It has been years since I saw "Heat Lightning", the 1934 crime drama with Aline MacMahon, Ann Dvorak and Preston Foster, but what I remembered about it is its firecracker pacing, the extremely unique leading lady (MacMahon) and that Warner Brothers pizzazz that had somehow all but vanished by the early 1940's. By this time, Warners was remaking many of their classics, and in spite of some truly great stars in their "A" films (Davis, Bogart, Cagney, DeHavilland), their "B" unit was strictly formula, and their remakes were pale imitations of the original source. The screenwriting credit for "Highway West" indicates "Based upon a play by...", the original play entitled "Heat Lightning". The people writing the credits couldn't even bring themselves to credit the original source, possibly afraid of older audiences remembering the original version and realizing that they were heading down a road that unfortunately at the conclusion, quality wise, was a true dead end.
While attractive, Brenda Marshall doesn't have the same sparkle that MacMahon had. In "Heat Lightning", you could see the world weariness on MacMahon's face, yet a strong character behind those tired eyes. Marshall is newly married to Arthur Kennedy (giving the film's best performance), and somehow ends up on the run with him while they are heading west, chased by the police and involved in a shoot-out. Managing to get away from him, Marshall settles down and opens a roadside coffee shop, but out of the blue, Kennedy shows up. When Marshall reveals she wants to have nothing to do with him, Kennedy turns to her younger sister (Olympe Bradna) who had never met him before or knew anything about him. It's up to Marshall to protect her sister from her thug ex-husband, even if it means running away with Kennedy and hurting her sister to prevent this from happening. Other than the early chase sequence in the beginning, this is mostly talk and little action, with Slim Summerville and Willie Best providing some awkward comic relief amongst the sister's drama. The colorful poster promises something that is sadly never delivered here, which is perhaps why Marshall never made it past second string leading lady and why Kennedy went into character parts where he made a real killing.
While attractive, Brenda Marshall doesn't have the same sparkle that MacMahon had. In "Heat Lightning", you could see the world weariness on MacMahon's face, yet a strong character behind those tired eyes. Marshall is newly married to Arthur Kennedy (giving the film's best performance), and somehow ends up on the run with him while they are heading west, chased by the police and involved in a shoot-out. Managing to get away from him, Marshall settles down and opens a roadside coffee shop, but out of the blue, Kennedy shows up. When Marshall reveals she wants to have nothing to do with him, Kennedy turns to her younger sister (Olympe Bradna) who had never met him before or knew anything about him. It's up to Marshall to protect her sister from her thug ex-husband, even if it means running away with Kennedy and hurting her sister to prevent this from happening. Other than the early chase sequence in the beginning, this is mostly talk and little action, with Slim Summerville and Willie Best providing some awkward comic relief amongst the sister's drama. The colorful poster promises something that is sadly never delivered here, which is perhaps why Marshall never made it past second string leading lady and why Kennedy went into character parts where he made a real killing.