Heat Wave (1954) - Alex Nicol - Hillary Brooke - Sidney James - 16mm Kodak Orig.

Description

This is a 16mm Original print of the Hammer film-noir, Heat Wave a.k.a. The House Across the Lake (1954). I would describe it as a good condition Kodak Original print with minimal wear. There is no vinegar odor. It is on two - 1600' reels. It has a running time of approximately 68 minutes.
Heat Wave a.k.a. The House Across the Lake (1954) Written and Directed by Ken Hughes. Cast: Alex Nicol, Hillary Brooke, Sidney James, Susan Stephen, Paul Carpenter, Alan Wheatley, Peter Illing, Gordon McLeod, Joan Hickson, John Sharp, Hugh Dempster, Monti DeLyle, Christine Adrian, Ernest Blyth, Harry Brunning, Peter Evans, Chick Fowles, Angela Glynne, Howard Lang, Aileen Lewis, Richard Neller, Cleo Rose, Pat Ryan and Ian Selby.
In 1950, American producer Robert Lippert formed a business alliance with Hammer studios. Under the agreement, Lippert would provide American acting talent - while Hammer would supply the rest of the cast and the production facilities. Together they would split the profits. Lippert produced over 140 films between 1946 and 1955. For the British deal, most of the films were noir-ish thrillers - and include this title.
Heat Wave is the U.S. release title of a very good British suspense drama film-noir, The House Across The Lake. It retraces the eternal noir triangle - Rich but rough-hewn older husband (Sidney James); duplicitous blonde trophy wife (Hillary Brooke); and the chump (Alex Nicol). There's also the optional element of the jealous daughter by the first wife (Susan Stephen).
Nicol is a pulp novelist who's taken a cottage in the lake country where he sweats, drinks but doesn't make much progress on the page rolled in his typewriter. One night he gets a call from party-central across the water, a posh house called High Wray (the movie is directed by Ken Hughes from his novel of that name). Their launch is down, could Nicol pick up some guests waiting at the club and ferry them up to the house?
He obliges, gets invited in for a thank-you drink, and meets host Sidney James; Brooke, his bored, flirtatious wife; her paramour of the moment, pianist Paul Carpenter (she has a weakness for impoverished artistic types); and, later, the daughter.
James has a bum ticker and plans to write Brooke out of the will, but inevitably the inevitable happens: James, Brooke and Nicol go out on a fishing expedition, a heavy fog enshrouds them, there's an `accident.' But a police inspector (Alan Wheatley) takes an undue interest in the case....
Besides being a dandy film-noir, an excellent reason for watching is Hillary Brooke, who made her mark in some Sherlock Holmes movies and with Abbott & Costello, but rarely got the parts her talents deserved. Heat Wave is an opportunity to watch and see what she could really do.