A Brilliant Conflict

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

This unnecessary remake of Heat Lightning (1934) is inferior to its predecessor in every respect, but is still worth a look. Arthur Kennedy is excellent as bank robber George Foster, whose wife Claire (Brenda Marshall) has started a new life for herself running a remote motor hotel whilst hubby serves time in the Big House. When George escapes and seeks refuge at her establishment, Claire is none too happy--especially when her younger sister Myra (Olympe Bradna) falls under George's spell. Bradna is terrible and any picture featuring Willie Best as a scared servant is badly handicapped, but the film moves along at a decent pace, William Lundigan is good as hero fish and game man Dave, and Slim Summerville offers decent comic support. Well shot by Ted McCord, Highway West is an entertaining second feature. Just don't watch it right after you've watched Heat Lightning.

Brenda Marshall, (Claire Foster) is a young gal who meets up with a guy named George Foster, (Arthur Kennedy) and they only know each other for a very short time and they get married. George is always bringing home lots of money and buying all sorts of things for Claire and wants her to quite her job and go West with him. George is really a bank robber who has stolen a great deal of money and shoots a bank teller during the robbery and there is a man hunt out for him on all police bulletins in California. It is at this point in the film where it gets very interesting and you wonder just how this story will turn out. A very young looking Arthur Kennedy gave an outstanding performance along with some great veteran actors. Enjoy.

This film is one of those double feature items prevalent in the 1940s. Doesn't make you think too much, holds your attention and ties up all the loose ends before the end titles.Brenda Marshall marries Arthur Kennedy although she doesn't know him very well. Obviously not well at all, since he is a bank robber and a cold-blooded killer while she thinks he is an oil man!! Things go from bad to worse and he is captured and sent to prison. Fast forward three years and Arthur escaped from prison and guess what??....he comes looking for his wife who now runs a gas station/motor court with her sister, played rather badly by Olympe Bradna and her grandpa played rather well by Slim Summerville(what a great character he was). There are the usual chases, shoot-outs and mayhem until the denouement in the parking lot. All ends well. Brenda ends up with William Lundigan the forest ranger, Ms. Bradna gets to go off to college and Gramps is the hero of the day. Roll title..The end.

A young woman marries a man unaware he's a robber and cold killer. When she discovers the truth she leaves him just as he's sent to prison for life. She starts a new life with her younger sister running a rural motel. After three years he escapes from prison and tries to get back into her life. She discovers he's still a killer and this is when the main drama in the movie begins.Before television the Hollywood factory was churning out many movies to meet the heavy demand. They weren't always great, but they were rarely bad. This is one of those movies that isn't bad. It's entertaining and moves quickly. Brenda Marshall, who married William Holden sometime around making this movie, and Olympe Branda, a former french dancer whose accent is still evident, play the sisters convincingly and are nice to look at. Unfortunately, it's heavily clichéd, especially the racist depiction of the black gas station attendant. But also the love interest for the woman, whom she can't marry because she's still married to the killer, is so goody-goody and just a cardboard cutout, that he's the weakest character in the movie.However the movie held my interest throughout.