Beyond the Forest (1949)

Resentful of her small-town life, a married woman schemes to run off with a rich businessman.

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:

What a dump!

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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

The movie's line "What a dump." was voted as the #62 movie quote by the American Film Institute (out of 100).

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Goofs

Prior to visiting lawyer's office, Rosa wipes off all her make-up, then is seen wearing bright lipstick during a close-up in waiting room, which immediately disappears for rest of scene.

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Quotes

Rosa Moline: [to Neil] I came here dragging myself on my hands and knees with no pride. Me! Rosa Moline! And you don't want me. I'm not good enough. You taught me my place all right.
[She slams the car door in his face]

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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 Tamara Drewe (2010)

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Soundtracks

For He's a Jolly Good Fellow
18th Century Folk Song

User Reviews

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.