The Petrified Forest (1936)

Director:

Archie Mayo

Writers:

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

Release Date:

8 February 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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.

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Hostage | Gangster | Arizona | Machine Gun

Cast

Leslie Howard	...	Alan Squier
Bette Davis	...	Gabrielle Maple
Genevieve Tobin	...	Mrs. Chisholm
Dick Foran	...	Boze Hertzlinger
Humphrey Bogart	...	Duke Mantee
Joe Sawyer	...	Jackie (as Joseph Sawyer)
Porter Hall	...	Jason Maple
Charley Grapewin	...	Gramp Maple
Paul Harvey	...	Mr. Chisholm
Eddie Acuff	...	Lineman
Adrian Morris	...	Ruby
Nina Campana	...	Paula
Slim Thompson	...	Slim
John Alexander	...	Joseph

Also Known As:

Petrified Forest (USA) (poster title)

Runtime:

82 min (Turner library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

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

Filming Locations:

Red Rock Canyon State Park - Highway 14, Cantil, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

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

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.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

I'd Rather Listen to Your Eyes

A classic film featuring Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart

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.