Buffronioc One of the wrost movies I have ever seen

ChanBot i must have seen a different film!!

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Ortiz Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Frank Lampard This is one of Bogart's first roles and boy does he steal the film. He has a presence that dominates the film. His "Duke" character is gangster at gangster's best. The problem with this film is the irritating performance of Leslie Howard. His character is so repulsive and obnoxious. Not an ounce of reality or common sense to the character. I just kept saying, come on Duke, kill him already. Come to think of it, there were a a few unbelievable and irritating characters in this film that just made overall enjoyment of this film impossible. This is the classic example of a play trying to make the transition to the big screen and failing quite uncomfortably. However, the film reveals the early brilliance of the legend that is Humphrey Bogart.

grantss An incredibly intriguing character-driven drama.The Petrified Forest tells the story of three disparate characters, whose lives cross paths for a brief time at a diner in the middle of the Arizona desert: a wandering philosopher, of sorts (played by Leslie Howard), a waitress (played by Bette Davis) and a gangster (played by Humphrey Bogart). There are other characters, of varying importance, but these three are a microcosm of society: the jaded pessimist, the idealist and the pragmatist, respectively.The interactions between these three are incredibly interesting, and symbolic. There is also a fair amount of action and intrigue: what will happen to all of them?Very thought-provoking.On the negative side, Leslie Howard's jaded philosopher can get overly pretentious, to the point of annoyance. He skirts the line between profundity and pretentiousness throughout the movie. His lines also make you think you're watching a play, rather than a movie.Bette Davis is delightful as the waitress: the wide-eyed zeal of her character is apparent throughout. An early-career role for Bogart - at the time he wasn't the big star he would later become - but already he shows all the traits we would know and love. Solid, swaggering, menacing performance by him.

xFuntoosh I first watched this because I wanted to see Bogie, as Duke Mantee. I had no idea whatsoever that he wasn't the main character in this film, but the summary sounded promising enough. The film captivated my attention all throughout, and lo and behold - I fell in love with Leslie Howard. With no idea who he was, I started to fall in love with the character of Alan Squier, and as such, I ended up bawling at the ending. I do believe that he could have ended up living, but at the same time I understand why he did that. The tension throughout the whole hostage situation was very well-done, and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Bogie's character, "the last rugged apostle of individualism", as Alan puts it, was very believable as well.Bette Davis as Gabby Maple shined in her role, and her chemistry with Leslie Howard was great. The two of them together are just pure entertainment. The dialogue in this film is also brilliant, especially the way Alan talks, in a rather strange but not foreign way, and his exchanges with Duke, when he asks Duke to kill him. When Duke questions his sincerity, Alan replies, "I hope neither of us was kidding." Watch this film; you're really missing out if you don't!

evening1 I saw this years ago, when I didn't know much about anything, and I remembered it as a gripping gangster flick.This time around I realized it was about something more complex -- learning about oneself and personal evolution. Sometimes transformation occurs in the unlikeliest of locales, and here we see the possibilities unfold at the edge of a desert out West.The first to gain insight is Leslie Howard playing the kind of guy I used to adore -- the unusual man who thinks in literary and philosophical terms but is unequipped to engage in a normal relationship. The drama here enables Alan Squire to realize all that and finally give of himself to another. Bette Davis excels as the naive, artistic waif who falls for Alan's musings. She doesn't get her man but she does gain the means to finally launch herself onto a trajectory of independence. However, it's Humphrey Bogart, still six years from his "Casablanca" triumph, who surfaces as the most complex and interesting in this dusty, tumbleweed-swept tale. The killer Duke Mantee has been betrayed by an unnamed and unseen blonde but there is something in the interaction of the ensemble here that prevents him from taking everyone down along with him. "Even if she did betray you, don't commit a worse crime -- don't betray yourself!" Duke is advised. And he is able to hear. "I spent most of my time in jail and it looks like I'll spend the rest of my life dead," he says toward the end. The physical and psychological terrain of this film is a little reminiscent of a much later desert tale, "Baghdad Café."