The Petrified Forest (1936)

Absolutely the worst movie.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

It is his film. not only for admirable performance but for the work of his partners. it is, in same measure, a surprising modern film. because it is a film about life, survive, heroism and desillusions who escapes by Hollywood classic formula. sure, it is adaptation of a play and you feel that scene by scene. all - from characters to the story are familiar. Humphrey Bogart gives the lines defining his great roles and Bette Davis reminds her skills for the vulnerable young woman looking for Charming Prince. but something change the expectations of viewer. maybe, the precise show of an universe who defines near reality in more exact manner. maybe Charley Grapewin job, shadow of past in fight for survive to present. anymore, Leslie Howard has the science and the gift to propose the best axis of a story of too deep solitude. and that did "The Petrified Forest" an obvious must see.

Transcribed from the trailer for "The Petrified Forest", filmed in the fall of 1935, and released early the following year.[ Here's the news you have awaited-for a year and a half. Warner Bros. announce the re-uniting of The Stars Who Electrified The Screen World. The Girl Who Knows How To Use Her Charms – Bette Davis. And The Man Who Found Her Dangerous, but Irresistible – Leslie Howard. Co-starred in the sensational Broadway stage success "The Petrified Forest". ] On the edge of the American desert lies a forest turned to stone, the Petrified Forest, grim, silent, mysterious. Here in a lonely desert tavern, faith draws together a strange company: Alan Squier (Leslie Howard), of Vagabond Adventure, running away from his past, Gabrielle Maple (Bette Davis), a beautiful girl, weary of the desert solitude, eager to escape with the first man who comes her way, Boze Hertzlinger (Dick Foran), an ex-football hero, down on his luck, Paul Chisholm (Paul Harvey), multimillionaire banker vacationing with his disillusioned young wife, Edith (Genevieve Tobin), Gramp Maple (Charley Grapewin), a sly old reprobate, and Duke Mantee (Humphrey Bogart), vicious leader of a notorious band of gunmen, hiding out after a gang massacre.In a short space of 24 eventful hours, these characters live a lifetime of romance, adventure, terror and tragedy. It's one of the most unusual stories ever brought to the screen, "The Petrified Forest".[ Gabrielle Maple: Wouldn't you like someone to be in love with you? Alan Squier: Yes, Gabrielle, I would like someone in love with me. Gabrielle Maple: Do you think I'm attractive? Alan Squier: There are better words than that for what you are. ]"The Petrified Forest", where nature makes man Forget his conscience, and Strips woman of her pride.[ Edith Chisholm: Do you mind if I speak up, my dear, perhaps I could tell you some things that… Gabrielle Maple: What do you know about me? Edith Chisholm: I don't know about you, my dear, but I do know what it means to repress yourself, and starve yourself. ][ Duke Mantee: What were you saying? Jason Maple: I'm telling you for your own good, Mantee. They know where you were heading, they picked up your trail. They'll get you. Jackie: What's the matter with you, Duke? Do something! Duke Mantee: Shut up! Shut up! Give me time to think. Alan Squier: No, Duke, you want revenge, don't you? You want to go out of your way again, to get that blonde who snitched, Well don't do it, Duke. Jackie: She has snitched, come on, Duke! Duke Mantee: I told you to shut up! Alan Squier: You know they gonna get you, anyway. You're obsolete, Duke, like me. You've got to die. Well, then die for freedom. That's worth it. Don't give up your life for anything so cheap and unsatisfactory as revenge. ]You'll find yourself Caught in a searing, blinding tornado of emotions in "The Petrified Forest".Leslie Howard re-creates the role that thrilled Broadway. [ Alan Squier: Any woman's worth everything that any man has to give: anguish, ecstasy, faith, jealousy, love, hatred, life or death. ]Bette Davis more tempting, more tantalizing, then ever. [ Gabrielle Maple: Sometimes I feel as if I was sparkling all over, and I wanna go out and do something absolutely crazy and marvellous. ]Humphrey Bogart the most terrifying character since the Cagney of "Public Enemy". [ Duke Mantee: Just keep in mind that I and the boys is candidates for hangin'. And the first time any one of ya makes a wrong move, I'm gonna kill the whole lot of ya! ]And Genevieve Tobin, Dick Foran."The Petrified Forest"[ A New Triumph For The Screen's Greatest Dramatic Team. Brought to you by Warner Bros. the hit-after-hit studio. ]

It's very apparent when watching The Petrified Forest that it was designed as a stage play. Bette Davis can't seem to lower her voice to save her life and Leslie Howard, while a great actor, waxes poetic like an inebriated Lord Byron. If you can stand Davis' yelling, Howard's soliloquies, and Dick Foran's large man-breasts, grossly accentuated by his tight-fitting shirt, then you might find this to be an enjoyable little movie. Humphrey Bogart steals every scene he's in, which isn't as many as you may be led to believe. All of the film's best moments feature Bogart. If you're a Bogart fan, this is a must-see. Otherwise, unless you enjoy films of the 30's, particularly ones that seemed like filmed plays, you might want to watch something else.

Archie Mayo directed this fine adaptation of the famous stage play that stars Leslie Howard as Alan Squire, a philosophical hobo(and poet) on his way to the Pacific ocean, who stops in the desert diner of Gabrielle Maple(played by a young Bette Davis) and brightens her life with his philosophy and experience. The other patrons think he is a joke, but Alan is just different, and their lives will take a dramatic turn when wanted gangster Duke Mantee(played by Humphrey Bogart) arrives with his men and holds them all hostage, leading to much discussion before the authorities close in... Intelligent and compelling film with fine acting, especially Bogart in a star-making performance. Good direction hides the stagy nature of the story, and result is most interesting and memorable.