Overview
A tense standoff in a remote diner reveals the fragility of dreams and the darkness of desperation.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- brooding
- melancholic
- foreboding
- classic movie night
- film noir marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the film as a sharply acted, atmospheric crime drama whose concentrated diner setting and memorable performances give its melodrama lasting force.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Duke Mantee and his gang turn the isolated desert diner into a hostage environment where every character's values are tested.
Gabby dreams of leaving the diner and joining her mother in France, while Alan travels toward the Pacific as a possible final escape.
Duke Mantee's notoriety and arrival at the remote diner transform him into a fatalistic gangster presence confronting ordinary desert life.
The family diner stands alone in the Arizona desert, making the approaching gang and hostage situation especially threatening.
Films like The Petrified Forest, and why
The Killers
Shared film noir atmosphere, criminal fugitive plot, moral pressure, and desert-bound tension.
Bonnie and Clyde
Shared Depression-era crime drama, doomed romance, claustrophobic standoff, and fatalistic tone.
Key Largo
Shared gangster-centered tension, hostage dynamics, and psychologically charged crime melodrama.
Movie Details
- Director
- Archie Mayo
- Release Date
- 1936-02-08
- Runtime
- 82 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (224)
Cast
- Leslie Howard
- Bette Davis
- Humphrey Bogart
- Genevieve Tobin
- Dick Foran
- Porter Hall
- Charley Grapewin
- Paul Harvey
- Joe Sawyer
- Eddie Acuff
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Petrified Forest about?
- An aspiring young woman, a despairing drifter, and a hunted gangster collide in an isolated Arizona diner where dreams of escape meet fatal violence.
- What is The Petrified Forest like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Petrified Forest as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Petrified Forest violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Petrified Forest as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Petrified Forest?
- Critics broadly regard the film as a sharply acted, atmospheric crime drama whose concentrated diner setting and memorable performances give its melodrama lasting force.
- Which films are like The Petrified Forest?
- Films with a similar feel include The Killers, Bonnie and Clyde, and Key Largo.
- How long is The Petrified Forest?
- The Petrified Forest runs 82 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Petrified Forest?
- In United States, The Petrified Forest is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
