The Hot Spot

Summary

“I can find it in the dark.”

I have professed many times in the past my love of the film noir genre. This is a genre that I first became acquainted with as a young man watching Turner Classic Movies. Over the years, I have watched films from seemingly every era and genre of noir film, and have read a great selection of noir novels from Hammett, to Chandler, to modern contemporaries such as James Ellroy. One of my favorite sub genres within noir is the sun drenched noir. I find myself right at home watching films that range from Wild Things to Lonestar. One of the most enjoyable sun drenched noirs, The Hot Spot was given a solid release by Kino Lorber a couple years ago. I watched it upon its release and enjoyed it. I knew that before I would cover the film, I would want to watch it again. I watched it again the other night. 

The Hot Spot was directed by firebrand actor/director Dennis Hopper. Hopper blew the collective mind of filmgoers with his classic Easy Rider, but his directorial career suffered a heavy blow from his critically maligned film The Last Movie. I have enjoyed Hopper’s other films such as Out of the Blue (which received an excellent 4K release by Severin,) but I have a real fondness for his treatment of Charles Williams’ novel Hell Hath No Fury. Charles Williams was an interesting and tragic literary figure in his own right. He was a World War II veteran who wrote numerous nihilistic dime store novels until his suicide in 1975. While the books were not given their critical due at the time of their release, they have become well loved in the years since his demise. The Hot Spot had a similar trajectory as a film. Critically, the film was received well in some circles, with praise from Roger Elbert amongst others, but the film has gained better footing in the years since it was released. Starring Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen, William Sadler, and a nineteen year old Jennifer Connelly, the film is easily one of my favorite sun drenched noirs.

A drifter (Don Johnson) arrives in a small Texas town in the dessert. He eats at a cafe and asks for a beer. They direct him across the street to a strip joint. He walks onto a used car lot – Harshaw Motors- and proceeds to sell a car to a couple. Mr. Harshaw (Jerry Hardin) is begrudgingly impressed and hires him on the spot. The drifter introduces himself as Harry Madox. Next door to the main office is a young and beautiful girl named Gloria Harper (Jennifer Connelly.) Harshaw asks Harry to run with Gloria to collect a debt on a delinquent loan. Harry is resistant because he works on commission, but realizing he will be with Gloria he agrees. They go to collect the money from Frank Sutton (William Sadler.) He is not there, but he has some nude photos hanging in his place. She asks Harry to stay behind while she collects the debt. She walk out of sight for a moment and when she returns she reports that Sutton has paid her. Then, Sutton shows up, none the wiser, in a dune buggy. Gloria and Sutton converse out of earshot of Harry. Before they return to the lot, Harry kisses Gloria, but she doesn’t show much interest back. They return to the lot and Gloria gives Mr. Harshaw the money. While Mr. Harshaw leaves the lot to see a local hamburger shop on fire, Harry walks to the local bank and takes a walk around. He opens an account with the banker after hearing the banker discuss numerous deficiencies in their security. At the lot, while Mr. Harshaw is out to lunch, Mrs. Dolly Harshaw (Virginia Madsen) sets her sights on Harry. She convinces him to help her with a project at her home. At the house she explains that Harshaw has a heart condition. The next day, she places a call to the lot for Harry. She need’s Mr. Harshaw’s cap. When he arrives, she bosses him around. He leaves without any satisfaction. He eats lunch with Gloria and they have a nice discussion. The next time he goes to Dolly’s house, when he enters her bedroom she draws a gun on him and then embraces him. The story moves forward from there.

The Hot Spot is an entertaining and erotically charged noir film. The story itself is classic pulp reading with femme fatales, a criminal anti-hero, and plenty of convoluted crosses and double crosses. The screenplay by Nona Tyson is solid, and Dennis Hopper made numerous changes to the shooting script to make the film more eccentric and interesting. Hopper had completely reworked the script for Out of the Blue successfully years before and in both cases displayed a flair for making films more unusual and less forgettable. The Hot Spot is a well crafted piece of world building. The dusty Texas town in the film feels real and lived in due in part to the excellent production design by Cary White. The film is well shot by cinematographer Ueli Steiger. I really liked the look of the film. Part of the reason The Hot Spot is eye catching can be attributed to its mixture of classic elements in new times. For example, it’s modern times (as can be gleamed by the strip club sequences) but the cars in the film are classics. The pop of the pink color of a classic Cadillac plays a nice contrast to the dusty town. The film plays with color well.

