{"id":43671,"date":"2019-05-06T12:06:20","date_gmt":"2019-05-06T19:06:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=43671"},"modified":"2020-12-30T17:16:33","modified_gmt":"2020-12-31T00:16:33","slug":"petrified-forest-the-1936","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=43671","title":{"rendered":"Petrified Forest, The (1936)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;There&#8217;s something in me that wants something different.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Poster-159x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"159\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-43673\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Poster-159x300.jpg 159w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Poster-68x128.jpg 68w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Poster.jpg 529w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 159px) 100vw, 159px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA penniless writer (Leslie Howard) stops at a roadside diner and becomes enamored with a poetic waitress (Bette Davis) who longs for a more exciting and romantic life. When notorious gangster Duke Mantee (Humphrey Bogart) and his men arrive and hold the diner&#8217;s inhabitants hostage, both Davis and Howard suddenly face life-changing choices.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bette Davis Films<\/li>\n<li>Gangsters<\/li>\n<li>Hostages<\/li>\n<li>Humphrey Bogart Films<\/li>\n<li>Leslie Howard Films<\/li>\n<li>Play Adaptation<\/li>\n<li>Writers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary opens his review of this adaptation of &#8220;Robert E. Sherwood&#8217;s philosophical play&#8221; by noting it &#8220;provided the cinema with one of its few intellectual protagonists who wasn&#8217;t a mad scientist&#8221;, and adds that while the &#8220;adaptation is a bit stagy&#8221; it&#8217;s &#8220;generally well directed by Archie Mayo&#8221;. He notes that &#8220;wide-eyed Davis gives a fine, unassuming performance, and Howard, if he&#8217;d just stop talking for five seconds, is a good match for her&#8221;, while &#8220;Bogart and the other supporting players are well cast.&#8221; He points out a particularly interesting scene &#8220;in which a black gangster [Slim Thompson] reminds a black chauffeur [John Alexander], who needs orders from his rich white boss before doing anything, that they&#8217;ve been emancipated&#8221;, and notes that &#8220;Sherwood&#8217;s play is about the need for every repressed person to rebel against the particular &#8216;order&#8217; &#8212; be it sexual, financial, racial, physical &#8212; in which he finds himself.&#8221; While I agree the film is a &#8220;bit stagy&#8221;, it never feels slow or boring, and I find it particularly interesting for both Davis&#8217;s uncharacteristically subdued performance and Howard&#8217;s charismatic presence &#8212; they make an appealing if star-crossed pair of would-be lovers. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bette Davis as Gabrielle<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Davis.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Davis.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"976\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-43677\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Davis.png 976w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Davis-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Davis-300x221.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Davis-768x567.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 976px) 100vw, 976px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Leslie Howard as Alan<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Howard.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Howard.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"976\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-43674\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Howard.png 976w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Howard-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Howard-300x221.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Howard-768x567.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 976px) 100vw, 976px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Humphrey Bogart as Duke Mantee<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Bogart.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Bogart.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"976\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-43675\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Bogart.png 976w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Bogart-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Bogart-300x221.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Bogart-768x567.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 976px) 100vw, 976px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Sol Polito&#8217;s cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"976\" height=\"720\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-43676\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Cinematography.png 976w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Cinematography-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Cinematography-300x221.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Petrified-Forest-Cinematography-768x567.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 976px) 100vw, 976px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, for its historical importance (as Bogart&#8217;s breakthrough role) and strong performances. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0028096\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/86562\/the-petrified-forest#articles-reviews?articleId=31568\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s4176gang.html\">DVD Savant Review (scroll down)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1936\/02\/07\/archives\/heralding-the-warner-brothers-film-version-of-the-petrified-forest.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s something in me that wants something different.&#8221; Synopsis: A penniless writer (Leslie Howard) stops at a roadside diner and becomes enamored with a poetic waitress (Bette Davis) who longs for a more exciting and romantic life. When notorious gangster Duke Mantee (Humphrey Bogart) and his men arrive and hold the diner&#8217;s inhabitants hostage, both Davis and Howard suddenly face life-changing choices. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Bette Davis Films Gangsters Hostages Humphrey Bogart Films Leslie Howard Films Play Adaptation&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=43671\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43671"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60600,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43671\/revisions\/60600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}