Dennis Hopper knew film noir. He came of age in the 1940s and 1950s, the genre’s peak. His first film was Rebel Without a Cause, directed by Nicholas Ray, one of film noir’s great directors. The two became lifelong friends. He’d later starred in neo-noirs like Black Widow and Blue Velvet. So it makes sense that he’d wind up directing a noir himself. Made in 1990, The Hot Spot was created in the midst of a neo-noir renaissance. Neo-noir tended to play around with the classic genre, updating and subverting its themes and tropes. The Hot Spot certainly feels more modern in its graphic depiction of violence, its more explicit sex, and copious amounts of nudity, but its story and the telling are a throwback to classic film noir.
Buy The Hot SpotA drifter named Harry Maddox (Don Johnson) wanders into a small Texas town. He gets a job selling used cars. He’s a natural salesman, a born conman. The owner of the place is a crotchety old son of a bitch (Jerry Harden). His wife, Dolly (Virginia Madsen), is much younger, more attractive, and hot to trot. We (and Harry) meet her when she pulls into the car lot, driving a sports car with her skirt hiked up, showing off her legs. She knows exactly what she wants. Harry knows exactly what she wants. He’s smart enough to know he should stay away, that she’s nothing but trouble. But not smart enough not to show up at her house one evening.
Gloria Harper (Jennifer Connelly) works at the car lot in the finance department. She’s young, luminous, and much more innocent than Dolly. She’s also got herself into a bit of trouble with a local hood (William Sadler) who keeps hitting her up for blackmail money. Harry likes her. He buys her soda pops and takes her for a swim at a local pond. Their relationship is all innocent and sweet. Meanwhile, he spends his nights getting sweaty with Dolly.
Because this is a film noir, Dolly will hint at dastardly deeds they could do and the money they could make from them. Harry is no stranger to crime. He sets fire to an abandoned building in town and uses the distraction to rob a bank. But he seems to instinctively know that getting into bed with Dolly (figuratively, I mean, for he’s wearing out beds, car backseats, and sand piles having sex with her) will only lead to destruction. Similarly, he’s drawn to Gloria and her innate goodness (well, sort-of goodness; we’ll find out later she’s got her own past to overcome). Naturally, Harry has a dark secret as well.
Based on a book originally titled Hell Hath No Fury by Charles Williams, The Hot Spot is all classic noir stuff. Hopper understands that the plot doesn’t have to make perfect sense. The characters behave in the way characters behave in hard-boiled novels and film noirs. They don’t move based on logic, but on emotional rules set up nearly a hundred years ago. This isn’t a film for the Cinema Sins crowd bent on pointing out every perceived plot hole. This is a film for noir fans. It was made for #noirvember. What it lacks in plot contrivances, it more than makes up for in hot, sweaty style.
Dennis Hopper also knows how to stack a cast. Besides those I’ve already mentioned, there is Barry Corbin as the town’s sheriff, Leon Rippy as his deputy, and Charles Martin Smith as another car salesman. I love a movie filled to the brim with good character actors.
It does take its time setting things up. A lot happens in the first twenty minutes – Harry drifts into town, he gets a job, he meets the two women, there is a fire, and he learns how lax the security is at the bank. But those scenes feel a bit lifeless. They are just setting things up. But once it gets going, it really purrs. As a fan of film noir and neonoir, I really enjoyed watching this film.
The Hot Spot is available from Radiance Films as a 4K UHD/Blu-ray combo. Extras on this release include the following:
- 2K restoration by Kino Lorber, overseen and approved by cinematographer Ueli Steiger
- Uncompressed stereo PCM audio
- Archival interview with Dennis Hopper, who discusses The Hot Spot and features footage of John Lee Hooker and images from the set (1991, 5 min)
- Interviews with stars Virginia Madsen (2021, 7 min) and William Sadler (2021, 6 min)
- Nick Dawson on Dennis Hopper and The Hot Spot, an interview with the editor of Dennis Hopper: Interviews (2023, 20 min)
- Duane Swierczynski on Charles Williams’ source novel, the crime writer and expert looks at the adaptation and provides a background of the author (2023, 22 min)
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and new artwork by Time Tomorrow
- Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by critics Elena Lazic on the film; Leslie Byron Pitt on the erotic thriller genre and the film’s place within it; and an archival piece on the film featuring an interview with Hopper by RJ Smith
- Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
