Heat Wave, Summer of Murder

Ah! Summertime.  Fun at the lake.  Boating...swimming...murder!  Yep, we have a nice one today about a schmuck who gets involved with a rich, and evil, dame.  Never works out.  She's sultry, he knows she's bad, but boy is she hot!  When the heart speaks, the mind turns to peanut butter.  Then, suddenly we are talking about the electric chair.  Let us look at 1954's "Heat Wave," directed by Ken Hughes. Perhaps, we can call it "The Great Gatsby-Lite."

Pulp novelist Mark Kendrick (Alex Nicol) is secluded at a bungalow by a resort lake in England.  He's struggling and his literary ideas are stale and unappealing.  He is stuck at the typewriter with no ideas as he watches the mansion across the lake.  Then the phone rings.  He shouldn't have answered. It is the sultry Carol (Hillary Brooke). Fast forward, Mark takes his boat to the party and is met by the ravishing blonde Carol in a sleek evening gown.  At the party Carol fawns over the pianist (Paul Carpenter) and an ignored Mark makes friends with Carol's rich husband, Beverly (Sidney James). Bev is unhappy as his wife is screwing the pianist.  Rich and with a bad heart, Bev develops a cynical friendship with the failed author. Bad news, Bev's doctor says he could drop dead at any minute.

Worse news...though he hates her, Mark can't resist and enjoys kissing and passion with Carol.  The news gets worse...Mark's publisher drops him and now the failed novelist has no money. Carol gets chummier with Mark and she claims to love him.  Though Bev will be dead soon, he confides to Mark that he will soon cut her out of the will.  See where this is going?  Death happens...or is it murder?  Andrea (Susan Stephen), Bev's daughter, believes Carol killed Bev...boating accident, you know.  Whatever happened on the boat on the very foggy lake...there were no witnesses...or were there?  Along comes the persistent and curious police inspector (Alan Wheatley) and he doesn't miss anything.  Now Carol and Mark better keep their stories straight.  Uh oh...Carol is Carol...or, dames are dames, and this won't bode well for Mark.

Is anyone going to take a murder rap?  Will Carol and Mark live happily ever after with Bev's fortune?  Is the police inspector as good as Lt. Columbo?  This is a good one, and perhaps a grim morality tale.  For those of you who love hot blonde femme fatales, see "Heat Wave."