The Petrified Forest (1936)

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

Director:

Archie Mayo (as Archie L. Mayo)

Writers:

Charles Kenyon (screen play), Delmer Daves (screen play)

Stars:

Leslie Howard, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

Gabby lives and works at her dads small diner out in the desert. She can't stand it and wants to go and live with her mother in France. Along comes Alan, a broke man with no will to live, who is traveling to see the pacific, and maybe to drown in it. Meanwhile Duke Mantee a notorious killer and his gang is heading towards the diner where Mantee plan on meeting up with his girl.

---

Plot Keywords:

asking to be killed | desert | hostage | arizona | gas station | 

---

Taglines:

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

---

Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir | Romance | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 February 1936 (USA)

Also Known As:

Petrified Forest

Filming Locations:

Lancaster, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie is satirized in the same studio's, Warner Bros.', Merrie Melodies short She Was an Acrobat's Daughter (1937).

---

Goofs

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

Jason Maple: What business have I got? Miserable little service station on the edge of nowhere.
Gramp Maple: Well, maybe that's all you're good for.

---

Connections

Version of Robert Montgomery Presents: The Petrified Forest (1950)

---

Soundtracks

I'd Rather Listen to Your Eyes
(1935) (uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren Lyrics by Al Dubin
Played on the radio

User Reviews

A question of simplicity...

Who would be the best actor to play a failed writer, a romantic dreamer? Yeah, Leslie Howard seems to be a nice choice... And what if we take this pretty and young Bette Davis (before she becomes the best villain in the story of cinema) and make her play a rebel girl that's longing for a new life far away from that dusty Arizona hole she lives in? Lastly we give Humphrey Bogart the role of a bloodthirsty gangster that walks like a bulldog... Now that we have the perfect cast we just have to write a simple film-noir script, full of humor and with some touches of poetry and romanticism. That's it, a 80 minutes long wonder.

This is cinema, my friends. Quite a lesson of how to create characters and how to make a great movie with a few sets and with six or seven actors. "Petrified Forest" is 70 years old, but it'll remain magnificent for ever and ever.

*My rate: 9/10