Beyond the Forest

11/8/2017

Who better than Ms. Davis to impersonate herself? This is her last film for Warner Brothers so old Harry gave her the screws with this melodramatic pot-boiler which, as it turn out, is an absolute hoot. A plethora of zingers, one-liners and one of the most famous lines in American cinema ("What a dump"), Bette chews up the scenery in her long hair wig and heaving breasts like never before. She's just plain nasty and as Elizabeth Taylor would later describe her to Richard Burton in "WAOVA", she's "discontent" or she's a housewife..."She buys things". Well, the only thing BD buys here is a one way ticket to the platform of the local Chicago bound train depot, before applying a slathering of make-up which surely was a try-out for Baby Jane. You must watch this if you love campy, over-the-top

3/24/2019

You don't like life! Beyond the Forest is directed by King Vidor and written by Lenore J. Coffee and Stuart Engstrand. It stars Bette Davis, Joseph Cotton, David Brian, Ruth Roman, Minor Watson and Regis Toomey. Music is by Max Steiner and cinematography by Robert Burks. Resentful of her small-town life, Rosa Moline (Davis), a married woman, schemes to run off with a rich businessman - and she will do anything to achieve her goals... Whilst not being on the same divisive page as something like Johnny Guitar, King Vidor's picture treads the same pathway to claims of camp and feverish staging. Davis is clearly miscast and too old for the role, whilst she overacts accordingly to either delight her fans - or irritate film fans after a noirish pot boiler of some substance. It's a tough