Don't Expect A Happy Ending

The Petrified Forest (1936), which will be shown this Friday on TCM, was a product of Warner Bros. Warner's was frequently on the cutting edge of what movie audiences wanted to see. They produced the first talkies, the first horror films in color, and Warners was the studio to later become known for film noir, a movement in film that reflected society's angst and conflicts and is shot in low light and shadows, with pessimistic stories about shady characters and not so happy endings.

The Petrified Forest is considered by movie historians to be a precursor to film noir. The film itself is named after an area in the Arizona desert known for its fossilized trees, conjuring up a picture of the death and