Petrified Forest: Amazon.ca: Leslie Howard, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Genevieve Tobin, Dick Foran, Joe Sawyer, Porter Hall, Charley Grapewin, Paul Harvey, Eddie Acuff, Adrian Morris, Nina Campana, Archie Mayo, Friz Freleng, Roy Mack, A. Dorian Otvos, Charles Kenyon, Cyrus Wood, Delmer Daves, Robert E. Sherwood: DVD

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Adapted from a hit Broadway play by Robert Sherwood and starring original cast members Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart, this 1936 suspense drama is set in an aging desert roadhouse café, where a young woman (Bette Davis) dreams of escaping a dead-end existence spent with her father and a lunkheaded, would-be suitor. Along comes a penniless poet (Howard), a wanderer who has made a mess of his life and crossed the hot sands as a symbolic act of meaningful futility. Davis's waitress is instantly enchanted, and in short order they begin talking about heading out to the world together. Then a twist: the world comes to them--in the form of escaped convicts, led by the monosyllabic Duke Mantee (Bogart), who secretly agrees to the poet's request that the fugitive gangster kill him. Directed by Archie Mayo (The Great American Broadcast), much of the film, perhaps inevitably, looks set-bound. Most of the action occurs in the café, and the script's tension sadly dissipates a bit as villains and hostages stay glued to their seats. The film's enduring appeal has everything to do with the leading performances: the fascinating alchemy of Howard's ethereal air, Davis's sexy urgency, and Bogart's bemused menace. If the story feels a trifle dated and perhaps a bit smug, the actors make it compelling nonetheless. --Tom Keogh

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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.1 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars YUCK!, Jan 31 2001

By

Allen W. Nyhuis (Indianapolis, IN USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Petrified Forest (VHS Tape)

I read that this movie can be compared to the great "The Desperate Hours," but boy, are those people wrong! Don't listen to those people! I also can't believe it got 4 1/2 stars out of five in a movie guide that will remain nameless (because I usually respect their views).

The first half is a total bore with Leslie Howard and Bette Davis talking about things that I have no memory of. Sappy romantic stuff, basically. Then a very young Humphrey Bogart siezes control of the local restaurant that Davis and Howard are staying in. Those scenes have no suspense or interest whatsoever, unlike The Desperate Hours. Then there's this whole poetic, Shakespeare-ish ending that seems very dated. Hey, I bet the scene even seemed dated BACK when it was released! It's that bad.

So if you're fans of the stars I named above, don't see this movie. It's not really them. They're aliens PRETENDING to be them! These are not quality actors in The Petrified Forest! They're FAKE!

As for the real Petrified Forest, I've heard it's real nice. Go see it if you're ever in California.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Davis and Bogart but..., Nov 11 2000

By

"lecorel@hotmail.com" (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Petrified Forest (VHS Tape)

This film marked one of the first starring roles for film legend Humphrey Bogart. Bogart plays a gangster, Duke Mangee, who with his gang, is on the run from the law. The film starts out when Leslie Howard wanders into a small desert gas station to get some food and runs into Bette Davis. They almost instantly take to each other. They discuss the book of poetry she is reading and he tells her he used to be a writer, but he hasn't written anything in a long time because he is uninspired. Davis, who has spent most of her life in the desert and wants desperatly to move to her birth place in France,finds the stranger very intriguing. They talk and she asks him if he wants to run away with her to France, but he has been there and doesn't want to go back. Then touble strikes when Howard catches a ride with a couple and they run into Bogart and his gang down the road. Bogart takes the couples car and leaves them all in the desert. Apparently he has picked Davis's gas station to rendezbous with his girl. Howard rushes back to tell Davis they are coming. Of coarse, they are already there. Bogart holds them hostage while he waits and drinks. Howard decides he is love with Davis and strikes an interesting deal with Bogart for her life. The film ends with a fatal shootout.

This movie was suppose to be serious, but time is catching up to it. Davis and Howard are good, but their affair is almost comic. Bogart totaly overacts as the tough guy, Duke. The rest of the cast is okay at best. The ending of the film is anticlimatic which pretty much sumarizes the whole film. This is a film that would interest young Davis and Bogart fans.

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5.0 out of 5 stars "Since I've been a grown up, I've spent most of my life in prison, I'll probably spend the rest of it dead"...Bogart, Feb 17 2011

By

J. Lovins "Mr. Jim" (Missouri-USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Petrified Forest (DVD)

Warner Bros. Pictures presents "THE PETRIFIED FOREST" (1936) (82 min/B&W) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) -- Starring Leslie Howard, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Dick Foran & Joe Sawyer

Directed by Archie Mayo

Burned-out British intellectual Alan Squier wanders into the desert service station/restaurant owned by Jason Maple. Alan finds himself an object of fascination for Jason's starry-eyed daughter, Gabrielle, who dreams of moving to France and establishing herself. Boze Hertzlinger, Gabrielle's bowser attendant boyfriend, grows jealous of Alan, but the penniless, dissipated Briton has no intention of settling down; in fact, as soon as he scores a ride from wealthy tourists Mr. and Mrs. Chisholm, he's on his way out of Gabrielle's life or so everyone thinks. Later that same day, Alan, Gabrielle, Jason, Boze, and Mr. and Mrs. Chisholm are huddled together in the same restaurant, held at gunpoint by Dillinger-like desperado Duke Mantee (Humphrey Bogart) and his gang.

When originally presented on Broadway, Robert E. Sherwood's The Petrified Forest starred Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart. Warner Bros. intended to cast Edward G. Robinson in Duke's role, only to be thwarted by Howard, who told the studio that he himself would drop out of the project if Bogart wasn't retained. The film proved to be just the break that Bogart needed; years later, he expressed his undying gratitude to Howard by naming his daughter Leslie Bogart.

Absolutely riveting!

Leslie Howard & Humphrey Bogart re-teamed a year later for the delightful "Stand-In" (1937).

BIOS:
1. Archie Mayo [Director]
Date of Birth: 29 January 1891, New York City, New York
Date of Death: 4 December 1968, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

2. Leslie Howard [aka: Leslie Howard Steiner]
Date of Birth: 3 April 1893, Forest Hill, London, England, UK
Date of Death: 1 June 1943, Bay of Biscay (casualty of war)

3. Humphrey Bogart
Date of Birth: 25 December 1899 - New York City, New York
Date of Death: 14 January 1957 - Los Angeles, California

4. Bette Davis [aka: Ruth Elizabeth Davis]
Date of Birth: 5 April 1908 - Lowell, Massachusetts
Date of Death: 6 October 1989 - Neuilly, France

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 5 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 5 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 82 min on DVD ~ Warner Bros. Pictures ~ (01/25/2005)

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars DVD Quality
The quality of this DVD was exceptional -- the picture is crystal clear and the audio is great. Some of the scenes filmed out of the diner were a bit fuzzy - but noticeable only... Read more

Published 16 months ago by emuller

5.0 out of 5 stars Great transition from stage play to film
Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart were in the original Broadway play. And this was made again into a film called "Escape in the Desert. Read more

Published on July 5 2007 by bernie