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Bogart is at his uncompromisingly dark best as the Hollywood writer whose temper leads to accusations of murder and conflicted relationships. By turns charming, cold, romantic and remorseful, Dix Steele is as unpredictable a character as Bogie has ever played.

He shows no emotion on learning that Mildred - the innocent he has just met - has been killed, and those who know him accept his violent nature as simply part of the Steele package. But thanks to the skill of Bogie and director Ray, the audience never entirely loses sympathy for him. The moments of tenderness he shows to his alibi-turned-lover Laurel (an ethereal Gloria Grahame; imagine Hope Davis glammed-up for the 50s) alternate with fits of anger to turn their relationship into that of a tragic poem.

In A Lonely Place is film noir that focuses on romance rather than crime. The reasons for Mildred's murder are never satisfactorily made clear, but it doesn't really matter. The movie asks whether love and trust are earned by what a person says or what they do. And in the end, actions speak louder than words.

In 1950, Billy Wilder released his latest masterpiece, 'Sunset Blvd.,' a scathing satire on the pitfalls of Hollywood celebrity, delicately drawing a contrast between the deluded and volatile has-been Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) and the scheming wanna-be screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden). While Wilder's film deservedly received an overwhelming critical response, and its share of controversy, another impressive, similarly-themed film slipped beneath the radar that same year. For decades, director Nicholas Ray was overlooked and neglected by most film critics, before developing something of a cult following in the 1970s, and films such as 'Rebel Without a Cause (1955)' – which I first watched just a week ago – are now recognised as masterpieces. 'In a Lonely Place (1950)' has only now been lauded as one of the finest entries into the film-noir movement, and Humphrey Bogart's performance has emerged as among the most intense and profound in his distinguished repertoire. A brooding study of aggression, trust and success, Ray's film meticulously deconstructs the Hollywood myth, revealing a frightening world where the man you love could very well be a murderer.

Dixon Steele (Humphrey Bogart) is a down-on-his-luck screenwriter, an unsuccessful artist who resents being pressured into writing hackneyed, unoriginal scripts, which are guaranteed money-makers for the studios but possess zero artistic integrity. The morning after he brings home a bar hat-check girl (Martha Stewart) to recite the plot of the novel he is to adapt, Steele is hauled into the police department to explain why the girl was found murdered, her strangled body dumped from a moving vehicle. Appearing almost indifferent to the crime, Steele declines all knowledge of the homicide, and his story is shakily corroborated by a neighbour, Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame), with whom he forms an intimate relationship. As Steele begins to pen his latest screenplay, he uncovers an outlet for his pent-up aggression, however, when Laurel betrays a lingering suspicion that her love might possibly have perpetrated the horrific murder, he threatens to lash out in a fit of violence, only further cementing her misgivings. By the film's end, the tragedy of the couple's relationship is revealed: whether or not Steele actually did commit the murder is almost irrelevant; what ultimately dooms their romance is that he conceivably could have.

In an obvious critique of the Hollywood studio system, Steele bitterly condemns the career of a successful producer, accusing him of remaking the same movie twenty times and of being a "popcorn salesman." The producer, apparently comfortable with his prosperous but creatively-deficient profession, snidely reminds Steele that everyone in Hollywood is inherently a "popcorn salesman," so why fight it? It's this notion of creativity – or, rather, the lack of creativity in film-making – that forms the heart of 'In a Lonely Place.' There's no doubt that Dixon Steele is a talented screenwriter, but his reluctance to allow his work to be influenced by popular opinion makes him feel trapped and alone, as though Hollywood is attempting to stamp out his genius. His frustration with the film-making business is allowed to accumulate steadily within, before being unleashed in adrenaline-charged explosions of aggression and violence. From here is born the dilemma of Laurel's relationship with him: it is Steele's creativity with which she most assuredly fell in love, but this gift is intrinsically linked with the hostility of which she is so frightened.

Bogart reportedly thought the movie a failure. Certainly box-office results were dismal and Bogie's production company, Santana, lost a bundle. Hard to believe anyone thought this disturbing film with its downbeat ending would actually make money. Bogart's Dix Steel (that name should have been reconsidered) is a borderline psychopath, a Jekyll and Hyde who can boil over in an instant. He's a walking volcano whose sensitive side simply cannot contain the inner turmoil. In that day, few Hollywood egos had the assurance to take on such an unflattering role, especially the shadowy later scenes where his creviced face approaches the grotesque. It's a fine and daring performance, and the last, I believe, where Bogart plays even a semi- romantic leading man.

Good as Bogart is, this is a Gloria Graham showcase. Her droopy upper lip and pouty face never quite fit the Hollywood mold, and by decade's end, she was gone. Here, however, she's near perfect as the jaded starlet, with a questionable background and just a hint of 50's kink. Her Laurel Gray emerges as a vulnerable, yet street-wise toughie, drawing the eager Steel into a torrid affair, (only hinted at because of the production code of the day). But as his character unravels, so must hers, which it does in beautifully understated stages. Watch her quietly desperate reaction to Steel following the assault on the motorist, or her barely controlled panic at film's end. It's an award-level performance, all the better for refusing to go over the top, despite the many opportunities. Small wonder she remains an enduring noir favorite.

The mystery angle may be a clever plot device, but it's director Nicholas Ray's powerful vision that makes the film gel. A poet of post-war alienation, he's the perfect overseer of such fare, combining the elements into a grimly compelling view of human estrangement and isolation. Perhaps no director other than Elia Kazan could work with a cast as effectively as Ray. Notice how distinctively each of the supporting players is drawn, from the Shakespearean drunk to the hard-bitten maid to the lounge lizards at Romanoff's. Only the cops in routine roles seem to fade into the background. Underrated in many of Ray's best films is the scoring, and this film is no exception. George Antheil's compositions are simple yet expertly conceived, highlighting the scenes without rivaling them and lending just the right emotional tone. My one complaint: I've never understood why an industry so close to the beach couldn't film at the beach, or at least couldn't have come up with a better process shot than the one here.

Nonetheless Bogart was wrong. The film is anything but a failure. Coming from an era of happy endings, Dix and Laurel remain star-crossed lovers, doomed by their own sophistication and inner demons, for which there appears no cure. Expecting uplift, audiences of the day may not have responded, but viewers during the years between have, recognizing In a Lonely Place for the noir classic it is. This quietly disturbing portrayal of one man's inability to cope continues to resonate beyond the confines of today's slam-bang world. So whatever you do, don't miss it.

This is one of my all time favourite films, and (alongside the obvious - Casablanca, Maltese Falcon etc) my favourite Bogart.

The script is smart, witty and cynical, just like a typical Bogart character. But in this film Bogart plays probably his darkest character.

In some of the scenes with Gloria Graeme 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.

The cynical, darker aspects of this film just go to highlight how few contemporary films are prepared to be so bleak.

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.

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.

The story concerns a Hollywood screenwriter (Bogart) who is suspected of being a murderer. Grahame, a neighbor, steps in to defend him – she saw the murdered woman leave his apartment alone. Afterwards, they begin a relationship. But Bogart's nature is a violent one, and that violence keeps pushing forward. It makes Grahame rethink her earlier testimony, as well as fear for her own safety. It's quite a unique film for the time, one that actually deals with the possibility of an abusive man. Everything is perfectly done, and the script is wonderful. The film's tagline was 'The Bogart suspense picture with a surprise ending!' What is surprising about the ending is just how much weight it carries. 9/10.

A scorching performance from Bogey makes this film a real classic, his Dixon Steele one of the great screen characters. In this more biting version of the plot of Hitchcock's suspense/comedy Suspicion, Bogart is a kind and loving screenwriter with a violent streak of temper waiting to break out and a taste for a drink or two, wooing Gloria Grahame's pretty young actress next door. The death of a young girlfriend of his hangs over him throughout the movie, as Graham at first believes him to be innocent, then later, having fallen for his charms, begins to suspect he may have had something to do with the girl's death after all, as his temper becomes more and more uncontrolled and frightening. The police circle around, making his nervous anger worse; the relationship begins to crumble into a mess of fear, lies and misunderstanding. Through all this Dixon Steele emerges as a great and brilliant creation, a highlight even in a career as illustrious as that of Bogart, a charming and witty man when happy, a black and vengeful man when roused to anger, a man of contradictions that only seems the more real, heroic, and ultimately tragic. Bogart's performance is brilliant, but the setting works well too, Grahame is great as the sassy girl he falls for, then frightens, the story chugs along at a fair lick, but allowing plenty of time for the many fun minor characters to develop well, and the script is a corker - wonderful stuff.

In a Lonely Place was a film I only saw recently, and I loved it. It is a very dark and gripping film, and for me one of the better dramas I've seen about the movie industry. It has a very clever and compelling plot complete with a purposefully bleak ending, helped by brisk pacing, superb direction and sophisticated dialogue and although the film is quite short I felt wholly satisfied at the end.

The film also looks wonderful, the cinematography hasn't aged a jot and the scenery and costumes are top-notch as well. George Antheil's music is very atmospheric, and the acting is very good. Gloria Grahame is very well-cast despite the fact the part was specifically written for Lauren Bacall, but playing one of his most complex characters Humphrey Bogart holds the film together in a superb performance. One minute he is funny, somewhat ironic and sympathetic, the next minute especially in the second half he is powerful, dark and quite sinister, Bogart manages these traits wonderfully.

Overall, a very gripping film and helped especially by Bogart's fine performance. 10/10 Bethany Cox

There was a brave and smart twist to the 'man alone' theme in an unusually literate thriller which isolated its ambivalent hero having conflicting feelings inside his own negative personality... This man was not physically isolated as Robert Ryan ('Inferno') had been: he was an embittered Hollywood screenwriter who needed self-discipline and trust… The lonely place in which he was trapped was his own mind...

Perhaps some people thought Bogart over-acted, played the writer like a criminal aggressively apt to be easily offended... but he played his role well. No gangster this time, or cop, or private eye... He was a Hollywood screenwriter—strong, easily annoyed, depressed; his nerve-ends constantly steaming; living alone with his talent, his reputation and his typewriter; impulsive rather than strengthened by a diet of alcohol and nicotine… His savage temper was uncontrollable: anything, it seemed, could explode it; and his violence was more than merely verbal…

Bogart found himself capable of murder... He might have been anti-social... But the stress within him, reacting to the pressures without, built up so strongly that his rages, always near boiling point, became explosive... He hit people without good reason...

One watched the reactions of his dream girl, the beautiful blonde Gloria Grahame, and his two close friends... With them, one came to wonder if he was not really a murderer after all...

"I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me."

Powerful, emotionally real and devastating, with one of Bogart's most complex roles he ever played and maybe his Greatest Performance. One of the best Noirs i've seen 'til Date, i Highly Recommend it.

Humphrey Bogart is magnificent as a tough Hollywood screenwriter who is romantically involved with a gorgeous actress, Gloria Grahame,meanwhile he's under suspicion of killing of another woman.This is a fascinating psychological thriller which takes Bogey's screen persona and turn him to show the dangerous undertones which could destroy such a man.¨Bogie¨makes mythical stuff of the violent, volatile and two-fisted writer.Bogart's brooding ,male animal intensity brought him rave reviews for this film.Here he is an unlikeable,angry urban male with smooth-talking charmer who erupts into sudden violence.Bogart'd done it all and had it all done to him,he's the patron soul of film noir:High Sierra,Maltese Falcon,Big sleep,Key Largo, Knock on any door and of course, In a lonely place.Gloria Grahame was a female icon of 1950 film noir,Grahame custom mingled vulnerability,sensuality and emotional volatility to craft a remarkable string of flawed characters :Crossfire,Sudden fear,Big heat,Human desire ,Naked alibi, and specially ,In a lonely place. The picture is well directed by Nicholas Ray(at the time married with Grahame).The highlights of Ray include three pretty unusual films noir¨A woman's secret¨and two movies with Bogart ¨Knock on any door¨with a rebel young John Derek and this one. Excellent cinematography by Burnett Guffey,he along with John Alton and Nicholas Musuruka are the fundamental artificers of the special atmosphere of the films noir.This superb movie became itself one of the finest memorable and known entry of the genre.

Bogart stretches his acting muscles and allows his vulnerability to be on display in this realistic gut-wrenching love story. Gloria Grahame, one of the underrated great US actresses of the 40's and 50's, has an electrifying chemistry with Bogie, touching a side that we'd never seen -- not even with Lauren Bacall, laced with an odd kind of violent tenderness. Frank Lovejoy heads a fantastic supporting cast, heavy on three-dimensional characterisations. This unknown classic is Bogie's most complete performance ever. I give it 10 out of 10.

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.

Humphrey Bogart plays a writer with a violent temper who is suspected of a murder. The film doesn't show all the events but it gives you enough information that you're fairly confident he's innocent. But along with Gloria Grahame's character, the film starts to test your confidence. In one or two lines it might sound intriguing but that's only a couple of lines. Not a 94 minute picture. The film plays out as if it has a few scenes to move the plot and a whole bunch just to kill time to get to the next important scene. Ultimately it turns out that he's innocent and just a guy with a bad temper. The ending feels very convenient and underwhelming and doesn't pack the emotion it intends to. In A Lonely Place does contain many of the aspects you might watch this film for. Humphrey Bogart and his all attention grabbing persona, some witty lines(though there is a fair amount of dialouge that is anything but) and a mysterious concept. However, it is neither thrilling nor dramatic as it just doesn't have many places to go.

Very adult film about a surly Hollywood writer, a would be actress, and a murder. Among the very best Bogart performances, yet this film is practically unknown. Top notch acting across the board. Bogart and Grahame are a terrific team (she is the designing actress), but also good are Frank Lovejoy, Jeff Donnell (as his wife), Martha Stewart (no not that one) as the murder victim, Art Smith as the agent, and Robert Warwick (just wonderful) as the washed-up actor. Everything in the story revolves around Hollywood and movie making, but this is NOT really a film about Hollywood; it's a murder mystery. Great script is full of memorable lines, and all the supporting actors are sharp. Ruth Warren is funny as the maid, and Ruth Gillette is really spooky as the masseuse. Carl Benton Reid is the Lieutenant, and William Ching another officer. But the center is Bogart's harsh, unrelenting character. His Dixon Steele must rank with his best characters. And we never get to know him, nor is there any apology for his toughness. He seems almost psychotic--very rare for the hero of the 1950s movie. This also rates as one of Grahame's best performances. A truly unique Hollywood movie all round. In a Lonely Place still rates as an undiscovered gem.

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. Dix 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 lines like that?

The fickle world of writing scripts has set the beat, left you lonely, isolated, in retreat, cynical and quite sneering, motivation is despairing, a murdered hat-check girl brings police and some heat. Laurel Gray provides an alibi, defence, an affair that takes a day to start, commence, passions burn and fires rage, as you draft from page to page, past history suggests, you are quite tense. As time moves on, your anger oversteps the mark, your whole demeanour's built on fury and is dark, as you erupt and overflow, people aren't safe, punches get thrown, you're bite's at lot more worse, after you've barked.

Great performances, a dark and disturbing tale, as relevant today as it was back then, which can't always be said for films of the time.

Very briefly, if you love 'film noir', excellent writing, brilliant direction, powerful B&W imagery and inspired casting, IN A LONELY PLACE is waiting for you. The storyline and the characterizations are city street-smart and flawless. One of Bogart's very best!

Gee, I'm glad I finally got around to giving this movie a complete viewing. Years ago I had seen some of it and thought it was boring but I had read too many good things about this to give up on it, so when I saw a DVD for just a few bucks earlier this bought, I bought it. I'm glad, but I have mixed feelings on the film. For much of it, I found it an interesting movie with some very cool dialog and some quirky characters. Besides, I like the genre (film noir), although I found this much more of a crime/drama/melodrama/comedy than a noir.

Ever since "Casablanca" Humphrey Bogart seemed to get some of these "Rick" parts; you know, the wise-guy know-it-all with a smart answer for everything and a guy who is hard to figure (good guy or bad guy?). That's the main story in this film - is "Dix Steele" or killer or just a guy with a big temper problem? I won't say, but it will keep you guessing right up until the end.

Gloria Grahame ("Laurel Gray") is at her sexiest and her role here not unfamiliar when you look at the history of films - the woman who is attracted to a bad man or possible bad man. The woman who has second thoughts all the time but also is desperate to fall in love. It's been overworked in the movies but Grahame is a feast for the eyes in this film.

Overall, I thought the main part of the film was fun to watch. The opening 10-15 minutes was a little too corny with Martha Stewart's character, "Mildred Atkinson", and the last half hour turned a little too melodramatic in spots, yet the movie never dragged.

The line in the film repeated several times - "I was born when you kissed me. I died when you left. I lived a few weeks while you loved me" - is cool, but demonstrates the big melodrama side to this film. Yet, it has a tense feel - which gives it the film noir label - as Bogart is mesmerizing in one of his more memorable roles late in his illness-shortened life.

For most classic-movie buffs, this is a "must see," and I can understand that.

Humphrey Bogart's part in In a Lonely Place perfectly makes such an interesting case as to what is capable in his skills as an actor, and as a star. Nicholas Ray's film doesn't so much challenge as it does confront a certain style of POV in how the character(s) may be seen in the film, and it very much has a lasting impact to this day. Early on in the film we're seeing it all through Dixon Steele's perspective, a down-on-his-luck type who in this case happens to be a screenwriter. After a woman he asked over to his place leaves, and gets killed later on, he's pulled in as the chief suspect. The investigation goes on, but in the meantime he falls for his alibi, a woman neighbor he glanced at that night (Gloria Grahame). Now so far we've gotten, more or less, the 'star' side of Bogie, where he's a decent enough person, even through the way that he says the lines is his style of gruff, low-key. So far we're on his side with this, and the director too goes to lengths to make the police-side moments to be as they are in any given number of noirs where there's always the overly suspicious head detective.

But then suddenly, the perspective changes really from Bogart's character to Grahame's. Suddenly, as her character types up his new, 'inspired' script in a matter or weeks, the relationship for her- at first with a firm tongue-in-cheek and kind adoration in part to the writing- starts to take a turn. Here's where the character of Bogart's starts to get interesting, as the past record of violent outbursts starts to add doubt not just for his girl, but for the audience as well. As he was much as at home playing tense, on-edge gangsters and the like in the 30's as he was in star turns in the 40s, here's a role where he gets to both, but in line with the director's dramatic requirements. Here he creates this film just on structure with a keen apt for the suspense of it all. It isn't even a 'whodunit' as much as it is a look at the environment of how 'loneliness' is often most crushing when it incurs loss and pushing others away. And the climax that is reached is meant as an emotional one, as the real peak is revealed. In a Lonely Place is great for what it gives its actor(s) to do with the material, and along with an accompanying, varying style, it's exemplary of subverting expectations. You may get the rough side of Bogie as well as the side that's near charming. But this time the implications of connecting and feeling for one another are just as strong, if not stronger, than the mystery portion that pushes further on them.

Saying all this, of course, doesn't mean that the film isn't quite the entertainer, too; moments of humor are pecked in with a side character and with some of the (typical for a Bogart star role) finely tuned bits of dialog. It's a film that tells a love story and has the mix of very touching moments with the uglier ones, has some grit on the edges that adds to the subversion of the material, and puts conflicts where elsewhere would be shuffled around by others. In short, it's a highlight in both of the careers of the director and star.