Beyond the Forest (1949)

Director:

King Vidor

Writers:

Lenore J. Coffee (writer)
Stuart Engstrand (novel)

Release Date:

21 October 1949 (USA)

Genre:

Film-Noir | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Nobody's as good as Bette when she's bad!

Plot:

Rosa Moline is bored with life in a small town. She loves Chicago industrialist Neil Latimer who has a hunting lodge nearby...

Plot Keywords:

Miscarriage | Small Town | Plan | Perdition | Murder

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Bette Davis	...	Rosa Moline
Joseph Cotten	...	Doctor Louis Moline
David Brian	...	Neil Latimer
Ruth Roman	...	Carol
Minor Watson	...	Moose
Dona Drake	...	Jenny
Regis Toomey	...	Sorren
Sarah Selby	...	Mildred

Runtime:

97 min | Germany:89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Bette Davis was so unhappy over being cast in this film that she threatened Warner Bros. studio chief Jack L. Warner that she would walk off the production with the picture only half finished. Warner was forced to cancel her contract and Davis completed the film, ending 18 years with the studio.

Quotes:

Rosa Moline: If I don't get out of here I'll die. If I don't get out of here I hope I die and burn.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Stardust: The Bette Davis Story (2006) (TV)

An intense Bette Davis in a forceful Ibsenesque melodrama

It was interesting seeing this soon after seeing The Man Who Wasn't There, the Coen brothers would-be 40s film-noir. Both movies are set in small towns, have way-out plots involving violent crime and illicit love, and feature main protagonists trying to get out of a rut. But whereas the Coens' nouveau-noir plays it deadpan, philosophical and slow, and thereby risks boring the audience stiff; the genuine article with King Vidor at the helm, races along, goes way over the top, and glues the viewer to the screen.

Melodramatic and flawed though it may be, I don't go along with those who regard the movie merely as a camp vehicle for some arch Bette Davis overacting as the "evil" Rosa Moline. This film has genuine substance and potency, and Hedda Gabler-like Rosa's near-hysterical exasperation with the suffocating small town atmosphere - symbolised by the ever-present smoke and dust from the local sawmill - and with her dull, worthy, medico husband (Joseph Cotton), must have rung a bell with many American and other women in the stifling post-war years. Her "What a dump!" quite probably echoed their inner thoughts, as may her reluctance to have a baby (contrasted in the film with another woman's eighth, delivered by the good doctor). Moreover, despite Davis playing a woman at least 10 years younger than her actual age, her scenes with David Brian as her wealthy lover are truly erotic, and some of the lines may raise eyebrows even today.

Those who dismiss this film should perhaps give it another chance, try to place it in the context of its era, and possibly ponder on how some of the "cool" masterpieces of today will be viewed by their grandchildren in 50 years time.