A waitress, a hobo and a bank robber get mixed up at a lonely diner in the desert.A waitress, a hobo and a bank robber get mixed up at a lonely diner in the desert.A waitress, a hobo and a bank robber get mixed up at a lonely diner in the desert.
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Joe Sawyer
- Jackieas Jackie
- (as Joseph Sawyer)
Jack Cheatham
- Deputyas Deputy
- (uncredited)
Jim Farley
- Sheriffas Sheriff
- (uncredited)
Gabby lives and works at her dads small diner out in the desert. She can't stand it and wants to go and live with her mother in France. Along comes Alan, a broke man with no will to live, who is traveling to see the pacific, and maybe to drown in it. Meanwhile Duke Mantee a notorious killer and his gang is heading towards the diner where Mantee plan on meeting up with his girl. —MarlicOne {imdb@motechnet.com}
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Memorable Performances
Even without the dramatic events in the last part of the movie, it would be hard to forget this movie because of the memorable acting performances that make the characters so believable and interesting. Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, and Humphrey Bogart are all excellent, and the rest of the cast is very good, too.
The first part of the film introduces the audience carefully to each character, mostly through their conversations. Howard, as a drifter in search of a purpose, comes into the roadside diner where Davis, the idealistic dreamer, works as a waitress. They are the center of attention, but the other characters also are part of the ongoing theme about finding meaning and value in life. Meanwhile, the gangster-on-the-loose Mantee (Bogart) is not seen, but we find out plenty about him. This first part is often somewhat stagebound, but the fine acting keeps it on track, and it is essential in setting up the more dramatic second half of the film, when Mantee and his gang take over the diner. All of the characters are part of a tense and interesting scene as they are all - including the gangsters - confronted with situations they cannot control.
At times it gets rather melodramatic, at other times (early on) a bit talky, but always worth watching - "Petrified Forest" is a film to see if you appreciate good acting.
The first part of the film introduces the audience carefully to each character, mostly through their conversations. Howard, as a drifter in search of a purpose, comes into the roadside diner where Davis, the idealistic dreamer, works as a waitress. They are the center of attention, but the other characters also are part of the ongoing theme about finding meaning and value in life. Meanwhile, the gangster-on-the-loose Mantee (Bogart) is not seen, but we find out plenty about him. This first part is often somewhat stagebound, but the fine acting keeps it on track, and it is essential in setting up the more dramatic second half of the film, when Mantee and his gang take over the diner. All of the characters are part of a tense and interesting scene as they are all - including the gangsters - confronted with situations they cannot control.
At times it gets rather melodramatic, at other times (early on) a bit talky, but always worth watching - "Petrified Forest" is a film to see if you appreciate good acting.
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- Snow Leopard
- Jul 16, 2001
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Is The Petrified Forest (1936) known by a different name in Canada in English? If yes, what is it known as?
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