IN A LONELY PLACE offers Bogart an opportunity to do another one of his maniacal characterizations--a brute, a disturbed man who lashes out at all the people who seem to be crossing his path with bad intentions--or so he thinks. He's so out of control that after awhile, although he maintains he's innocent of the murder of a young woman last seen in his company, others around him begin to suspect that he might have been capable of the brutal crime.
However, the story never does follow the path of a straight mystery. It soon becomes a character study of two troubled people when starlet GLORIA GRAHAME falls for him, then begins to change her mind about keeping company with a man who might be a killer. The distrust in their relationship is the factor that moves the story forward toward a downbeat ending "in a lonely place".
It's a thinking man's film noir, but never reaches its full potential as a thriller even though Nicholas Ray does his best to give it the proper noir atmosphere. Bogart plays a character who is so alienating that the audience can have no sympathy for his plight--and that's the main weakness of the story. Nor is Gloria Grahame's character completely sympathetic when she decides she's had enough.
Not likely to please all audiences looking for a good film noir, although there are some who think it is one of Humphrey Bogart's most complex and rewarding roles. In my opinion, it just misses the mark.
On the plus side, there are some interesting jabs at the Hollywood scene and screenwriters, but none of it is as probing as SUNSET BLVD. What it does, most of all, is point up the fear factor when there's a great amount of distrust in a relationship.
However, the story never does follow the path of a straight mystery. It soon becomes a character study of two troubled people when starlet GLORIA GRAHAME falls for him, then begins to change her mind about keeping company with a man who might be a killer. The distrust in their relationship is the factor that moves the story forward toward a downbeat ending "in a lonely place".
It's a thinking man's film noir, but never reaches its full potential as a thriller even though Nicholas Ray does his best to give it the proper noir atmosphere. Bogart plays a character who is so alienating that the audience can have no sympathy for his plight--and that's the main weakness of the story. Nor is Gloria Grahame's character completely sympathetic when she decides she's had enough.
Not likely to please all audiences looking for a good film noir, although there are some who think it is one of Humphrey Bogart's most complex and rewarding roles. In my opinion, it just misses the mark.
On the plus side, there are some interesting jabs at the Hollywood scene and screenwriters, but none of it is as probing as SUNSET BLVD. What it does, most of all, is point up the fear factor when there's a great amount of distrust in a relationship.