Beyond the Forest (1949)

Rosa Moline is bored with life in a small town. She loves Chicago industrialist Neil Latimer who has a hunting lodge nearby. Rosa squeezes her husband's patients to pay their bills so she ... See full summary »

Director:

King Vidor

Writers:

Lenore J. Coffee, Stuart Engstrand (novel)

Stars:

Bette Davis, Joseph Cotten, David Brian

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

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

Storyline

Rosa Moline is bored with life in a small town. She loves Chicago industrialist Neil Latimer who has a hunting lodge nearby. Rosa squeezes her husband's patients to pay their bills so she can visit Chicago; her husband's patience is also tried: he tells her to go and never come back. Once there, Neil tells her he doesn't want her. Back home and pregnant, Neil shows up and now wants her. The caretaker at Neil's lodge threatens to reveal her pregnancy...

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Plot Keywords:

pregnant | small town | pregnancy | murder of an unborn child | famous line | 

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Taglines:

She's a midnight gal in a nine o'clock town.

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 October 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rosa Moline

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$1,300,000, 31 December 1949

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

Near the end, as Rosa prepares to catch the Chicago train, the camera dollies backwards, away from her, and as it does, the equipment bangs into her closet door, causing the clothes hanging on it to sway back-and-forth.

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Quotes

Doctor Louis Moline: [to Rosa] I'm afraid you're not a very good gardener. You seem bent on destroying the flowers and cultivating the weeds. Give yourself a chance, Rosa. If a man whipped a dog like you whip yourself, you'd land in jail.

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Crazy Credits

The film begins after the opening credits with this warning title: This is the story of evil. Evil is headstrong - is puffed up. For our souls sake, it is salutory for us to view it in all it's ugly nakedness once in a while. Thus may we know how those who deliver themselves over to it end up like the scorpion, in a mad frenzy stinging themselves to eternal death.

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Connections

Referenced in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

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Soundtracks

Chicago
(uncredited)
Music by Fred Fisher (1922)
Heard throughout as part of the background score

User Reviews

One of Hollywood's Greatest!

"Beyond the Forest" is finally getting the respect it's always deserved. A number of film historians are finally appraising this masterpiece as the work of art it is. Thanks to its phenomenal star, Bette Davis, this King Vidor production has had to struggle with a bad reputation since it was first seen back in l949. Davis was going through a breakdown: she hated her studio, her marriage was dead, and Jack Warner finally kicked her ass off the Warner lot. Forever after, Davis always slammed everything about "Beyond the Forest" and people who never even saw it, joked about it and tore it to pieces. Especially, the gay crowds. When I saw "Beyond the Forest" at the old Regency Theater here in Manhattan back in the 80s, no one could enjoy it, since the gaggle of screeching queens ruined it for everyone by camping it up. Davis' inner turmoil and fury is what makes Rosa Moline literally seethe with fury, bristling with electricity in her greatest role. No other major star would have taken the risks that Davis does. As to the many comments about her black wig, make-up, clevage. This is how small-town women tried to look during that era. The Maria Montez look. I remember this from my small Southern town. All women dyed their hair black, grew long tresses, etc. Max Steiner's musical score is among his greatest (next to another masterpiece that Bette always put down, the l942 "In This Our life.")Davis' role is among the greatest ever put on screen. She displays her genius here like never before. To those who like to be clever and cute and view this gem as "camp", get a life. Davis is at her most brilliant. She nearly matches her brilliant portrayal of a psychopathic Southern Belle, Stanley Timberlake, in the great "In This Our Life." Bravo to Bette! To new viewers, watch it alone without the wisecracks, giggles and smart inside jokes. Warner Brothers did itself and its great star proud.