In a Lonely Place

 

 

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IN A LONELY PLACE is a brilliant film from director Nicholas Ray. Humphrey Bogart with his usual cragged-faced presence dominates the screen once again. This time he is a man totally introverted and obsessed with some hidden lack of ability to express his own compassion and humanity. Bogart plays an elusive Hollywood screenwriter named Dixon Steele that becomes the focus of a police investigation of a murder in this atmospheric and unsettling film. What makes the film so unsettling is Bogart's performance. He is a very enigmatic, private and tired man who at times seems so detached from reality that it is frightening. Yet Bogart in this role still posses a virile and cynical coolness of style that is so appealing and it is one that only he can pull off with his screen charisma bringing this character to reality and believability.

In the film Bogart lives in a complex of courtyard apartments. The police investigation interferes with a relationship that Bogart has with Gloria Grahame who lives in the same complex. Bogart comes to be intrigued (and visa versa) by her and truly falls in love with her. Yet it is the police investigation that continues to intensify Bogart's inner struggle as a human being with his need to love and be loved and escalates his volatile and violent outbursts which confuse and distance Grahame from him.

IN A LONELY PLACE examines such human qualities and frailties of love, trust and loyalty. It explores and exposes the effects of our interpretations, perceptions and misconceptions and ultimately demonstrates that our own human flaws can lead to perpetual loneliness of the heart if left unchecked. IN A LONELY PLACE is an outstanding and important film.

This is one of those 50+ year old classics. The acting is superb and the story is typical 'film noir' of that era. It even has bluesy song performance in the middle of the movie to add to the mood. The dvd transfer is just amazing .A sharp clear picture throughout......there's also a very nice selection of bonus features........5 stars !

Columbia Pictures presents "IN A LONELY PLACE" (1950) (94 min/B&W) -- Starring Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy, Carl Benton Reid & Art Smith

Directed by Nicholas Ray

Screenwriter Dixon Steele, faced with the odious task of scripting a trashy bestseller, has hat-check girl Mildred Atkinson tell him the story in her own words. Later that night, Mildred is murdered and Steele is a prime suspect; his record of belligerence when angry and his macabre sense of humor tell against him. Fortunately, lovely neighbor Laurel Gray gives him an alibi. Laurel proves to be just what Steele needed, and their friendship ripens into love. Will suspicion, doubt, and Steele's inner demons come between them?

Despite the fact that the plot is ostensibly a 'did he do it?' crime story, this is largely inconsequential to the psychological character and relationship study that is the central concern of the film. The script is smart, witty and cynical, just like a typical Bogart character. But in this film Bogart plays probably his darkest character. The cynical, darker aspects of this film just go to highlight how few contemporary films are prepared to be so bleak.

In some of the scenes with Gloria Grahame he's at his smooth, wisecracking, slightly irritable best, but in the moments where the anger and the fog of despair descends he is a more threatening character than in any of his other leading man roles.

If you like a cracking script with sharp performances, with all kinds of deep psychological observations on love and loneliness to be read into it, in the best noir tradition, this is the film for you.

"In A Lonely Place" could be director Nicholas Ray's best. It's a fascinating movie that mixes drama, suspense and romance in a very interesting way. You could call it Noir I suppose, but it's a very difficult movie to tie down.

Powerful Bogie noir - often described as one of his best (now that's saying something!)

BIOS:
1. Nicholas Ray [aka: Raymond Nicholas Kienzle] [Director]
Date of Birth: 7 August 1911 - Galesville, Wisconsin
Date of Death: 16 June 1979 - New York City, New York

2. Humphrey Bogart [aka: Humphrey DeForest Bogart]
Date of Birth: 25 December 1899 - New York City, New York
Date of Death: 14 January 1957 - Los Angeles, California

3. Gloria Grahame [aka: Gloria Hallward]
Date of Birth: 28 November 1923 - Los Angeles, California
Date of Death: 5 October 1981 - New York City, New York

4. Frank Lovejoy
Date of Birth: 28 March 1912 - The Bronx, New York
Date of Death: 2 October 1962 - New York City, New York

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars
Performance: 5 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 94 min on DVD ~ Columbia Pictures ~ (03/18/2003)

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5.0 out of 5 stars The cheap price made the purchase a no brainer
I found this DVD at Wal-Mart in the five dollar bargain bin. I like old movies so I snatched it up. I am glad I did. For that price you can not go wrong!

Published on April 1 2008 by Jackson Spines

4.0 out of 5 stars Bogey's Best
Here's late 1940's early 1950's Film Noir, a love gone wrong drama. Bogart's ugliness, the angles of his forehead, the lines about his mouth are fascinating. Read more

Published on Jun 16 2004 by R. A Rubin

4.0 out of 5 stars Dark, angry Bogart in a noir classic
"In a Lonely Place" is usually considered a classic example of film noir, although-as other reviewers have pointed out-- it doesn't completely fit the mold. Read more

Published on April 27 2004 by abt1950

5.0 out of 5 stars Film Noir + Emotional Depth
Nicholas Ray's film noir is a departure for Humphrey Bogart and for the film noir genre itself.

Dixon Steele (Humphrey Bogart), a washed-up screenwriter with a flashpoint... Read more

Published on Feb 14 2004 by Bruce Cantwell

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm In Awe Of This Movie!
I checked this out of my local library because I am a big fan of Frank Lovejoy's 1950's radio drama "Nightbeat." This film comepletely took me by surprise. Read more

Published on Jan 26 2004 by M. Hencke

4.0 out of 5 stars An Unpredictable Pseudo-Noir
"In a Lonely Place" is widely considered to be one of the best of the film noir genre, but I can't quite bring myself to give it noir status. Read more

Published on Jan 22 2004 by brewster22

1.0 out of 5 stars Nicholas Ray never made a good film
In the seventies Ray couldn't get work, so film buffs began to think that he was a rebel (unwarranted assumption number one; he could have just been a soak) and that his movies... Read more

Published on Aug 25 2003 by Brian

2.0 out of 5 stars In a Luney Place
The starbright status of Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, and Frank Lovejoy fails to carry this crater-filled tale of a woman's worries about the propensity to violence of her... Read more

Published on July 27 2003 by Carolyn Paetow

4.0 out of 5 stars Content Superior; Transfer Average
This film lives up to its reviews as a complex, interesting trans-genre film that is among Bogart's best performances. Read more

Published on Jun 16 2003 by Joe Oliver

4.0 out of 5 stars BOGIE AT HIS BEST
Humphrey Bogart gives his most daring and emotionally complex performance in Nicholas Ray's IN A LONELY PLACE.

Bogie is Dickson Steele (great name, huh? Read more

Published on April 2 2003 by Robin Simmons

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