In a Lonely Place
1950 Directed by Nicholas Ray
Synopsis
The Bogart suspense picture with the surprise finish -
Dixon 'Dix' Steele, a down-on-his-luck screenwriter needs to adapt a trashy novel. At a night club, the hat-check girl, Mildred Atkinson is engrossed reading it. Too tired to read the novel, he asks Mildred to go home with him, to explain the plot. Later that night, Mildred is murdered and Steele is a prime suspect, his record of violence when angry goes against him.
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A surprisingly complete film noir masterfully crafted by Nicholas Ray with a dark, psychologically polluted atmosphere that creates a constant state of suspense. Hollywood screenwriter Dix Steele is a suspect in the brutal of a young girl. When questioned he provides a solid alibi, but his detached, almost amused reaction leaves Captain Lochner deeply distressed. Humphrey Bogart plays mysterious, emotionally unstable antagonistic characters like no other. One moment he is sucking you in with his slick likability, the next moment he is giving you an chill with his cold demeanor or surges of abrupt violence. The plot simply follows Dix as he starts a love affair with his aspiring actress neighbor Laurel Gray, begins writing a new script, and tries…
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What an absolutely fantastic film. It is part love story, film-noir and dark satire of the Hollywood system.
Bogart is at his best here as Dixon Steele, a complex unsentimental screenwriter who is as charming and witty as he is cold, methodical and cynical. When he is reminded that he hasn't written a good script in years he delivers a scathing condemnation of Hollywood as relevant today as it was in the late 40s. Hollywood doesn't want good scripts; it has been remaking the same bad film for years because that is what sells popcorn.
Dixon is known to be quick-tempered and violent, which makes him the prime suspect in a major crime. His beautiful neighbour Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame…
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'' Remember, angel, in the beginning was the land. Motion pictures came later.''
There was once a cooler man than Humphrey Bogart...His name was April Fools! see what I did there ? its humorous because there is no one cooler than Bogey and it was also April fools day, oh the fun!
On a related topic this film was absolutely fantastic! incredible performances, incredible script and incredible Direction. You might just say it was...incredible.
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Can you call that an adaption? There is not much left in the movie that is similar to the book. It's almost a polar opposite. Still a great movie.
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At no point did I have any idea where this movie was going. Noir mystery? Love story? Tortured soul? All of these!
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Bogart grabs Grahme by the neck to confess his love. He is vulnerable in his eyes, but violent by his hands.
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In a Lonely Place is one of my favorite movies, and certainly my favorite Bogey performance. It doesn't hurt that I adore Gloria Grahame as well. It doesn't have all the noir trappings, and for that reason it is often questioned whether it is truly a film noir. However, Dixon Steele (Bogart) and Laurel Gray (Grahame) are the ultimate doomed protagonists. They are brought together and then destroyed by the investigation into the possibility that Dixon murdered a coat check girl he invites home with him in the film's opening moments.
The story itself is compelling enough, and the dialogue is some of the most memorable to be found in the noir canon (everyone with a love for film should…
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"I wouldn't want anyone but you."
The tension! I can't stand it. About half way through I'm finding excuses to pause the computer. I really don't want to know how this ends. Could we stay here at the piano bar, or back when she's tucking him in? This isn't the Humphrey Bogart I'm used to; this one is trigger happy and seeing red at the least provocation. Gloria Grahame believes in him, so I want to too, until the car ride, when I want to get out. She continues on, but then with a great deal of talent shows a slow unravel. So well done. And Bogart, exploring every facet of a deeply flawed individual: the hope, the resignation, the fury. Nothing is sidestepped.
Is love blind? Myopic perhaps. It really does bring out the best in people, but true nature can't be put aside forever. She asks, "What's the hurry?" He knows exactly what the hurry is.
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Directed by Nicholas Ray
Grade: A-
A relatively simple set up turns into an extremely complex character study. I really enjoyed this. And I'm by no means a Bogart aficionado but this has to be up there with one of his best and most fascinating performances. He plays a cynical Hollywood screenwriter in the late 1940's, who becomes a prime suspect in the murder of a young woman. And while he denies the charges and has an alibi, there's clearly something "different" and dangerous about his character, making those closest to him start to question both his innocence and his sanity.
"In a Lonely Place" covers a lot of ground - it's a commentary on the Hollywood system. It's a study of men coming back from World War II. It's about obsession, loneliness, the creative process, and it all takes place with that awesome 1940's Hollywood setting. Good stuff. I'm already looking forward to seeing this one again.
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'' Remember, angel, in the beginning was the land. Motion pictures came later.''
There was once a cooler man than Humphrey Bogart...His name was April Fools! see what I did there ? its humorous because there is no one cooler than Bogey and it was also April fools day, oh the fun!
On a related topic this film was absolutely fantastic! incredible performances, incredible script and incredible Direction. You might just say it was...incredible.
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In a Lonely Place is the latest addition to my collection of Humphrey Bogart films and in this film noir drama from 1950 Bogie plays a popular yet struggling Hollywood screenwriter with violent temper who is the prime suspect in the case of a young woman's murder.
Having never seen the trailer this wasn't the film I was expecting. I was expecting more of a character piece about a struggling writer alone and isolated in his own world of despair.
It's directed by Nicholas Ray, known for classics like Rebel Without a Cause and Bigger Than Life so my expectations were pretty high. It's a good film but nothing great; the plot isn't very interesting and Bogie's character wasn't likeable at all. I found it amazing that this guy could have so many friends being such a prick all the time.
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1950, Bogart uses the word "gatt"
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Very dark and sad
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Can you call that an adaption? There is not much left in the movie that is similar to the book. It's almost a polar opposite. Still a great movie.
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After watching Rebel without A Cause, this is a total shock, not just by how menacing it is, but also by how mind-boggling, beguiling, and most of all, tragic it is.