FILM · 1981 · USA
Body Heat
- Directed by
- Lawrence Kasdan
- Runtime
- 113 min
- Studio
- The Ladd Company
57 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
During an extreme heatwave, a beautiful Florida woman and a seedy lawyer engage in an affair while plotting the murder of her rich husband.
57 Interesting Facts About Body Heat
Interesting Facts (15)
- #001
Kathleen Turner made her feature film debut in Body Heat.
- #002
To put the crew at ease for the love scenes, William Hurt and Kathleen Turner had everyone line up and introduced themselves to each crew member in turn, both of them completely naked.
- #003
In the scene where William Hurt and Kathleen Turner stand at a window looking out, the edited film frames them in a medium shot from the waist up, but the wider open matte version clearly shows the actor holding his penis. Turner later admitted in a Playboy interview that all of these scenes with Hurt affected her deeply.
- #004
The shoot was reportedly freezing cold, so the production had to fake the story's heat wave and the actors had to play hot while shivering. They sucked on ice cubes before their lines so their breath wouldn't mist, and their skin and clothes were sprayed with water to pass for sweat. Kim Zimmer's memoirs tell a different story: she remembers shooting in extreme heat and heavy humidity.
- #005
Ted Danson's mother walked out of the film because of its frank sexuality. According to the DVD documentary, he never let on that he knew, and for years she pretended to have seen a film she hadn't, until it was eventually explained to her.
- #006
Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote and directed, said he wanted "this film to have the complex structure of a dream, the density of a good novel and the texture of recognizable people in extraordinary circumstances."
- #007
Double Indemnity (1944) was a major influence. Richard Crenna, who plays the doomed husband here, had been on the other side of the same plot in the 1973 remake of Double Indemnity, as Walter Neff, the man talked into killing his lover's husband.
- #008
The script originally had a failed first attempt on the husband's life. It was shot, then cut because it slowed the pace, but some of its footage was folded into the successful murder, so the film shows a single attempt. Look closely and the pattern on the sheets changes; the editors used tighter shots from the first attempt to keep it from being noticed.
- #009
The moves for lawyer Peter Lowenstein's (Ted Danson) little dance were modeled on Hollywood musical legend Fred Astaire.
- #010
Alan Ladd Jr., president of the Ladd Company, thought William Hurt's mustache looked cheap and wanted it gone. Lawrence Kasdan said no, even though Ladd had given him his big break as a director.
- #011
The letter Ned receives along with the yearbook reads: "Mr. Ned Racine 69906753 Florida State Prison Tallahassee, Florida 33104 - Dear Mr. Racine, Here is the Wheaton Cougar you wanted to see. This most unusual request of yours impressed us very much. Many former graduates have wanted to look at our old yearbook, but yours was the first correspondence we received from a state prison. We hope you will respect our wish that the Book be returned as soon as possible. I hope this has satisfied your curiosity about your late cousin, David Morris, Assistant Principal, Wheaton High School."
- #012
Director Lawrence Kasdan wanted a woman to edit the film so that its erotic charge would be seen through a female eye. He hired Carol Littleton, who went on to cut many of his later films.
- #013
The film never says where Matty ends up, but a tropical beach and a companion who speaks Portuguese make Brazil a safe bet.
- #014
For reasons nobody has explained, at least one commercial TV version drops the crucial sequence in which Richard Crenna's character is killed.
- #015
Roger Ebert included it on his "10 Best List" for 1981.
Production Story (11)
- #016
For many years, Lawrence Kasdan did not know what a guarantee George Lucas had been for him. Should Kasdan go over budget, Lucas had offered his own fee to Alan Ladd Jr., the head of Ladd Company, as security to cover the excess.
- #017
The film is one of the first productions of The Ladd Company, which Alan Ladd Jr. founded in 1979 after leaving his post at the head of 20th Century-Fox. It is the company's third film, after 'Outland' and 'Divine Madness'.
- #018
When it was classified for cinema and video in Australia in the early 1980s, it received an 'M' rating suitable for ages 15 and over in both. When it was reassessed years later for DVD, it was given the higher MA 15+ rating, keeping the age limit of 15. While a film would be expected to receive a lower age limit thirty years later, this production was unusually subjected to a stricter classification, as was 'The Silence of the Lambs'.
- #019
It is the first feature film directed by Lawrence Kasdan.
- #020
Bill Hurt's partner Donna Kaz reported that she was subjected to physical violence by Hurt numerous times during the shooting of this film. She went to the emergency room only once.
- #021
While developing and shooting this film, writer-director Lawrence Kasdan did not know whether he would ever make another film.
