MovieChat Forums > The Petrified Forest (1936) Discussion > Leslie Howard's 'Alan' was annoying

Leslie Howard's 'Alan' was annoying

posted 12 years ago by silentmovie
12 replies | jump to latest

...I hate to say it but I was almost glad Duke Mantee blasted him and shut him up.

Alan was so intellectual, highminded and aloof -- he spoke and acted like he was superior to everyone else. And, he kept yakking. Put a sock in it, forchristsake.

What was the story with Alan, anyway? Was he a disillusioned shellshocked WWI vet who had seen the slaughter in the trenches? Was he a beaten-down man suffering from unemployment during the Great Depression? Why was he so disgusted with the world and so willing to die?

[–] kenny-164 12 years ago

Silent,

I assume you did not listen to Howard, at least after a certain point, because he at ome point refers to a failed love in explaining, in part, his lack of enthusiasm for living.

[–] silentmovie 12 years ago

Yes, I remember that part. So that's the reason? He behaved the way he did because he had his little heart broken? What a wimp. Maybe he should have just manned-up.

Like I said, Alan was annoying. I don't undrestand what Gabrielle saw in him.

I liked the football player character better, overall. Although there was no chemestry between Boze and Gabrielle, at least Boze wasn't a wimp; had a job -- a good thing during the Depression; was protective of Gabrielel and showed courage; and he wasn't really such a dumb-bell. After all, he did have some college, and he seemed pretty perceptive about the various people that showed up to the gas station.

[–] sockscats 12 years ago

Offering up your life so another can live her dreams takes great love and courage and emphasizes how unhappy and vulnerable the Alan character was.

He wanted to do something with his life and that was how he did it.

I didn't think he was boring at all.

[–] gearhart 12 years ago

sockscats, I agree. I saw him as a romantic and a realist -- an unusual combination. He knew he'd never be able to make Gabrielle happy except by what he could give her with his death.

He made the movie. Watching closely, the other actors were mesmerized by him.

[–] brower8 12 years ago

Good man, incompetent dater -- an unmarried woman may be very happy with him. Grab him, girls! He's the opposite of the fellow who knows the tricks of the trade, so to speak, but under the charming veneer a brute.

Few people have played that role well on screen, but Leslie Howard did it -- and he did it very well.

[–] hka-3 11 years ago

He behaved the way he did because he had his little heart broken? What a wimp. Maybe he should have just manned-up.

I'm getting sick of that excuse, myself, when it comes to classic films. He essentially committed suicide. It seems like every week I watch a classic film where someone commits suicide because their little heart got broken or for some other reason where they were incapable of picking themselves up and carrying on like so many other people do. As I mentioned on another board, Shakespeare may be to blame for this overuse of suicide in classic films since writers may have been trying to emulate him and he used suicide in his plays 13 times.

As for Leslie Howard, I think he was just playing his role of a person who helped keep the dialogue going. Otherwise we may have been looking at a bunch of people who weren't doing or saying much. He had to be a bit obnoxious in order to make it believable that he would be the type of person to keep speaking his mind despite being held hostage.

[–] merman1983 9 years ago

Probably the most annoying is his arrival at the cafe. He orders a full meal, knowing full well he had no money. It could have turned out different (with Gabrielle, that is) and he could have gotten the pulp beaten out of him for stealing.

[–] EliotTempleton 9 years ago

Far more annoying is Charley Grapewin's "Gramps". Just shoot him, Duke!

[–] McKealty 9 years ago

I actually got a kick out of Pops! He was an old cowboys and Indians , old West kind of guy...talking about Billy The Kid and all. I love old John Wayne westerns so I kind of related to the old guy getting a kick out of the outlaws.

[–] Sewaat 8 years ago

Far more annoying is Charley Grapewin's "Gramps". Just shoot him, Duke!

It's a sad thing when we start rooting for the villain of a film because we can't stand the main characters. Sad but also amusing.

I actually liked Leslie Howard's acting. Maybe not the character so much. He did seem quite egotistical in a weird way while also playing the victim. However, I think his interaction with Duke was what saved the film for me. One of my favorite parts of the film is when he reveals his plan to be killed; Duke leans forward in his chair and gives Alan this really intense look that says: "Wow, this guy is crazier than I am."

I liked the sort of mutual respect the two characters developed for one another. Alan respected Duke's ruggedness and individualism. Duke admired Alan's "good ideas". For me, that's when the movie became a story about people, instead of good vs evil. When criminals and innocent bystanders can get along and talk civilly in the middle of nowhere, you know you've got an interesting story brewing.

[–] montrossboc-1 8 years ago

I'm telling you, Leslie Howard wandered on to the wrong film set.

Short Cut, Draw Blood

[–] JonSmall (29) 2 years ago

Maybe the insurance policy would be voided since he basically commited suicide.