In a Lonely Place
 | Average Customer Rating: Recommend A hotheaded Hollywood screenwriter, questioned for murder, is drawn to his neighbor when she confirms his alibi, but his volatile nature eventually th Product details and pricing info |
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74 Reviews for In a Lonely Place
- "I lived a few weeks while she loved me."
- This is a review for IN A LONELY PLACE (1950) which was one of my favorite Bogart movies for years but with the rise in popularity of film noir it's hardly the unknown film it once was. Which is all right by me, the more people who see something that's really good, the more chances there'll be of other good films being seen and appreciated, I believe.
IN A LONELY PLACE concerns an almost washed up screenwriter, Dixon Steele, played by Humphrey Bogart, who gets a chance to adapt a somewhat windy best selling "epic novel" into a screenplay as the basis for what hopefully will be a popular film. These words are not spoken in the film but it looks like this could be Dix Steele's last chance at a financially as well as artistically successful screenplay. Dix has a few problems, mainly drinking and a flashpoint temper that has led to a few violent episodes in the past including some involving the police. And now he is visibly aging but not necesarily mellowing.
In truth, Dix is not enamored with the bestseller he has been given to adapt and when a enthusiastic checkroom girl named Mildred Atkinson , played by a Martha Stewart, gushes over the book and the possiblilty of a movie based on it, Dix gives her the job of coming back to his apartment to read the tome to him so he might have some idea of the book without exerting any undue effort.
So the check room girl breaks her date with her banker boyfriend and goes with Dix to his courtyard apartment to dig into the book. Unfortunately things don't work out too well and Dix gives the girl some money for cabfare home and looking bone tired, says he's going to bed.
Next thing he knows it's 5 AM and an old army buddy, now a plainclothes detective, well played by Frank Lovejoy, is ringing his doorbell wanting to talk with him about Mildred Atkinson. It turns out she was murdered before she could get a cab and Dix was the last known person to have seen her alive.
While being questioned at the station house Dix answers to a police question that one person did see him when he said goodnight to Mildred Atkinson, a woman who lives across the courtyard. As it turns out the woman,
Laurel Gray, played by Gloria Grahame, has taken notice of Dix and is aware that he is a screenwriter.
As the film progresses so does the relationship between Dixon Steele and Laurel Gray. They both seem to get along well and she helps him with the screenplay, which needs a lot of help apparently.
At times Dix forgets everything of the outside world, his mind is strictly involved with his writing for the first time in many years. A lot of that has to do with Laurel's keeping his mind on the track of the story.
But occassionally another violent incident will occur, sometimes with Laurel there to witness it.
In the meantime the police investigation seems to be progressing slowly if at all and Dix is still a primary suspect. Sometimes Laurel can't help but wonder with the evidence of Dix's sometimes violent nature if he's the one who killed MIldred Atkinson.
In fact, that's the noirish part of the story that I enjoy most, the audience is left wondering if Dixon Steele can't control himself with "these kids in their cut-down cars" how would Dix react to an actual turndown from a young pretty girl? Especially after a couple of drinks, would he take it as a personal insult, something that had to be avenged immediately?
That's the crux of the decision that Laurel has to make about Dix and herself.....and the decision the audience has to make about Dixon Steele and the entire story of IN A LONELY PLACE.
It is a romance as well as a murder mystery with plenty of noir trappings thrown in, not just to confuse the characters, but to hold the audience in a gloomy cloud of suspense for as long as possible. And a fine job by
everyone involved, IN A LONELY PLACE is a memorable film, one that will hold your interest, to say the least, from beginning to end.
"I was born when she kissed me.
I died when she left me.
I lived a few weeks while she loved me."
Humphrey Bogart as Dixon Steele in
IN A LONELY PLACE (1950). - 2010-08-11, 1 of 1 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- "Your Own Worst Enemy"
- This is a most excellent movie, for any era - and if you are an old movie enthusiast and haven't seen this, it's a rare one in all respects..
"In a Lonely Place" ranks, in my opinion, as one of Bogart's best complex character work after having seen it for the first time not long ago. It's odd that a movie of this magnitude seems to take a lesser position in the press than does "The Maltese Falcon", "To Have and Have Not", which were fine film work to be sure, but the depth of emotion and character portrayal done by Bogie in this movie is simply outstanding, in my view.
Dix Steele is a talented, once powerful but now struggling Hollywood screen writer - whose soul is, indeed, lost in a "lonely place" from which he is powerless to extract himself. Evidence of his personal failures is everywhere; they surround him, follow him. His personality is such that it is easy for even those who know him best to suspect him of murder when a young woman he barely knew turned up dead after being at this apartment under totally benign circumstances.
