The Petrified Forest

Overview

In this film, burned-out British intellectual Leslie Howard wanders into the desert service station/restaurant owned by Porter Hall. Howard finds himself an object of fascination for Hall's starry-eyed daughter Bette Davis. Davis' gas jockey boyfriend grows jealous of Howard, but the penniless, dissipated Briton has no intention of settling down.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/26/2020
UPC:	0883929713059
Original Release:	1936
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:22:00
Sales rank:	20,942

Special Features

Commentary by Bogart biographer Eric Lax; Leonard Maltin Hosts Warner Night at the Movies 1936 with Newsreel, Musical Short Rhythmitis, Cartoon The Coo Coo Nut Grove, Theatrical Trailer; Featurette The Petrified Forest: Menace in the desert

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Leslie Howard	Alan Squier
Bette Davis	Gabrielle Maple
Humphrey Bogart	Duke Mantee
Dick Foran	Boze Hertzlinger
Genevieve Tobin	Mrs. Chisholm
Joe Sawyer	Jackie
Porter Hall	Jason Maple
Charley Grapewin	Gramp Maple,Gramp Maple
Paul Harvey	Mr. Chisholm
Eddie Acuff	Lineman
Adrian Morris	Ruby
Nina Campana	Paula
Slim Thompson	Slim
John Alexander	Joseph the Chauffeur
Arthur Aylesworth	Commander of Black Horse Troopers
George Guhl	Trooper
Constance Bergen	Mantee's Girl
Francis Shide	2nd Lineman
Gus Leonard	Postman
James Farley	Sheriff
Jack Cheatham	Deputy
Addison Richards	Radio Announcer
Bernhard Kaun	Composer
Leo Forbstein	Composer

Technical Credits

Charles Kenyon

Delmer Daves

Archie Mayo	Director
Charles Kenyon	Screenwriter
Delmer Daves	Screenwriter
Henry Blanke	Producer
Fred Jackman	Special Effects
Warren Lynch	Special Effects
Willard Van Enger	Special Effects,Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

Humphrey Bogart had been in quite a few movies before getting his first juicy role in this 1936 classic. He had played the gunslinger villain in the Broadway production of the Robert E. Sherwood play, and his co-star Leslie Howard insisted that Warner Bros. cast him in the film instead of Edward G. Robinson, who was a more bankable star. The movie was a breakthrough for Bogart, though it typecast him as a heavy. Bette Davis and Howard had teamed up two years earlier in Of Human Bondage, and the chemistry between them is important to making this quirky Western plausible. Some of the dialogue is heavy-handed, and Archie Mayo's direction tends to be predictable, but The Petrified Forest is still a fine example of vintage Hollywood melodrama that was starting to allow villains like the Bogart character to be more well-rounded and interesting.