29. The Petrified Forest
I wanted to watch The Petrified Forest because it was said to have been a vehicle that started the careers of both Humphrey Bogart and Bette Davis. The Petrified Forest was originally a Broadway play which both Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart starred in. Howard wouldn't make the film version of the play unless Bogart returned to reprive his part, and the rest is history. Bogart even named his daughter Leslie after Leslie Howard.
The Petrified Forest begins with a man walking through the desert. There is a service station/cafe in the middle of nowhere, and Gabby (Davis) is the waitress and daughter of the owner. She has a flirtation with Boze, the service station attendant. Then they find out that Duke Mantee, killer of six people, is loose in the area!
Then Alan Squier (Howard) shows up -- he's an Englishman traveling across the U.S. Gabby is very interested in him, and ends up telling him about her French mother and how she wants to go to France because she can't stand the desert. Alan calls her Gabrielle and tells her his life story -- about how his first novel did very well, but he couldn't write a second one and his wife left him. Gabby proposes to him -- she like him for a companion. But Alan turns her down to wander lonely across the U.S., but he does give her a good-bye kiss. Gabby finds Alan a ride to Phoenix and they part saying that perhaps they'll run into each other in France.
The car gets on its way, but runs into a broken down car. Mantee and his gang take the car and head back to the cafe. Alan tries to make it back to the cafe in time to warn everyone, but he's too late -- the gang is already there and they're hungry!
Later, after some scuffles with Mantee in the cafe, Alan changes his life insurance policy to have Gabbie as the beneficiary. He asks Mantee to kill him before he leaves. Alan says that he is worth nothing to her alive, but dead he can give her everything.
It is later revealed that Mantee is waiting at the cafe for his girlfriend Doris. But she's been caught by the patroll and Doris gave Mantee up. The posse shows up at the cafe and there is a shootout in a sandstorm. Alan has the will to live restored to him, and he talks with Gaby under the table. He doesn't want to be killed now, but Mantee shoots him and he dies. Gabby says he'll be buried in the petrified forest.
The Petrified Forest was a little bit different -- perhaps it shows a little that it was a stage play first and perhaps also that it is from 1935. It's definitely a thinking movie, with lots of philosophy provided by the traveling Englishman. However, Davis was great, and Bogart is definitely a menacing bad guy. And now I can understand the appeal of Leslie Howard. His character in Gone With the Wind never really did anything for me -- he just definitely fits the character of Ashley Wilkes, but...eh, I never did understand why Scarlet kept going on and on about him. But! -- in The Petrified Forest, I get why he was so good as a sensitive thinker. It's oddly appealing, and he does it very well.
So, do I recommend this film? Well, if you're in the mood to think a little, I definitely wouldn't turn it off. But if you're looking for brainless fare, don't turn on The Petrified Forest.
The Petrified Forest begins with a man walking through the desert. There is a service station/cafe in the middle of nowhere, and Gabby (Davis) is the waitress and daughter of the owner. She has a flirtation with Boze, the service station attendant. Then they find out that Duke Mantee, killer of six people, is loose in the area!
Then Alan Squier (Howard) shows up -- he's an Englishman traveling across the U.S. Gabby is very interested in him, and ends up telling him about her French mother and how she wants to go to France because she can't stand the desert. Alan calls her Gabrielle and tells her his life story -- about how his first novel did very well, but he couldn't write a second one and his wife left him. Gabby proposes to him -- she like him for a companion. But Alan turns her down to wander lonely across the U.S., but he does give her a good-bye kiss. Gabby finds Alan a ride to Phoenix and they part saying that perhaps they'll run into each other in France.
The car gets on its way, but runs into a broken down car. Mantee and his gang take the car and head back to the cafe. Alan tries to make it back to the cafe in time to warn everyone, but he's too late -- the gang is already there and they're hungry!
Later, after some scuffles with Mantee in the cafe, Alan changes his life insurance policy to have Gabbie as the beneficiary. He asks Mantee to kill him before he leaves. Alan says that he is worth nothing to her alive, but dead he can give her everything.
It is later revealed that Mantee is waiting at the cafe for his girlfriend Doris. But she's been caught by the patroll and Doris gave Mantee up. The posse shows up at the cafe and there is a shootout in a sandstorm. Alan has the will to live restored to him, and he talks with Gaby under the table. He doesn't want to be killed now, but Mantee shoots him and he dies. Gabby says he'll be buried in the petrified forest.
The Petrified Forest was a little bit different -- perhaps it shows a little that it was a stage play first and perhaps also that it is from 1935. It's definitely a thinking movie, with lots of philosophy provided by the traveling Englishman. However, Davis was great, and Bogart is definitely a menacing bad guy. And now I can understand the appeal of Leslie Howard. His character in Gone With the Wind never really did anything for me -- he just definitely fits the character of Ashley Wilkes, but...eh, I never did understand why Scarlet kept going on and on about him. But! -- in The Petrified Forest, I get why he was so good as a sensitive thinker. It's oddly appealing, and he does it very well.
So, do I recommend this film? Well, if you're in the mood to think a little, I definitely wouldn't turn it off. But if you're looking for brainless fare, don't turn on The Petrified Forest.
FILE UNDER: Classic Film ; 31 Films in 31 Days
posted by Rebecca at 5:53 PM
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