As I mentioned, there are some steamy elements in the film. The sex scenes are interesting because they tend to focus on foreplay and then cut away from the act. It is a unique approach and effective. There is still some nudity in the film, but the film is not excessive given the hot and heavy subject matter. The approach is pretty sexy and does not become overly sleazy.

The cast of the film is solid. Don Johnson is an underrated actor and this is the perfect role for him to play. The swaggering cocky criminal loner anti-hero role is exactly the type of role that Johnson should be given and it was obvious that he enjoyed playing the part. Jennifer Connelly is similarly well cast as the only innocent character in the film. William Sadler is excellent as white trash dirtbag Frank Sutton. One reason I wanted to rewatch The Hot Spot was that I did not completely buy Virginia Madsen in the role of Dolly on my first viewing experience. Having seen Madsen in Candyman and Sideways, this role seemed so far afield from other roles she had taken that I had a hard time accepting it. On second viewing, I got over whatever had tripped me up on the first time. She does an admirable job in a demanding role. I am not sure that it was perfect casting, but it was a solid performance. Jack Nance, Jerry Hardin, and Charles Martin Smith round out the cast.

The Hot Spot is one of the better sundrenched noirs that I have seen. With a strong cast, an interesting script, and eccentric flourishes from Dennis Hopper, it has a lot going for it. Definitely check it out.

Video

The Hot Spot arrives on Blu-ray in 1080p from a sharp looking 2K master prepared for the release. The Hot Spot is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio with an MPEG-4 AVC codec. The print of the film seems to be in good shape, and I thought the movie looked pretty great overall. The Hot Spot had been released on Blu-ray once before by Shout! Factory in a double feature set, and this new presentation easily bests that. Grain is well resolved and the colors of the film really shine, especially in daytime sequences like the bank robbery. Fans of the film will certainly be impressed by how good The Hot Spot looks in this presentation.

Audio

Kino has provided both a DTS-HD MA 2.0 track and a DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround track. Both tracks sounded good to me. I opted for the 5.1 track for the increased depth of sound. This mainly impacted the blues and jazz inspired score by Jack Nitzsche which has a little more air to breathe than on the 2.0 track. The dialogue comes across clearly. Fans should be pleased with the audio options.

Supplements:

• Trailer
• Interview with Virginia Madsen – in this brief interview, Virginia Madsen discusses playing femme fatale Dolly Harshaw and her memories of working with Dennis Hopper and the cast. This is an enjoyable and quick interview.
• Interview with William Sadler – actor William Sadler, via Zoom, discusses working with Dennis Hopper and how he gets to the core of playing characters like Frank Sutton. Sadler is charming and the interview is interesting. 
• Commentary – an exclusive new audio commentary by entertainment journalist and author Bryan Reesman.

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 3/5

Overall – 4.5/5

The Hot Spot is an excellent sundrenched noir. It is an erotically charged film that expands upon noir conventions in a way that makes sense and always serves the story and characters. Dennis Hopper directed the film very well and with style to spare. He should have received more credit for his artistry on this film when it was released, but he had tainted those waters earlier in his career and critics seemingly aired on the side of dismissing his work despite its relative excellence in his later years. The film is well cast with solid parts for Don Johnson, William Sadler, and a young Jennifer Connelly in her first really grown up role. My first time watching the film I was somewhat thrown by the casting of Virginia Madsen in the role of Dolly Harshaw because the casting is against type, but on a second viewing I really enjoyed her performance. Kino Lorber has presented the film on Blu-ray with a great looking video presentation from a new 2K master and some brief but enjoyable new special features. Fans of the film will certainly want to pick up this release, and I definitely recommend checking it out if you are a fan of the genre. Highly recommended.