I'm not a big fan of Leslie Howard but THE PETRIFIED FOREST is his best film, in my book.
He was great in THE 49th PARALLEL and OF HUMAN BONDAGE, and he's great here too. In this film, he is a lazy writer gone awry, trying to live out his dreams in Bette Davis' character (who is a painter).
In a way, he's totally opposite of Humphrey Bogart's Duke Mantee character, and the dichotomy really is the justification of 'classic' given to this film.
Bogart's and Davis' performances are just average in this film - although at the time of the release, this was Bogart's best film.
I think the old man - Charley Grapewin - and Genevieve Tobin (as Mrs. Chisholm) do a great job with their small parts. Tobin is also a very attractive lady!
I enjoyed the banter between the two drivers as well, both African-Americans cast in a "white" movie at WB in '36. It's a shame they weren't given larger roles.
Talky and melodramatic - and certainly unbelievable (the middle-of-nowhere desert gas station is almost always FULL of people, for starters), this stagy, yet classic film is not for everyone. Your kids will hate this film. But to me - this is good stuff.
This **is** prototypical 1930's cinema.
He was great in THE 49th PARALLEL and OF HUMAN BONDAGE, and he's great here too. In this film, he is a lazy writer gone awry, trying to live out his dreams in Bette Davis' character (who is a painter).
In a way, he's totally opposite of Humphrey Bogart's Duke Mantee character, and the dichotomy really is the justification of 'classic' given to this film.
Bogart's and Davis' performances are just average in this film - although at the time of the release, this was Bogart's best film.
I think the old man - Charley Grapewin - and Genevieve Tobin (as Mrs. Chisholm) do a great job with their small parts. Tobin is also a very attractive lady!
I enjoyed the banter between the two drivers as well, both African-Americans cast in a "white" movie at WB in '36. It's a shame they weren't given larger roles.
Talky and melodramatic - and certainly unbelievable (the middle-of-nowhere desert gas station is almost always FULL of people, for starters), this stagy, yet classic film is not for everyone. Your kids will hate this film. But to me - this is good stuff.
This **is** prototypical 1930's cinema.