abnormally hot weather generally considered to be at least ''five consecutive days''. A heat wave is usually measured relative to the usual climate in the area and ...

and

water shortage Water scarcity (closely related to water stress or water crisis) is the lack of fresh water resources to meet the standard water demand. There are two types of water scarcity. One is ''physical.'' The other is ''economic water scarcity''. Physic ...

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 A broker is a person or entity that arranges transactions between a Purchasing, buyer and a sales, seller. This may be done for a commission (remuneration), commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer b ...

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

* Frank Taylor:

Ben Murphy Ben Murphy (born March 6, 1942) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Kid Curry in the ABC television series '' Alias Smith and Jones''. Early life Murphy was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to Benjamin R. Castleberry and Nadi ...

* Laura Taylor:

Bonnie Bedelia Bonnie Bedelia (born Bonnie Bedelia Culkin; March 25, 1948) is an American actress. After beginning her career in theatre in the 1960s, Bedelia starred in the CBS daytime soap opera '' Love of Life'' and made her film debut in '' The Gypsy Moths ...

* Arnold Brady:

David Huddleston David William Huddleston (September 17, 1930 – August 2, 2016) was an American actor. An Emmy Awards, Emmy Award nominee, Huddleston had a prolific television career, and appeared in many films, including'' Rio Lobo'', ''Blazing Saddles'', '' ...

* Dr. Grayson:

Lew Ayres Lewis Frederick Ayres III (December 28, 1908 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor whose film and television career spanned 65 years. He is best known for starring as German soldier Paul Bäumer in the film ''All Quiet on the Western Fro ...

* Jerry Roberts: Lionel Johnston * Toler: John Anderson * Prescott:

Dana Elcar Ibsen Dana Elcar (October 10, 1927 – June 6, 2005) was an American television and film character actor. He appeared in about 40 films as well as in the 1960s television series ''Dark Shadows'' as Sheriff George Patterson and the 1980s and 1 ...

* Harry Powers: Robert Hogan * Susan: Janit Baldwin * Donald Mantooth, asan ambulance attendant.

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’ ’’.

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". 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." 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."

References

External links

* {{Jerry Jameson 1974 films 1974 television films 1970s disaster films ABC Movie of the Week American disaster films American survival films Disaster television films Films directed by Jerry Jameson Films produced by Harve Bennett Films set in California Films set in Los Angeles 1970s American films