Screenwriter Dixon Steele (Humphrey Bogart) brings hat-check girl Mildred Atkinson home. She is murdered on the same night. Dixon is the prime suspect except that next door neighbor Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame) provides him with an alibi. Dixon seems perfectly nice at times. As Laurel gets more involved, Dixon's volatile personality starts to cast doubts about his innocence.
I watched this simply for Bogart and he does not disappoint. He plays both sides with perfection. He has great believability as an innocent man. In the next scene, he is perfectly menacing and unhinge. He is masterful in this movie. The only drawback is the ending. I much rather have a darker film noir ending. Even if he's not the killer, there are more exciting ways to wrap up the movie.
I watched this simply for Bogart and he does not disappoint. He plays both sides with perfection. He has great believability as an innocent man. In the next scene, he is perfectly menacing and unhinge. He is masterful in this movie. The only drawback is the ending. I much rather have a darker film noir ending. Even if he's not the killer, there are more exciting ways to wrap up the movie.