''Summer Heat'' is a 1987 film drama written and directed by

Michie Gleason Michie Gleason is a film director and screenplay writer who has written and directed three films – ''The Island of the Mapmaker's Wife'' (2001), '' Summer Heat'' (1987) and ''Broken English'' (1981). She was assistant to the director on the film ...

, with a screenplay by Michie Gleason based on the novel ''Here to Get My Baby Out of Jail'' by

Louise Shivers Louise Shivers (August 15, 1929 – July 26, 2014) was an American author and writer-in-residence at Georgia Regents University, Augusta, Georgia. Born in 1929 in Stantonsburg and raised in Wilson, North Carolina, Shivers received a National En ...

. It stars

Lori Singer Lori Singer (born November 6, 1957) is an American actress and musician. The daughter of conductor Jacques Singer, she was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, and raised in Portland, Oregon, where her father served as the lead conductor of the Oregon ...

Plot

In rural North Carolina in the post-Depression late 1930s, Roxy Walston is only 17 when she marries a boy she knows, Aaron. They have a child (called Baby) and live and work on a farm that raises tobacco. Roxy's father, who operates a mortuary, sends a young drifter named Jack Ruffin their way to be a farmhand. Jack has an affair with Roxy, with tragic results.

Cast

as Roxy Walston * Anthony Edwards as Aaron Walston *

Bruce Abbott Bruce Paul Abbott (born July 28, 1954) is an American film, stage, and television actor. Originally beginning his career in theater, Abbott later gained notoriety for his role as Dan Cain in the cult film, cult sci-fi horror films ''Re-Animator'' ...

as Jack Ruffin *

Kathy Bates Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an American actor and director. Known for her roles in comedic and dramatic films and television programs, she has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, includ ...

as Ruth *

Clu Gulager William Martin Gulager (; November 16, 1928 – August 5, 2022), better known as Clu Gulager, was an American television and film actor and director born in Holdenville, Oklahoma. He first became known for his work in television, appearing in ...

as Will *

Dorothy McGuire Dorothy Hackett McGuire (June 14, 1916 – September 13, 2001) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for ''Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947) and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actre ...

as Narrator (voice)

External links

* * * 1987 films Atlantic Entertainment Group films Films scored by Richard Stone (composer) 1987 drama films American drama films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films English-language drama films {{1980s-drama-film-stub