Released: 1936
Genre: Crime Drama
Genre: Crime Drama
The Petrified Forest is proof positive that you don't need tons of money to make an intriguing film. The movie is based on a Broadway play of the same name, and was released in 1936. Director Archie Mayo makes good use of the obvious budget shortfalls; the majority of the scenes take place in a run down, desolate, "last chance" type of gas station/general store in the middle of the vast Arizona desert. In fact, there are only a few short moments in the film where the camera doesn't show a view from inside the station or of the establishment itself. In this respect, The Petrified Forest is very similar to Alfred Hitchcock's classic Rear Window.
The film's plot is easy to explain: "world famous mass murderer" Duke Mantee (played by the one and only Humphrey Bogart, in one of his earliest and most pivotal cinematic roles) holds the workers and patrons in the store hostage as he makes a run for the border. The character is based on the notorious John Dillinger, and was played so well by Bogart that the actor was typecast as a result- he wouldn't play the part of a protagonist until 1942's Casablanca. Although it is not initially clear why Mantee is camping out in the store, it is soon revealed that he is trying to rendezvous with a woman he loves before crossing the border. Naturally, the felon's inability to accept the fact that his partner has revealed his intentions and whereabouts leads to his downfall- in this case, a thrilling shootout involving Mantee, his henchmen, the local law enforcement and a flickering BBQ sign.
Don't worry, I haven't given much away... which is why this film works so well: it isn't a crime drama so much as it is a character study. The people in The Petrified Forest provide an extremely detailed portrait of their livelihoods and their pasts through the conversations they have with one another: the station operator's father is an aged man with disheveled hair that always talks about how he was shot at by Billy The Kid, and how he's the only one alive to tell the tale; the operator himself is a WWI veteran who is a member of the local volunteer police squad and is extremely patriotic- he has a sign behind the counter that reads, "tipping is un-American- keep your change;" his assistant is a former football player who has taking an obvious liking to his daughter, who reads Francois Villon in her spare time and wishes to live in France, where she was born during the War. I could write pages profiling each respective character, because their backgrounds and personalities are so complete.
As the crisis with Mantee and his men unfolds, each of these people, and several more (including a wandering intellectual so disenchanted with his failure as a writer, he tells Mantee to kill him before leaving so the others can collect his insurance money), respond to the situation in their own way. It is fascinating to watch how rationally and irrationally the captives react to the possibility of their imminent demise; a corporate bigwig, who was passing through the area on his way to Phoenix with his wife, does nothing to stop Mantee from taking his car. His wife complains about his spineless demeanor, and later begs Mantee to let her come with him to Mexico. In true Bogart fashion, Mantee responds with, "how 'bout I send you a post card with my address on it?"
The Petrified Forest may have been made on the cheap, but because of that it is all the more unique: only the opening credits and closing "the end" screen shot are set to any real music, and the stolid drone of the desert wind fills the background in every other part. This lack of a definitive score (comparable to No Country For Old Men), accompanied by the incessant torrent of tumbleweeds that pass by the windows of the store, exude a sense of isolate mysticism. And because there is no sappy incidental music to help stir emotions, reactions to this movie's more memorable moments, both funny and sad, will be much more genuine. If you're planning on watching this summer's Public Enemies with Johnny Depp, watch The Petrified Forest as well, and decide for yourself which film is a better account of John Dillinger's persona.
3.50/4.00
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