Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

Bluebell Alcock Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Kirpianuscus It is his film. not only for admirable performance but for the work of his partners. it is, in same measure, a surprising modern film. because it is a film about life, survive, heroism and desillusions who escapes by Hollywood classic formula. sure, it is adaptation of a play and you feel that scene by scene. all - from characters to the story are familiar. Humphrey Bogart gives the lines defining his great roles and Bette Davis reminds her skills for the vulnerable young woman looking for Charming Prince. but something change the expectations of viewer. maybe, the precise show of an universe who defines near reality in more exact manner. maybe Charley Grapewin job, shadow of past in fight for survive to present. anymore, Leslie Howard has the science and the gift to propose the best axis of a story of too deep solitude. and that did "The Petrified Forest" an obvious must see.

PimpinAinttEasy Dear Archie Mayo, The Petrified Forest was a great talky hostage thriller. I liked the setting - a café-gas station in the middle of nowhere that serves barbecues, whiskey and beer. And I liked the characters - A lonesome waitress who dreams of studying art in France. Her parochial and small minded father. A hilarious whiskey guzzling granddad. The gas station attendant who covets her. A failed but pontificating artist. And a bunch of jailbirds who take them hostage. Leslie Howard (the talkative artist) and Humphrey Bogart (leader of the jailbirds) make a great Stockholm Syndrome pair. Their interactions and mutual admiration were very well written. Howard's character is overtly talky and some people on the message board were complaining about it, but I thought the stuff he said was very entertaining. Bette Davis was very pretty - this is one of her more demure roles. Charley Grapewin holds his own among the star cast as the energetic and morally repugnant grandpa. The writing is mostly terrific. There are some great one liners. There are references to famous writers and popular culture figures. There is some great editing like when a radio announcement about men on the run is synced with the introduction of Humphrey Bogart's and his fellow jailbirds. This film ought to be remade. Best Regards, Pimpin. (9/10)

bensonmum2 I'm not sure about others, but I cannot watch The Petrified Forest and not compare it with Key Largo. Beyond the obvious (Humphrey Bogart), there are several plot similarities. And while I enjoy Key Largo more overall, there are a couple of areas where I think The Petrified Forest does a better job:1. I much prefer Bogart's Duke Mantee to Edward G. Robinson's Johnny Rocco. Both may be real "baddies", but Mantee is a much darker, more effective character. His entrance is fantastic and he comes across as the cold-blooded killer he is. In contrast, I don't find Rocco quite as threatening. Sure, he's a killer, but he has some comedic touches (whether intentional or not) that take away from the character's menace. The Petrified Forest may not be a Bogart movie, but there's no doubting how effective he is.2. Bette Davis is just so good in The Petrified Forest that Laureen Bacall pales in comparison. Davis' wide-eyed, full-of-dreams innocence is perfect. I like Bacall in Key Largo, but she's not in the same league as Davis' Gabrielle Maple.I'm sure other IMDb users will write about deep, philosophical ideas behind the film's desolate setting and heart-breaking ending, but I'm pretty simple. I watch movies to be entertained. And The Petrified Forest never fails to provide entertainment. An 8/10 from me.

mmallon4 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.