Review of The Petrified Forest (1973) by Vicky M — 08 Jun 2012

Very talk-intensive in the first 45 minutes or so, which equates to a little more than half of the entire film, unfortunately. "Da Hump" is displayed here in full sour-puss, one-note glory, his break out role in fact.

Also most likely the role where he was established as the go-to actor when you need a grumpy middle-aged guy who doesn't require much acting range and has a flashy screen-name. In some scenes his arms appear to be stuck in a bent position which we later realized must have been a bizarre attempt on Da Hump's part to toughen his persona.

However, most will just have the same reaction I did, asking themselves "why are his arms bent like that? Does his character wear a prosthesis on both sides of his torso? How sad! Oh wait! I think I saw one move a little!!" Betty Davis is her usual "pretty good for a 1930's actress" self here, nothing too memorable aside from her usual bug-eyes.

All in all, worth seeing so you too can wonder how this firmly mediocre film became the breakout vehicle for a mostly unknown Humphrey Bogart to go headlong into a career of mild mannered yet angry, all the while robotic, leading man roles.