Rating: NR
Genre:
Drama
Release Date: 01/25/2005
SubTitles: English/French/Espanol
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD1
Run Time: 82 Minutes
Flags: Adult Situations, Questionable for Children
Distributor/Studio: Warner Home Video
Burned-out British intellectual
Alan Squier (
Leslie Howard) wanders into the desert service station/restaurant owned by
Jason Maple (
Porter Hall).
Alan finds himself an object of fascination for
Jason's starry-eyed daughter,
Gabrielle Bette Davis, who dreams of moving to France and establishing herself.
Boze Hertzlinger (
Dick Foran),
Gabrielle's gas-jockey boyfriend, grows jealous of
Alan, but the penniless, dissipated Briton has no intention of settling down; in fact, as soon as he mooches a ride from wealthy tourists Mr. and Mrs. Chisholm (
Paul Harvey and
Genevieve Tobin), 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 selfsame restaurant, held at gunpoint by
Dillinger-like desperado
Duke Mantee (
Humphrey Bogart) and his gang.
Alan seems indifferent to the danger, toasting
Duke as "the last great apostle of rugged individualism." Sensing an opportunity to give his life meaning,
Alan takes
Duke aside, begging the outlaw to kill him so that
Gabrielle can travel to Paris on the money provided by
Alan's insurance policy. When the police converge on the restaurant,
Duke announces that he intends to use Mr. and Mrs. Chisholm as a shield in order to make his escape.
Alan tries to stop him, receiving a bullet in the belly for his troubles. "So long, pal," growls
Duke fatalistically, moments before his own death, "I'll be seein' ya soon."
Alan dies in
Gabrielle's arms, secure in the knowledge that, alone among the film's principals, she will be able to escape the trap of her existence. 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. One year after
The Petrified Forest,
Humphrey Bogart and
Leslie Howard co-starred in
The Stand-In.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Average Review:
Number of reviews: 1
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A reviewer
from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
A Top-Notched Crime Drama.
Leslie Howard and Humphrey Bogart reprise their stage roles in this brilliantly-made film adaptation of Robert E. Sherwood's hit Broadway play. Howard is a disillusioned writer, Bette Davis is a young waitress and Bogie is Duke Mantee, an escaped gangster, who holds them along with several other people hostage at a rundown diner during a desert sandstorm. An unforgettable classic gangster picture. With Dick Foran, Genevieve Tobin, Charlie Grapewin, Joseph Sawyer, Eddie Acuff, Porter Hall, Slim Thompson, Paul Harvey, Nina Campana, Adrian Morris and John Alexander.
;)
