Truly one of the great noirs, "In a Lonely Place" was directed by Nicholas Ray and stars Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy, Jeff Donnell and Martha Stewart. Bogart plays Dix Steele, a well-known Hollywood screenwriter who is very choosy about what he writes. He's asked to adapt a book, and instead of reading it, he invites the coat-check girl (Stewart) to tell him the story, as she's just finished the book. She has a date; she cancels it for the opportunity. He takes her to his place, where she acts the book out long enough for him to decide it's a piece of junk. Exhausted, he gives her money for a cab and sends her to the stand around the corner. Several hours later, an old friend (Lovejoy) who is a police detective, appears at his door. The girl has been found dead in the canyon. Dix, known for his violent temper, becomes a suspect. A beautiful woman (Grahame) who lives across the courtyard from him saw the girl leave and becomes his witness - and his girlfriend. They're madly in love, but his sometimes dark moods, his quick temper and his predilection for fistfights makes her wonder if he isn't guilty of the murder after all.
This is a fantastic film with a wonderful, biting script, great direction and superb performances. More than a murder mystery, it's a psychological drama about two scarred people who come together somewhat late in the game - but is it too late? Bogart plays a basically good man who has some demons but in loneliness is willing to open himself up to love. He's such a complete character - vulnerable, passionate, angry, generous - full of contradictions - this is one of Bogart's best roles, if not the best. The look on his face when he tells Laurel that he's been without someone for so long - incredible. Grahame's Laurel is sexy, mysterious, flirtatious and cautious - yet she finds herself totally engulfed in her love affair with Dix, though she fears he isn't quite right. "Why couldn't he be normal?" she asks, as if she would have been attracted to him if he had been. Dix's edginess comes with a price - the question is whether she's willing to pay it.
The rest of the cast is excellent: Art Smith as Dix's long-suffering agent who loves the guy in spite of everything: Frank Lovejoy as his detective friend, who can't help liking him even if he is a suspect for murder: and Jeff Donnell, who plays Lovejoy's wife, a woman who knows real love when she sees it.
What a movie - you really can't ask for more. "I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me." When was the last time you heard a line like that?
This is a fantastic film with a wonderful, biting script, great direction and superb performances. More than a murder mystery, it's a psychological drama about two scarred people who come together somewhat late in the game - but is it too late? Bogart plays a basically good man who has some demons but in loneliness is willing to open himself up to love. He's such a complete character - vulnerable, passionate, angry, generous - full of contradictions - this is one of Bogart's best roles, if not the best. The look on his face when he tells Laurel that he's been without someone for so long - incredible. Grahame's Laurel is sexy, mysterious, flirtatious and cautious - yet she finds herself totally engulfed in her love affair with Dix, though she fears he isn't quite right. "Why couldn't he be normal?" she asks, as if she would have been attracted to him if he had been. Dix's edginess comes with a price - the question is whether she's willing to pay it.
The rest of the cast is excellent: Art Smith as Dix's long-suffering agent who loves the guy in spite of everything: Frank Lovejoy as his detective friend, who can't help liking him even if he is a suspect for murder: and Jeff Donnell, who plays Lovejoy's wife, a woman who knows real love when she sees it.
What a movie - you really can't ask for more. "I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me." When was the last time you heard a line like that?