The Petrified Forest (1936) **1/2

 Release Date: February 6, 1936

Running Time: 82 minutes

Cast: Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Dick Foran

Directed By: Archie Mayo

Revisiting The Petrified Forest after having not seen it in years one thing becomes obvious. It is stilted and forced, coming across as scripted and unnatural more often than not. It was originally a Broadway play and it shows it constantly. The two lead males, Howard and Bogart, starred in the play before coming to the silver screen for this adaption and they play it like they are on stage acting for the back row. Bette Davis is a little better but she’s trapped in a role that is overwritten for what it is. Almost the entirety of the film takes place on one set giving it a claustrophobic feel that better directors than Archie Mayo would have found a way to overcome. As it is it doesn’t feel cinematic. 

The story is very basic. A handful of strangers stop by a last chance gas station at the Petrified forests in the Arizona desert. There is also word that a killer by the name of Duke Mantee (Humphrey Bogart) and several other criminals are on the loose in the area. Inevitably Duke shows up at the station and takes everyone hostage. Everything else in the story is strictly character build-up (Bogart’s Mantee doesn’t even make an appearance until well after the halfway point of the film). 

What’s so frustrating about The Petrified Forest is that most of the film is character moments and not much of it is all that interesting. Bette Davis plays Gabrielle (Gabby) Maple, a woman whose mother abandoned her and her father to return to her home in France after finding married life in Arizona unappealing. Gabrielle finds the idea fascinating and wishes to travel to France as well to study painting and drift through life without any romantic commitments. She is clearly damaged by her mother’s abandonment yet she looks up to this as a legitimate and envious way to live her own life.

Leslie Howard plays Alan Squier, a drifter whose eloquence hides for a time that he is homeless, penniless and adrift in life. He talks like a Harvard intellectual yet he doesn’t look down on the likes of Gabrielle, finding her fascinating and indulging her to go on about how much she is willing to sell of herself to get to France. We learn little about him which is a bit off-putting when coupled with intellectual facade. The two of them share a kiss but we get the sense that there is no real passion from either of them.

The third member of the triangle is ex-football player Boze (Dick Foran) who has his eyes of Gabrielle and doesn’t like it that she is spending time with Alan Squier. Boze is as one-dimensional as it gets. He is the quintessential muscle bound jock who is more concerned about his past glories than making any real attempts to appeal to Gabrielle. He also rankles whenever things are beyond his control, something that becomes more evident late into the film when Duke and his men show up.

On a more positive note, one true delight in this film is Charlie Grapewin as Gramp Maple. Gramp loves to reminisce about the past, especially if it involves gunplay and violence. He loves telling anyone who will listen about being shot at by Billy the Kid. When Duke shows up later and takes everyone hostage Gramps is having the time of his life being in the presence of the killer. His character breathes some fun into some of the slower moments.

Things don’t really pick up until nearly fifty minutes into the film. By then if it weren’t for the convenient radio broadcasts we would have completely forgotten there was a killer in the area at all. Gramps stated earlier that you can recognize a killer because they always hold their chin in and sure enough, when Duke makes his entrance his chin is held in and stays that way for most of the remaining time. But what should be a real jolt of excitement in an otherwise sleepy film really doesn’t go anywhere. There are a few exciting moments but they are sandwiched between a lot of sitting around and talking awkwardly, especially by Bogart who seems to be out of it for most of his scenes. It’s awkward, and even worse, unconvincing. That this film is touted as being the one that made him a star is nothing short of amazing.

There is more drama behind the scenes then there is in front of it. For instance when Warner Brothers optioned the play for filming they brought Leslie Howard with it. However they were less enamored with the relative unknown Bogart and wanted the more bankable Edward G. Robinson instead.  Howard refused to participate without his co-star. Edward G would get another opportunity to play this type of part a few years later in Key Largo and Bogart would also get a second stab at it in the far superior The Desperate Hours. Howard’s insistence on casting Bogart lead to a long and successful career for Humphrey which the actor never forgot. His daughter Leslie Howard Bogart was subsequently named after him. 

