I'm not a big fan of Leslie Howard but THE PETRIFIED FOREST is his best film, in my book.<br /><br />He was great in THE 49th PARALLEL and OF HUMAN BONDAGE, and he's great here too. In this film, he is a lazy writer gone awry, trying to live out his dreams in Bette Davis' character (who is a painter).<br /><br />In a way, he's totally opposite of Humphrey Bogart's Duke Mantee character, and the dichotomy really is the justification of 'classic' given to this film.<br /><br />Bogart's and Davis' performances are just average in this film - although at the time of the release, this was Bogart's best film. <br /><br />I think the old man - Charley Grapewin - and Genevieve Tobin (as Mrs. Chisholm) do a great job with their small parts. Tobin is also a very attractive lady! <br /><br />I enjoyed the banter between the two drivers as well, both African-Americans cast in a "white" movie at WB in '36. It's a shame they weren't given larger roles.<br /><br />Talky and melodramatic - and certainly unbelievable (the middle-of-nowhere desert gas station is almost always FULL of people, for starters), this stagy, yet classic film is not for everyone. Your kids will hate this film. But to me - this is good stuff. <br /><br />This **is** prototypical 1930's cinema.