IMDb > The Petrified Forest (1936)
The Petrified Forest
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The Petrified Forest (1936) More at IMDbPro »

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Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   4,481 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Up 47% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Archie Mayo

Writers:

Charles Kenyon (screenplay) and
Delmer Daves (screenplay) ...
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Contact:

View company contact information for The Petrified Forest on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

8 February 1936 (USA) more

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance more

Tagline:

AGAIN THEY TRIUMPH!...The stars of 'Human Bondage' in a picture greater than the play!

Plot:

A waitress, a hobo and a bank robber get mixed up at a lonely diner in the desert. full summary | full synopsis

Plot Keywords:

more

User Comments:

A classic film featuring Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart more (65 total)


Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
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Additional Details

Also Known As:

Petrified Forest (USA) (poster title)
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Runtime:

82 min (Turner library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:PG (video rating) | Germany:16 | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Finland:(Banned) (1936) | USA:Approved (PCA #1751) | Germany:6 | Australia:G


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

The character of Duke Mantee was mainly inspired by bank robber John Dillinger. more

Goofs:

Continuity: The first time Leslie Howard is in the restaurant at the table with Bette Davis, he is on the point of lighting his pipe; in the next shot, he is not smoking. more

Quotes:

Duke Mantee: Maybe you're right, pal.
Alan Squier: Oh, I'm eternally right. But what good does it do me?
more

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Petrified Forest: Menace in the Desert (2005) (V) more

Soundtrack:

I'd Rather Listen to Your Eyes more


FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
6 out of 10 people found the following comment useful.
A classic film featuring Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart, 30 October 1998
Author: Colin R. Glassey from Bay Area, CA USA

Bette Davis can act. I mean really convince you of her character. Each time I see her in a film I'm more impressed by her ability to inhabit a character. This film, set in a dry, dusty, no-where village in New Mexico, is a fascinating, though flawed, movie. The setting is very strange to modern eyes. There aren't many places like this in America anymore, but they used to be common.

Bette Davis does a wonderful job playing a young girl who has dreams of escape from no-where and who seems to have some talent. Humphrey is wonderful with his thoughtful, serious approach to a character who is near the end of his rope, but faces his end like a true man. This role really "made" Bogart's career. He starred in a lot of films after this one, but his performance as Duke Mantee was talked about long after his too-early death.

Leslie Howard is the weak link in the movie. I don't understand his character and as a result, I didn't find him convincing as an actor in this role. Almost nothing about his story or his behavior makes sense to me. Perhaps there really were people like Leslie, shell-shocked survivors of World War I, wandering about America in search of some meaning to their lives. Frankly, I doubt it but that was a long time ago. Given that Leslie is one of the two "stars" of the film, this is a fairly serious failing and it keeps this movie from being a great film.

Still, the movie is well worth watching, and when Bogart arrives on the scene, you can see why he became one of Hollywood's greatest stars.

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