The Petrified Forest is not a bad film; far from it. It suffers from too much reliance on dialogue and the claustrophobia inheritance in filming in one location. It also has some really interesting performances that help bolster it. Bette Davis is naive and her motivations are a little unclear; she wishes to move to the French village her mother has moved to but speaks nothing of actually reconnecting with her. The fate of Alan Squier is telegraphed several times yet his motivations are not very clear. We know the whys but are not clear on what is driving this decision. It ultimately leads to an interesting if somewhat unsatisfying viewing experience.

The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse (1938) ***

 Release Date: July 20, 1938

Running time: 87 minutes

Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor, Humphrey Bogart

Directed by: Anatole Litvak

Edward G. Robinson is known these days primarily for his roles as hoods and gangsters in such film classics as Little Caesar and Key Largo. Indeed he had been somewhat typecasted in these types of rolls to the point that of when not playing the part his performances generally fall into two categories; badly miscast (The Ten Commandments) or revolutionary in its unconventionality (Soylent Green). Even when he is good in a non-gangster roll, it is odd at times seeing him in them. Sure he did plenty of other types of rolls but modern revisionist history likes to paint him as the quintessential mobster. In The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse, we get the best of both worlds.

Edward G plays Dr. Clitterhouse, a physician who has some theories about the physical and mental properties of criminals that make them criminals. He wishes to delve into those theories first hand, lacking any volunteers, so he begins burglarizing the homes of wealthy friends whenever he in invited for a gathering, studying his bodily reactions during these thefts. On his latest outing however several gangsters led by “Rocks” Valentine (Humphrey Bogart), a thug in the employ of Jo Keller (Clair Trevor), also try to steal the valuables. The disturbance is noticed and “Rocks” flees the scene leaving his partner behind to be subdued and accused of the theft Dr. Clitterhouse was responsible for. 

Through one of his patients, Police Inspector Lewis Lane (Donald Crisp), Dr. Clitterhouse learns that the biggest fence in the city is Joe Keller. When he tracks Keller down he is surprised to find out that Joe Keller is actually Jo Keller, a woman and head of a group of gangsters involved in more than just fencing stolen goods. They also dabble in breaking and entering, gambling and other illegal activities. Dr. Clitterhouse shows off the jewelry from the robbery “Rocks” had attempted, impressing Jo and her men. They are even more impressed when Lt. Johnson (Robert Homans) and his men show up and Dr. Clitterhouse stands up to the men citing laws and causing the boisterous man to back down. 

Jo agrees to allow Dr. Clitterhouse to plan out and lead various robberies, monitoring the blood pressure, temperatures and pulse rates of her men before, during and after the crimes. “Rocks”, however is not so dazzled by Dr. Clitterhouse and sets out to sabotage the doctor, using the situation to also get one up on Jo.

The tone of this film is whimsical, never veering far from the farcical aspects of the tongue and cheek story. Edward G is very much in on the joke playing his character with a bit of mischievousness and good humor. He never takes things too seriously, straddling the line between serious and silly in a way only he could. It is a delight to watch him having so much fun in this role. It helps that we really get to know the doctor. This is not a cardboard one-note character.

Unfortunately, Humphrey Bogart’s character “Rocks” is not as well defined. “Rocks” is about as generic as you can get. His character is there for no other reason than to move the story. It is serviceable at best and when he is eventually dispensed with it is anti-climatic and disappointing. It is no wonder Bogart considers this one of his least favorite roles.

The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse was originally a play yet it never feels like one. Director Anatole Litvak stages things more cinematically than an average filmed play. The film is talky at times but never to the point of it being a burden to watch. The film poster advertises it as “A thunderbolt of thrills and intrigue,” but this is a misnomer; it is a comedy through and through. The comedy helps this a lot making the light runtime breeze by even quicker. When it eventually reaches its conclusion, the absurdity of how it all wraps up works thanks to everything that proceeded it. The film is absurd and thus it makes sense that the finale would be equally absurd.

Knock On Any Door (1949) ***1/2

Release date: February 22, 1949

Running time: 100 minutes

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, John Derek, Allene Roberts

Directed by: Nicholas Ray

Based on the novel by Willard Motley, Knock On Any Door plays like a stage performance more than a film. It revels in moralizing and laying blame for criminals on the environment they were exposed to growing up. It professes to be a courtroom drama but very little of the film takes place in court and even less of those scenes really amount to much. It would be nearly impossible for me to discuss this film without getting into spoilers so I will not even attempt to do it. Be forewarned, the ending of the film will be discussed further into the review.

