The Petrified Forest (1936)

1936

Action / Crime / Drama / Film-Noir / Romance / Thriller

IMDb Rating 7/10

Plot summary

Alan Squire is a hobo of sorts, walking his way across America with no particular aim or destination in mind. He stops at a roadside café in the middle of the Arizona desert where he meets the pretty Gabrielle, Gaby to most of the locals. Gaby was born in France but came to America as a young child. Her mother soon returned to France after only a few years and Gaby would like nothing better than to join her there. She's tired of her humdrum life while Squire is just plain tired of life and states that dying would be welcome. The peace and quiet of the café is shattered when it's taken over by notorious bank robber Duke Mantee and his gang. He's waiting for his girlfriend to join them but but Alan challenges him to look at his life of crime but in doing so, reevaluates his own wish to live or die.—garykmcd