DramaThriller

Beyond the Forest

- Nobody's as good as Bette when she's bad!

Rosa, the self-serving wife of a small-town doctor, gets a better offer when a wealthy big-city man insists she get a divorce and marry him instead. Soon she demonstrates she is capable of rather deplorable acts -- including murder.

Release Date : 1949-10-21

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Warner Bros. Pictures

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Rosa Moline

Original Name : Bette Davis

Gender : Female

Character Name : Doctor Louis Moline

Original Name : Joseph Cotten

Gender : Male

Character Name : Neil Latimer

Original Name : David Brian

Gender : Male

Character Name : Carol

Original Name : Ruth Roman

Gender : Female

Character Name : Moose

Original Name : Minor Watson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jenny

Original Name : Dona Drake

Gender : Female

Character Name : Sorren

Original Name : Regis Toomey

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mildred

Original Name : Sarah Selby

Gender : Female

Character Name : Edith Williams

Original Name : Ann Doran

Gender : Female

Character Name : Secretary

Original Name : Bess Flowers

Gender : Female

Character Name : Townsman with Glasses

Original Name : Creighton Hale

Gender : Male

Character Name : Townswoman

Original Name : Dorothy Vernon

Gender : Female

Character Name : Waitress

Original Name : Judith Wood

Gender : Female

Character Name :

Original Name : Joel Allen

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Gail Bonney

Gender : Female

Character Name :

Original Name : Frances Charles

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : James Craven

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : June Evans

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Hal Gerard

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Bobby Henshaw

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Hallene Hill

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Charles Jordan

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Jack Kenney

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Ralph Littlefield

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Eve Miller

Gender : Female

Character Name :

Original Name : Frank Pharr

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Buddy Roosevelt

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Sherman Sanders

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Mary Servoss

Gender : Female

Character Name :

Original Name : Olan Soule

Gender : Male

Character Name :

Original Name : Eileen Stevens

Gender : Female

Character Name :

Original Name : Harry Tyler

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dancer (uncredited)

Original Name : Devi Dja

Gender : Male

Reviews

CONVERT94

@CONVERT94

2021-06-23

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 emoting by an iconic actress hell-bend on career self-destruction.

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

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 call, and you really have to point the finger at Vidor for not reining Davis in, but if in the zone for a bit of Bovary histrionics tinged with noir flavours this has much to offer. The pros and cons of small town Americana are vividly brought to life here, as is the central focus of a woman out of her dreams. Metaphors are rife to run in conjunction with the psychological imbalance of Rosa's mind, be it the mill furnace that lights up the sky at frequent intervals, or the steam locomotive that thunders through the centre of town to take folk off to the big city of Chicago, the aural smarts are superbly inserted by Vidor. Using flashback as a starting point, Vidor firmly enters a noir realm, which continues throughout as he is aided considerably by Burks' photography. One of Hitchcock's main cinematographers of choice, it's a real pity that Burks didn't get hired for more noir ventures in the 50s. His work here is superb, low lights and side lights come to the fore in the final third as the femme fatale axis of story reaches a potent finale. Thus as Steiner rumbles away with his shock and awe, the pic is a tech credit force. Sadly there's some fault lines to be irked by. Roman is utterly wasted in a pointless role, there's a Native American house maid character (Donna Drake) that's the focus of some unsensitive era treatments that's sole purpose seems to be just to make Rosa out as more of a git than already established. While Toomey and Watson (the latter a key character) are badly under used. However, whilst not jumping on the "it's a masterpiece" bandwagon, this is a film of many filmic pleasures - perversely so me thinks... 7/10