- #022
The character of Matty Walker was created inspired by film noir legend Lauren Bacall. Kathleen Turner won the role thanks to her husky voice, reminiscent of Bacall, and her strikingly long legs.
- #023
The dance scenes of the lawyer Peter Lowenstein, played by Ted Danson, were choreographed with movements inspired by Fred Astaire, the legend of the Hollywood musical.
- #024
This film was the directorial debut of Lawrence Kasdan, who had previously written the screenplays for 'Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back' and 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' for George Lucas. Kasdan was also writing 'Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi' at the time. Lucas supported him as an uncredited producer on this film, returning the favor.
- #025
The first of four films on which William Hurt and Lawrence Kasdan worked together. The others are 'The Big Chill', 'Accidental Tourist' and 'I Love You to Death'. In the DVD documentary, Hurt said his professional relationship with Kasdan was the most rewarding experience of his career.
- #026
Lawyer Peter Lowenstein (Ted Danson) says that oral sex is not illegal in Florida. In fact, Florida statute 800.02 classified 'unnatural and lascivious acts', including oral-genital contact, as a misdemeanor. In 2003 the US Supreme Court struck down all sodomy laws.
Behind the Scenes (10)
- #027
William Hurt and Kathleen Turner resorted to an unusual method during the filming of their love scenes because they wanted the crew to feel at ease. The pair stood completely naked in front of the entire crew and introduced themselves one by one. This unusual gesture was intended to break the ice on set.
- #028
The scene in which William Hurt and Kathleen Turner stand in front of a window appears in the edit framed from the waist up. In the film's open-matte version, however, Turner can clearly be seen holding Hurt's penis. Turner later admitted in an interview with Playboy that she became quite aroused during those scenes with Hurt.
- #029
It is said that the production battled freezing cold. To reflect the scorching heat of the story, the actors had to appear to be sweating in the cold; to that end they sucked on ice and eliminated the vapor in their breath before speaking, while water was sprayed on their skin and clothing. Yet in her memoirs, actress Kim Zimmer wrote the opposite: that they shot in scorching heat and high humidity.
- #030
The film was originally to be shot in the New York/New Jersey area, but moved to Florida because of a Teamsters strike. While the script was being adapted to Florida, the fact that the technical director forgot to take Florida law into account remained an interesting detail.
- #031
The script included a failed first murder attempt, and although the scene was shot, it was cut on the grounds that it slowed the film's pace. The footage of this failed attack, however, was combined with the successful murder scene to form a single event. On close inspection, the pattern of the sheets can be seen to differ; because closer shots were used in the first attempt, this discrepancy was concealed.
- #032
Alan Ladd Jr., who headed The Ladd Company, found William Hurt's mustache 'scruffy' and asked for it to be removed. Director Lawrence Kasdan refused the request, even though he owed his first major directing opportunity to Ladd.
- #033
The band playing 'That Old Feeling' in the scene where Ned first sees Matty was the Fort Lauderdale High School Jazz Band. They played the piece live in the scene shot at the Hollywood Bandshell, but dubbing was done afterward for production reasons.
- #034
In the extras of the film's Deluxe Edition DVD, Ted Danson recounts that just before shooting began, William Hurt came up to him and asked, 'Do you trust me?', and that Danson then grabbed his testicles and said again, 'Do you trust me?' In 2008, the National Enquirer wrote that Hurt told the same story to a customer in a New York bar, 'demonstrating' it.
- #035
Ned's car is a 1964 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray convertible. Of this model, 14,925 units were produced that year, and its starting price was $4,037 (about $43,640 in 2026). The car, bought from the film company by a local, later ended up scrapped. In 2026, a well-preserved example could be worth around $65,000.
- #036
The beach where Matty Walker is found at the end of the film is Sugar Beach in St. Lucia, as can be told from the distant Grand Pitons mountains.
Characters & Cast (11)
- #037
Matty Walker was modeled on film noir icon Lauren Bacall, and Kathleen Turner got the part partly because she resembled her, from the husky voice to the long, shapely legs.
- #038
Kathleen Turner was doing Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull" on stage in New York when she was refused an audition because she had no film credits. "All I knew was that the role of Matty Walker was the best role written for a woman in years," she said. "I tried to get an audition, but I had no film experience and I didn't get it." Some four months later, as she was about to take a part in another film in Los Angeles, the role was still uncast and she was finally let in. "They gave me a copy of the script and I wanted it immediately. After reading it, they set up a screen test [with William Hurt]. I had never tested for a film before and it was quite frightening… going into a studio, meeting the makeup men and having everyone turn you into their own idea of what Matty should be."
