Alan Squier

Short Biography

Alan Squier (Howard), once a British intellectual and writer, now a penniless alcoholic drifter, wanders into a roadside diner in the Petrified Forest area in northern Arizona. The diner is run by Jason Maple (Porter Hall), his daughter Gabrielle (Davis), and her grandfather (Charley Gr*pewin), "an old man who was missed by Billy the Kid."Alan recounts his European adventures and Gabrielle is instantly smitten with him. Gabrielle's mother, a French war bride who fell in love with Jason when he was a young, handsome American serviceman, left her "dull defeated man" and moved back to France when Gabrielle was a baby. She now sends poetry to Gabrielle, who dreams of moving to Bourges to become an artist.She shows Alan her paintings - the first time she has shown them to anyone - and reads him a favorite Villon poem. Boze Hertzlinger (Dick Foran), Gabrielle's blue-collar boyfriend, grows jealous of Alan, who assures him that he intends to leave forthwith. Alan mooches a ride from wealthy tourists Mr. and Mrs. Chisholm (Paul Harvey and Genevieve Tobin), but before they can depart, Duke Mantee (Bogart), a famous gangster fleeing a massive police pursuit, invades the diner with his gang and takes the entire group hostage.