''Killing Heat'' (released in Sweden as ''Gräset sjunger'') is a 1981 film based on Doris Lessing's 1950 novel ''

The Grass Is Singing Published in 1950, ''The Grass Is Singing'' is the first novel by the British author Doris Lessing. It takes place in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), in southern Africa, during the 1940s and deals with the racial politics between whites and ...

''. It stars

Karen Black Karen Blanche Black (née Ziegler; July 1, 1939 – August 8, 2013) was an American actress, screenwriter, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence for her work in various studio and independent films in the 1970s, frequently portrayi ...

and

John Thaw John Edward Thaw, (3 January 1942 – 21 February 2002) was an English actor who appeared in a range of television, stage, and cinema roles. He starred in the television series ''Inspector Morse'' as title character Detective Chief Inspector ...

and was filmed in

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. The film was released in Zimbabwe as ''The Grass is Singing''.

Plot

The film takes place in

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

-era

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

in the 1960s (unlike the novel which was set in

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kn ...

). Mary, a city woman, marries a farmer named Dick Turner. Mary leaves the comfortable familiarity of her urban life and goes to live on Dick's struggling farm. Mary has little experience handling Africans as servants or employees and is harsh and tactless in her treatment of the African farm workers. Mary runs away by herself (to the town of Livingstone, crossing the bridge at

Victoria Falls Victoria Falls ( Lozi: ''Mosi-oa-Tunya'', "The Smoke That Thunders"; Tonga: ''Shungu Namutitima'', "Boiling Water") is a waterfall on the Zambezi River in southern Africa, which provides habitat for several unique species of plants and animal ...

by train—which takes her into what was pre-1964

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in southern Africa, south central Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-West ...

), only to find that she cannot get her old job back, and has nowhere to take permanent refuge and no means of financial support. She returns to the farm. Mary slowly becomes insane and breaks the Rhodesian taboo of inter-racial over-familiarity with the African houseboy, Moses. After Mary and Moses are accidentally observed by a newly appointed farm manager in the act of taking what would be considered liberties, Dick decides to send Mary away from the farm. Learning of Mary's forthcoming departure, Moses murders Mary during a rainstorm. Moses is arrested by the police and led off in handcuffs.

Cast

as Mary Turner *

as Dick Turner *

John Kani Bonisile John Kani (born 30 August 1943) is a South African actor, author, director and playwright. He is known for portraying T'Chaka in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films '' Captain America: Civil War'' (2016) and ''Black Panther'' (2018), Ra ...

as Moses *

Patrick Mynhardt Patrick Beattie Mynhardt (12 June 1932 in Bethulie, Free State, South Africa – 25 October 2007 in London, England) was a well-known South African film and theatre actor. He appeared in over 150 stage plays in South Africa and England, 10 ...

as Charlie Muller *

John Moulder-Brown John Moulder-Brown (born 3 June 1953) is an English actor of television and film, known for his appearances in the films '' Deep End'', ''First Love'', '' Ludwig'' and '' The House That Screamed''. Biography Moulder-Brown was born in London an ...

as Tony Marston *Margaret Heale as Ellen Muller

References

External links

* 1981 films English-language Swedish films Films based on British novels Adultery in films Films set in the 1940s Films set in Rhodesia Films set in the British Empire Zambian drama films English-language Zambian films 1981 drama films 1980s English-language films Australian drama films Swedish drama films 1980s Swedish films {{1980s-Sweden-film-stub af:The Grass Is Singing sr:Трава пева sv:Gräset sjunger