Killing Heat

Killing Heat
English-language release
Directed by	Michael Raeburn
Produced by	Mark Forstater Catharina Stackelberg
Written by	Doris Lessing Michael Raeburn
Based on	The Grass is Singing by Doris Lessing
Starring	Karen Black John Thaw John Kani Patrick Mynhardt John Moulder Brown Margaret Heale
Music by	Lasse Dahlberg Björn Isfält
Cinematography	Bille August
Edited by	Thomas Schwalm
Distributed by	Chibote Swedish Film Institute
Release dates	2 September 1982 (Australia)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	Sweden Australia Zambia
Language	English

Killing Heat (released in Sweden as Gräset sjunger) is a 1981 film based on Doris Lessing's 1950 novel, The Grass Is Singing. It stars Karen Black and John Thaw and was filmed in Zambia.

Plot

The film takes place in Southern Rhodesia in the 1940s. Mary, a city woman, marries a farmer named Dick Turner. Mary is pulled from the comforts of her cosmopolitan life and forced to live on Dick's unsuccessful farm. Mary slowly becomes insane and has a sexual affair with her black servant, Moses. When Mary and Moses' affair is discovered Mary asks Moses to leave the farm. Moses returns and murders Mary. The film deals with the issues of colonialism, the white man's role in Africa, and the relationships between the races and genders.

Cast

• Karen Black as Mary Turner
• John Thaw as Dick Turner
• John Kani as Moses
• Patrick Mynhardt as Charlie Muller
• John Moulder Brown as Tony Marston
• Margaret Heale as Ellen Muller

External links

• Killing Heat at IMDb