Beyond the Forest (1949)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

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:

Small Town | Pregnancy | Pregnant | Boredom | Plan

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joel Allen	...	Minister (uncredited)
Gail Bonney	...	Woman (uncredited)
Frances Charles	...	Miss Elliott (uncredited)
James Craven	...	Man (uncredited)
Ann Doran	...	Edith Williams (uncredited)
June Evans	...	Woman (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Secretary (uncredited)
Hal Gerard	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Creighton Hale	...	Old Man (uncredited)
Jim Haward	...	Bar Manager (uncredited)
Bobby Henshaw	...	Man (uncredited)
Hallene Hill	...	Woman (uncredited)
Charles Jordan	...	Jury Foreman (uncredited)
Ralph Littlefield	...	Driver (uncredited)
Eve Miller	...	Switchboard Operator (uncredited)
Frank Pharr	...	Coroner (uncredited)
Buddy Roosevelt	...	Man (uncredited)
Mary Servoss	...	Mrs. Wetch (uncredited)
Olan Soule	...	Narrator (uncredited)
Eileen Stevens	...	Operator (uncredited)
Harry Tyler	...	Stationmaster (uncredited)
Judith Wood	...	Waitress (uncredited)

Directed by
King Vidor

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Lenore J. Coffee		writer
Stuart Engstrand		novel

Produced by
Henry Blanke	....	producer
Jack L. Warner	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Max Steiner

Cinematography by
Robert Burks

Film Editing by
Rudi Fehr

Art Direction by
Robert M. Haas		(as Robert Haas)

Set Decoration by
William L. Kuehl		(as William Kuehl)

Costume Design by
Edith Head

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist
Ruby Felker	....	hair stylist (uncredited)
Al Greenway	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Eric Stacey	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Al Alleborn	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Charles Lang	....	sound

Special Effects by
Edwin B. DuPar	....	special effects (as E. B. DuPar)
William C. McGann	....	special effects (as William McGann)

Camera and Electrical Department
Charles Bannon	....	gaffer (uncredited)
Harold Noyes	....	grip (uncredited)
Eugene Richee	....	still photographer (uncredited)
William Schurr	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Music Department
Murray Cutter	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Rita Michaels	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1949) (USA) (theatrical)

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:

This film is listed among The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book THE OFFICIAL RAZZIE® MOVIE GUIDE.

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)

Soundtrack:

Chicago

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.