Body Heat (1981)

In the midst of a searing Florida heat wave, a woman persuades her lover, a small-town lawyer, to murder her rich husband.

Director:

Lawrence Kasdan

Writer:

Lawrence Kasdan

Stars:

William Hurt, Kathleen Turner, Richard Crenna

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
William Hurt	...	Ned Racine
Kathleen Turner	...	Matty Walker
Richard Crenna	...	Edmund Walker
Ted Danson	...	Peter Lowenstein
J.A. Preston	...	Oscar Grace
Mickey Rourke	...	Teddy Lewis
Kim Zimmer	...	Mary Ann
Jane Hallaren	...	Stella
Lanna Saunders	...	Roz Kraft
Carola McGuinness	...	Heather Kraft
Michael Ryan	...	Miles Hardin
Larry Marko	...	Judge Costanza
Deborah Lucchesi	...	Beverly
Lynn Hallowell	...	Angela
Thom Sharp	...	Michael Glenn (as Thom J. Sharp)

Storyline

Ned Racine is a seedy small town lawyer in Florida. During a searing heatwave he's picked up by married Matty Walker. A passionate affair commences but it isn't long before they realise the only thing standing in their way is Matty's rich husband Edmund. A plot hatches to kill him but will they pull it off?

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Plot Keywords:

femme fatale | fatal attraction | con | scantily clad female | utilization | 

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Taglines:

As the temperature rises, the suspense begins.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 August 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cuerpos ardientes

Filming Locations:

Lake Avenue, Lake Worth, Florida, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$564,593, 30 August 1981, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$24,058,838, 31 December 1981

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Ladd Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the Delux Edition DVD Extras of "Body Heat", Ted Danson tells a story about how, just before shooting, William Hurt came up to him and asked "Do you trust me?" and then proceeded to grab Danson by the balls and ask him again, "Do you trust me?" In 2008, The National Enquirer reported how Hurt apparently recounted and "demonstrated" the same story on a customer while at a tavern in New York City.

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Goofs

Characters at outdoor concert fan themselves (presumably to show how hot it is), even though there is obviously a heavy breeze that would make such activity superfluous.

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Quotes

Oscar: Whatcha got for pie today, Stella?
Stella: I got cherry, cherry and cherry.
Oscar: Well, what do you recommend?
Stella: I like the cherry.
Oscar: Bring it on.

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Alternate Versions

CBS edited 5 minutes from this film for its 1984 network television premiere.

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Connections

Version of Double Indemnity (1973)

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Soundtracks

That Old Feeling
(1937) (uncredited)
Music by Sammy Fain
Played in the score in a bar and at a concert

User Reviews

Double Indemnity? No, Triple.

This is one of those movies that fell though the cracks. I couldn't find it ever on a big screen, retrospectives you know. I refused to see it on TV for the first time. Sunday night, finally, I saw it in a huge plasma screen. Wow! I can immediately tell why people consider it a remake of Double Indemnity but unlike Gus Van Sant who remade Psycho shot by shot and casts Vince Vaugh as Norman Bates in a massive piece of miscalculation, or Jonathan Demme who remade Charade as The Trouble With Charlie and casts Mark Whalberg in the Cary Grant role, Mark Whalberg! In "Body Heat" Lawrence Kasdan casts William Hurt in the Fred Mac Murray part of the insurance salesman falling into the trap, body and soul. William Hurt's phenomenal performance reinventing the character makes "Body Heat" unique and without precedent. The power of Kathleen Turner - bursting into the film scene with a bang! - it's a masterpiece of characterization. She's way ahead of William Hurt. "You're not very intelligent, are you? I like that in a man" Superb.