The story begins with the murder of a police officer. Known hoodlum Nick Romano (John Derek in his film debut) is picked up early on and pegged for the crime. A slew of evidence and witnesses is procured and it seems like Nick will get the fast track to the electric chair. But Nick maintains his innocents and lawyer Andrew Morton (Humphrey Bogart) agrees to take on the case in an attempt to save Nick from being railroaded into a guilty sentence unjustly. Andrew takes on the case knowing his superiors at his firm want nothing to do with it and threaten him that he will not make partner if he does. But Andrew has a long and troubled past with Nick and feels obligated to take the case, feeling that in the past he has failed Nick and this may be a way to redeem the both of them. 

As the trial begins Andrew starts out by painting a picture to the Jury of exactly who Nick Romano is. Thus begins a rather lengthy set of flashbacks that takes us on a journey from Nick’s run-ins with local bullies, turning him from a somewhat happy immigrant with potential to a criminal with a wicked temper. Nick is already headed down this street when he meets Emma (Allene Roberts), a shop clerk working with her Aunt who’s husband abandoned her and left her in poor health. Emma and Nick fall in love leading Nick to make several attempts to work rather than commit theft to get by. But with each attempt Nick allows his temper to interfere, costing him his jobs and he ultimately falls back into crime. We can see that he wants to do the right thing but he no longer has the temperament to make it happen. 

Andrew’s partner years earlier was responsible for botching the trial of Nick’s father. Andrew feels guilty for this, feeling he was too busy to have properly taken care of the family and, consequently, Nick. His wife, Adele, convinces him to try and mentor Nick and help him improve his life, his family, and his temperament. Things start looking up until Nick accidentally overhears Andrew discussing Nick with one of his friends and, in a fit of rage breaks things and steals $100 from Andrew. 

Later, in yet another attempt to set his life right, Nick takes another job but after dealing with a particularly rude supervisor he loses control and attacks the man, losing yet another job. In frustration he goes home to tell his wife he is giving up and going back to crime. Emma tells him she is pregnant which sets him off, even more determined to “Live Fast, Die Young, and Leave a good looking Corpse.” He leaves her in distress to rob a train station. When that goes awry he returns home to flee with his wife only to find that she has taken her own life.

Back in the present time Andrew succeeds to discredit witnesses who say they saw Nick at the scene of the crime. One of these witnesses even recents his sworn statement, saying that he was coerced by the police to say things that were completely false. Things are looking up for Nick until the prosecutor pushes Nick into a fit of rage, admitting to the murder. 

This film hinges on the performance of John Derek, a complete newcomer at the time. Fortunately he is up to the task and comes across an frighteningly believable. This could have easily been a one note performance but John displays a range of emotions from anger, frustration and contempt as well as tenderness and love for his wife. No part of this performance rings false.

In contrast, the established Bogart seems at times to be sleepwalking through his performance. It’s not terrible but it also isn’t inspiring. Bogart is playing to type and rarely strays from that. It doesn’t help that he is not given much to do as a character. He even is asked to provide some very clumsily added voice over work early on as he is sizing up the jury. These lines are bad and serve no real purpose as it attempts to familiarize us with the jury stereotypes that ultimately donKt even factor into the story.

The final moment of the film is a bit too on the nose. We see Nick as he is saying goodbye to Andrew and being led to the electric chair. Over this image the words The End are displayed telling us that this is not only the end of the film but the end of Nick’s tragic life. Subtle it is not but it also effectively gets the films moral across. 

Knock On Any Door is not a breezy feel good film. It has a message to convey without letting us draw our own conclusions. It knows what it wants to say and makes sure we know it, too. It is not subtle but it is engrossing, primarily thanks to a stellar performance by John Derek. This is a film that is is impossible to finish watching and then dismiss it right away. It is heart breaking watching the light slowly diminish out of Emma’s eyes as the honeymoon wears off and the realities of being married to Nick set in. Allene Robert is equally as good as the innocent Emma who gets swallowed up and lost. These two make up for much of the films weaknesses and make it well worth a watch.