MovieChat Forums > The Petrified Forest (1936) Discussion > What's up with Bogie's arms?

What's up with Bogie's arms?

posted 20 years ago by metron4
19 replies | jump to latest

I know that Humphrey Bogart's unusual stance was part of his grueling character, but what part? I've seen comic performances that imitate this arm position, and I'm wondering what it is supposed to symbolize. A life of hard work in prison? Some street gang-oriented injury? A genetic defect in the criminal mind that makes tough guys seem more like primates? Perhaps being chain-ganged in prison for a long time? The mind boggles.

[–] kbarada 9 years ago

He holds his arms the same way in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948. I was just watching again on TCM tonight and there he is holding his arms as in the Petrified Forest The scene is when Bruce Bennet as Cody tries to join the three miners and Bogart as Dobbs is trying to run him off. He stands there for some time with arms exactly like Duke Mantee as he tells Cody to leave.