The story line is truly ahead of it's time; it may even have been one of the first films to address the agony of a mental illness that takes control of a person who in all other respects seems normal until something triggers his violent, suspicious responses all of which seem to be tied to an unwarranted insecurity. Adding to the remarkable insight of this story, he seems to know what his problem is. He even retreats occasionally in the midst of a sudden, uncontrolled outburst as though he recognizes what he is doing; yet it is not enough to save him. He loses his dignity, his pride; and literally all of his relationships to it, including the love and respect of a woman he has waited a lifetime to obtain and who tries to return his love; his entire existence goes down before it. It is painful to watch, and therefore, we are given the stark, "lonely" insight of how it must be to live with it. Perhaps "live through it" each day might be a better choice of words.
Flawlessly written and connected, it keeps the viewer in a state of animated suspense. The love interest is enchantingly portrayed by Gloria Grahame in her heyday, who does a remarkable job as the beautiful, bright and unusual woman living in the same apartment complex who becomes romantically entangled with Dixon; but they are doomed from the beginning; the very mystery that appeals to her finally turns to fear and drives her away from him - even as his own choice of scripted screenplay words eerily forecast the demise of their hopeless love:
"I died when you left me, I lived for a few weeks while you loved me...."
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& amp; lt; div> - 2010-07-12, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- One of Bogart's most complex roles
- This was a very interesting role for Humphrey Bogart, and was a bit of a production code buster on several levels.
Bogart plays Hollywood screenwriter Dixon Steele, who is in somewhat of a writing rut. He also has a quick temper and a paranoia complex. He picks fights with people over the most routine matters and these fights commonly come to blows. He is indeed "in a lonely place" of his own making. Steele has a chance to write a screenplay based on a book, but the author wants him to read the book and give him his opinion in just a matter of a few days. At the restaurant where Steele has talked with the author, the hat check girl says she has just read the book and loves it. Steele invites her to come over to his apartment and tell him about the book to save him the trouble of reading it. This is all very innocent in what Steele intends and in what actually happens. In fact, Steele's reaction, unseen and unheard by the hat check girl, to her semi-literate oral book report is wickedly funny. After the girl tells her story, she leaves. Neighbor Laurel Grey (Gloria Grahame) sees her leave. However, the next day, the girl's strangled body is found next to a road. The police quickly find their way back to Steele's place where, due to his violent nature and nonchalant reaction to the murder, he is under immediate suspicion. He finds an alibi in his neighbor Laurel, and this is how they formally meet.
Almost immediately the two begin a relationship that gets serious fast. Laurel finds Steele attentive and interesting. Thus at first Laurel thinks Steele is innocent of the murder, but one by one her doubts grow. Steele explodes over little things, even eventually punching out his own agent over nothing. In fact, Steele's agent is his only real friend and actually is a bit of an enabler for his bad behavior. You always see Steele show his idea of remorse for his actions, even anonymously sending money to a guy he has beaten up over a traffic accident. However, the question that is left to be answered is - exactly what is going on with this guy? Could he have stalked and killed the girl over his anger at something else or someone else entirely? And if he didn't kill the hat check girl, will he eventually kill someone else? Laurel is asking these same questions as she begins to wonder - is it more dangerous to try and run away from Steele, or is it more dangerous to stay? One should never consider saying "yes" to a marriage proposal if it comes down to what is less dangerous.
Laurel is not exactly a finished book herself. Apparently she had a serious relationship with a well-off man just prior to this, and ended it for really no tangible reason. Then there is a kind of g ay subtext going on between herself and her masseuse Martha. They only have one scene together but it certainly throws out more questions than answers, just like the rest of this film.
If you like noir, if you like Bogart, if you like being challenged, watch this film. - 2010-01-03, 2 of 2 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- so close to a 5 star!
- Pretty good movie. If you like Bogart this is a must not his best role but one of his better indeed). I didn't really like the actress that played the leading lady though, but she did her job in giving the script the tension needed. I would of liked if Bogart's character Steele would of been isolated a little in the flick (psychically scenes-representing emotional isolation; maybe to make you feel a little sympathy for him becuase after all we dont know if he did it or not, adding another emotional layer for the audience),hence "in a lonely place". Last thought: ole Dix Steele is a prime patient for PTSD therapy, no?
- 2009-11-18, 0 of 0 people found this review helpful, Rated:
- I Lived a Few Weeks While You Loved Me
- Humphrey Bogart is no hero here. He's a murder suspect. He's alcoholic, violently angry, frustrated, isolated . . . intelligent, fiercely loyal, proud, and longing for connection. This is perhaps his most nuanced, authentic performance, in one of his finest films from a purely artistic point of view. The plot centers around the possibility that he might, in a drunken rage, have killed a hat check girl he took home from a bar. Gloria Grahame plays an attractive neighbor who takes an interest. It's hard to say more without saying too much. You just have to watch it. The acting, script and direction are first-rate while the visual style serves the story effectively. Bogart's own company produced the film, freeing it from the constraints of a studio production. It was and remains unconventional. Not a success in its day or among his most popularly revived films, In a Lonely Place's stature has grown over the years. It stands as a finely-made and engrossing testament to Bogart's commitment to his art. Highly recommended.
- 2009-10-27, 1 of 1 people found this review helpful, Rated:
