IN A LONELY PLACE (1950)

First rate psychological thriller from Columbia Pictures. Directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy, Carl Benton Reid, Art Smith, and Jeff Donnell. IN A LONELY PLACE is a classic example of Film Noir.

Dixon Steele (Bogart) is a struggling screenwriter who has trouble finding work because of his alcoholism and a tendency toward violence. One night, when he's drinking at a local bar with a group of his colleagues, Dix is given a book to read that might be good source material for a screenplay. A friendly hatcheck girl, Mildred (Martha Stewart), has read the book and is very enthusiastic about it. Dix invites her to his apartment to tell him the story so that he won't have to read it himself. After Mildred is finished and some mild flirtation has taken place, Dix gives the girl cab fare and sends her home. The next morning she is found brutally murdered and the police suspect Dix. One of his neighbors, Laurel Gray (Grahame) provides him with an alibi, telling the police she saw Mildred leaving by herself. Laurel and Dix begin seeing each other and she assists him with his writing. But the police continue to suspect Dix. As Laurel learns more about Dix and his violent past, she also becomes suspicious. Then, after witnessing several of his violent episodes, she begins to wonder if perhaps he did kill Mildred.

Bogart gives one of his strongest performances as this terribly complicated and tortured man. He is at once frightening and sympathetic as he has no control over his emotions and is filled with insecurity and paranoia. The story is brilliantly constructed so that not only does Laurel begin to suspect Dix is a murderer, but the film audience does as well. Gloria Grahame is also at her best here, giving a very controlled, restrained performance that increasingly gives way to fear and panic. Laurel is symbolic of every woman who has ever loved and desired a man while at the same time being afraid of him.

The film is also about Hollywood and the dark, downbeat side of the movie industry. Dix and his friends are has-been writers and drunken former actors who are filled with bitterness and self-pity. Laurel is a one time actress who hadn't been very successful. And she too has a past involving a wealthy man whom she is anxious to stay away from.

In spite of some beautiful sets and locations, the look of the film is progressively dark and moody, reflecting the atmosphere of mistrust, suspicion, and hopelessness that surrounds the main characters. The camera shows us every line in Bogart's haggard face as he descends deeper and deeper into paranoia. It took a lot of courage and dedication for him to take on a role like this one.

Essential viewing for students of Film Noir. And for fans of Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, and Nicholas Ray. Grahame and Ray were husband and wife at the time.