What a waste of my time!!!

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Transcribed from the trailer for "The Petrified Forest", filmed in the fall of 1935, and released early the following year.[ Here's the news you have awaited-for a year and a half. Warner Bros. announce the re-uniting of The Stars Who Electrified The Screen World. The Girl Who Knows How To Use Her Charms – Bette Davis. And The Man Who Found Her Dangerous, but Irresistible – Leslie Howard. Co-starred in the sensational Broadway stage success "The Petrified Forest". ] On the edge of the American desert lies a forest turned to stone, the Petrified Forest, grim, silent, mysterious. Here in a lonely desert tavern, faith draws together a strange company: Alan Squier (Leslie Howard), of Vagabond Adventure, running away from his past, Gabrielle Maple (Bette Davis), a beautiful girl, weary of the desert solitude, eager to escape with the first man who comes her way, Boze Hertzlinger (Dick Foran), an ex-football hero, down on his luck, Paul Chisholm (Paul Harvey), multimillionaire banker vacationing with his disillusioned young wife, Edith (Genevieve Tobin), Gramp Maple (Charley Grapewin), a sly old reprobate, and Duke Mantee (Humphrey Bogart), vicious leader of a notorious band of gunmen, hiding out after a gang massacre.In a short space of 24 eventful hours, these characters live a lifetime of romance, adventure, terror and tragedy. It's one of the most unusual stories ever brought to the screen, "The Petrified Forest".[ Gabrielle Maple: Wouldn't you like someone to be in love with you? Alan Squier: Yes, Gabrielle, I would like someone in love with me. Gabrielle Maple: Do you think I'm attractive? Alan Squier: There are better words than that for what you are. ]"The Petrified Forest", where nature makes man Forget his conscience, and Strips woman of her pride.[ Edith Chisholm: Do you mind if I speak up, my dear, perhaps I could tell you some things that… Gabrielle Maple: What do you know about me? Edith Chisholm: I don't know about you, my dear, but I do know what it means to repress yourself, and starve yourself. ][ Duke Mantee: What were you saying? Jason Maple: I'm telling you for your own good, Mantee. They know where you were heading, they picked up your trail. They'll get you. Jackie: What's the matter with you, Duke? Do something! Duke Mantee: Shut up! Shut up! Give me time to think. Alan Squier: No, Duke, you want revenge, don't you? You want to go out of your way again, to get that blonde who snitched, Well don't do it, Duke. Jackie: She has snitched, come on, Duke! Duke Mantee: I told you to shut up! Alan Squier: You know they gonna get you, anyway. You're obsolete, Duke, like me. You've got to die. Well, then die for freedom. That's worth it. Don't give up your life for anything so cheap and unsatisfactory as revenge. ]You'll find yourself Caught in a searing, blinding tornado of emotions in "The Petrified Forest".Leslie Howard re-creates the role that thrilled Broadway. [ Alan Squier: Any woman's worth everything that any man has to give: anguish, ecstasy, faith, jealousy, love, hatred, life or death. ]Bette Davis more tempting, more tantalizing, then ever. [ Gabrielle Maple: Sometimes I feel as if I was sparkling all over, and I wanna go out and do something absolutely crazy and marvellous. ]Humphrey Bogart the most terrifying character since the Cagney of "Public Enemy". [ Duke Mantee: Just keep in mind that I and the boys is candidates for hangin'. And the first time any one of ya makes a wrong move, I'm gonna kill the whole lot of ya! ]And Genevieve Tobin, Dick Foran."The Petrified Forest"[ A New Triumph For The Screen's Greatest Dramatic Team. Brought to you by Warner Bros. the hit-after-hit studio. ]

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.

When I first watched The Petrified Forest I was at an unsure time in my life; fearful of the future and with my own sense of individualism and artistic ambitions. Watching Leslie Howard as Alan Squier, a failed artist who eventually takes his own life so a young girl could be the artist he never was made me fearful and depressed of what my own future held in store for me. I felt for this character to the point that it hurt because I was worried that someday I could become that character, perhaps not to that extreme but destined to a similar fate. Gabrielle (Bette Davis) on the other hand is stuck in a rut and dreams of going to France. No one in The Petrified Forest has much to look forward to; even the old man played by Charlie Grapewin gets very excited by the prospect of gangsters being nearby. Anything to create some excitement in the middle of the desert, excitement which doesn't wain when he's being held hostage by them. At the time when I watched this film and I was dealing with the uncertainty of if I would ever leave my hometown or would I always be stuck here. Few other films have ever had characters which spoke so directly to me. The atmosphere in The Petrified Forest is intense enough that I can forgive the not so seamless transitions between real-life locations and the sets. With little to no use of non-diegetic music, the sound of a windstorm is more than enough to emphasize the prison of which the characters reside. I also highly recommend checking out Heat Lightning from 1934 which contains many similarities to The Petrified Forest in its setting and atmosphere as well as characters and plot points. The Petrified Forest's most notable contribution to cinema is the breakthrough role of Humphrey Bogart as Duke Mantee, a role in which he has never been more terrifying. I generally don't think of Bogart as an actor who is scary but here he is a guy I would not want to be stuck in an elevator with, even with that distinct walk with his slouch and his arms bent in that manner as the dangle. - In most cases this would look ridiculous by Bogart makes it work. Bogart's acting career had been marred with failure up until this point with this likely being his final chance to make it in Hollywood and no doubt must have fueled his performance. I know a film is good when I have to think and contemplate which actor (Howard or Bogart) gave the better performance. How often do you get to see gangsters and intellectuals involved in such profound conversations? Howard and Bogart play characters whom are worlds apart yet develop a mutual respect for each other as they discover they share a bond with their individualism (also look out for Bogart's head being framed over a moose head so it looks like he has antlers). Fascinating characters (all with such unique dynamics between each other) in a fascinating story is already one of the most important things I could ask for from a movie, even better when they affect me on a personal level.

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!