This heartfelt drama about a gangster on the run is the film for which Humphrey Bogart first received wide-scale recognition. Bogie and costar Leslie Howard were both brought on board after appearing in the successful stage play by Pulitzer prize-winner Robert E. Sherwood. Director Archie Mayo follows the original closely to create a fast-paced and gripping suspense drama with existential motifs. Leslie Howard plays a perfect gentleman--a lonely intellectual in search of meaning. When he lands in a deserted café, he finds what he's looking for in the form of young Bette Davis, whose character yearns for the artistic climate of gay Paris. But both Howard and Davis are in for a bumpy ride when dangerous gangster played by Bogart takes over, holding up the joint at gunpoint. The small group of hostages take turns telling their tales, fearing death, while Bogie plots to reunite with his gang and his girl. Few films in history can stand up to THE PETRIFIED FOREST, which combines the words of literary giant Robert E. Sherwood with the sizzling performances of Howard, Davis, and Bogart.

Leslie Howard, Bette Davis and Humphrey Bogart star in this Hollywood classic about naive travelers held up by gangsters at a filling station in the Arizona desert.

DVD Features:

Region [unknown]
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
Mono 1.0 English
Additional Release Material:
Trailers: Theatrical Trailer

Distributor Notes: A rundown diner bakes in the Arizona heat. Inside, fugitive killer Duke Mantee sweats out a manhunt, holding disillusioned writer Alan Squier, young Gabby Maple and a handful of others hostage. As trapped as his captives, Mantee admits: "It looks like I'll spend the rest of my life dead."

The Petrified Forest, Robert E. Sherwood's 1935 Broadway success about survival of the fittest in the modern world, hit the screen a year later with Leslie Howard (Squier) and Humphrey Bogart (Mantee) magnificently recreating their stage roles and Bette Davis (Gabby) ably reteaming with her Of Human Bondage co-star Howard. Sherwood initially wanted Bogart for a smaller role. "I thought Sherwood was right," Bogart said. "I couldn't picture myself playing a gangster. So what happened? I made a hit as the gangster." So right was he that Howard refused to make the film without him...and helped launch Bogey's brilliant movie career.

Source: Warner Home Video

Humphrey Bogart: Oscar winning american actor, CASABLANCA, THE AFRICAN QUEEN
Leslie Howard: British actor, GONE WITH THE WIND, PYGMALION
Bette Davis: Oscar winning american actress, JEZEBEL, DANGEROUS
Dick Foran: American Supporting Actor
Joe Sawyer: 
Porter Hall: American Actor/30s-50s
Charley Grapewin: American Character Actor, THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
Paul Harvey: American Character Actor
Eddie Acuff: American Comedian/Actor

Archie Mayo: American Director

Henry Blanke: Producer, THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)

Bernhard Kaun: German Composer\D. 1980

Owen Marks: Editor

"Bogart more than met the challenge, giving a terrifying, menacing performance as Mantee, turning his movie career around."