Beyond the Forest

US (1949): Film-Noir/Drama/Thriller

Rosa Moline (Bette Davis) is bored with life in a small town ("What a dump!"). She loves Chicago industrialist Neil Latimer (David Brian) who has a hunting lodge nearby. Rosa squeezes her husband's (Joseph Cotten) patients to pay their bills so she can visit Chicago; her husband's patience is also tried: he tells her to go and never come back. Once there, Neil tells her he doesn't want her. Back home and pregnant, Neil shows up and now wants her. The caretaker at Neil's lodge threatens to reveal her pregnancy. In some parts of the US the scene in which Rosa induces a miscarriage by jumping from an embankment were cut. King Vidor directs. Cast also includes Ruth Roman, Minor Watson, Dona Drake, Regis Toomey and Sarah Selby.

Davis was so unhappy over being cast in this film (she begged the studio to use Virginia Mayo instead, saying, "She's good at those sorts of roles.") that she threatened Warner Bros. Studio Chief, Jack L. Warner, that she would walk off the production with the picture only half finished. Warner was forced to cancel her contract and Davis completed the film, ending 18 years with the studio. (IMDb)

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1 nomination