- #039
Kim Zimmer (Mary Ann) had earlier taken over from Kathleen Turner (Matty) as Nola Dancy on the soap opera The Doctors (1963). Matty was first offered to Zimmer, but the producers of "The Doctors" wouldn't release her to make the film.
- #040
Director Lawrence Kasdan preferred unknown actors for the film so that the characters would be discovered like real people.
- #041
At the second reading rehearsal, Kathleen Turner portrayed Matty Walker exactly as Kasdan had written her in his mind. In 1982, Photoplay magazine wrote that this screen test was "too good to ignore" and that Turner matched the director's idea of Matty exactly.
- #042
While Turner was performing in a stage production of 'The Seagull' in New York, she was not considered for an audition for this film because she had no film experience. She later said, "I knew Matty Walker was the best role written for a woman in years." Four months later, while she was in Los Angeles for another project, she was called in to audition because the role was still unfilled, and she did a screen test with William Hurt.
- #043
With her performance in this film, Kathleen Turner was compared to 1940s film noir icon Lauren Bacall. Just as Bacall's first film, 'To Have and Have Not', was a sensational debut, Turner's first film created a similar effect and made her a star.
- #044
Kim Zimmer, in the role of Mary Ann, had previously taken over the character of Nola Dancy on the series 'The Doctors', which Kathleen Turner had played. The role of Matty was in fact offered to Zimmer, but the series producers would not grant permission for the film shoot.
- #045
Mickey Rourke was in fact considered for the lead role of Ned Racine, but he took the role of the arsonist.
- #046
Meg Kasdan, who appears in a small role, is married to the film's writer-director, Lawrence Kasdan.
- #047
Kathleen Turner's only acting experience before this film was the series 'The Doctors'. Her co-star in this film, William Hurt, later starred in a film titled 'The Doctor'.
Deeper Meaning (10)
- #048
The production is largely inspired by Double Indemnity (1944). Richard Crenna had played Walter Neff, the man persuaded to kill his lover's husband, in the 1973 remake; in this film he plays the husband who is fate's victim.
- #049
Lawyer Peter Lowenstein (Ted Danson) says that oral sex is not illegal in Florida. Yet Florida statute 800.02 classified 'unnatural and lascivious acts,' including oral-genital contact, as a misdemeanor. In 2003 the US Supreme Court struck down all sodomy laws.
- #050
The letter Ned received along with the yearbook read: 'Dear Ned Racine, 69906753 Florida State Prison, Tallahassee, Florida 33104. Enclosed is the Wheaton Cougar yearbook you requested. Your unusual request surprised us greatly. Many alumni wish to look at old yearbooks, but yours was our first correspondence from a state prison. We hope you will respect our wish to have the book returned as soon as possible. Best of luck in your rehabilitation. I hope this satisfies your curiosity about your late cousin. Sincerely, David Morris, Assistant Principal, Wheaton High School.'
- #051
Where Matty ends up is not stated directly, but her being on a tropical beach and the man who approaches her speaking Portuguese suggests she is in Brazil.
- #052
According to the 'The Wheaton Cougars' 1968 High School Yearbook,' Kathleen Turner's character Matty Walker's real name was Mary Ann Simpson and her nickname was 'Vamp,' while Kim Zimmer's character Mary Ann Simpson's real name was Matty Walker and her nickname was 'Smoocher.' In the same yearbook, Zimmer's goal was 'To Graduate,' while Turner's was 'To be rich and live in an exotic country.'
- #053
Matty Walker's (Kathleen Turner) real name was Mary Ann Simpson. Mary Ann Simpson's (Kim Zimmer) real name was Matty Walker. Despite this, the two actresses' names in the credits are the 'fake names' the audience has known since the beginning of the film, not their real identities.
- #054
It is among the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die,' edited by Steven Schneider.
- #055
Matty's pretending to turn Ned down at the bar is almost identical to the scene in The Burglar (1957) in which Della rejects Nat and later encourages him to meet.
- #056
According to 'Halliwells Film Guide,' the film is 'an uncredited adaptation of Double Indemnity' (1944). 'The Virgin Film Guide' says the film contains 'a plot reminiscent of Double Indemnity.' 'The Thriller Film Guide' also says 'the plot is (though unacknowledged) almost a reworking of Double Indemnity.'
- #057
Much of the action in Maddie's house takes place in front of a double door marked with a double cross, foreshadowing the betrayal in the plot.
Related pages
- Tom Berenger — Body Heat comes up in the facts on that page
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