In a Lonely Place (1950)

Director:

Nicholas Ray

Writers:

Dorothy B. Hughes (story)
Edmund H. North (adaptation)

Release Date:

17 May 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

THE BOGART SUSPENSE PICTURE WITH THE SURPRISE FINISH - (original poster)

Plot:

A potentially violent screenwriter is a murder suspect until his lovely neighbor clears him. But she begins to have doubts...

Plot Keywords:

Film Within A Film | Murder | Actress | Assault | Suicide Attempt

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Humphrey Bogart	...	Dixon Steele
Gloria Grahame	...	Laurel Gray
Frank Lovejoy	...	Det. Sgt. Brub Nicolai
Carl Benton Reid	...	Capt. Lochner
Art Smith	...	Agent Mel Lippman
Jeff Donnell	...	Sylvia Nicolai
Martha Stewart	...	Mildred Atkinson
Robert Warwick	...	Charlie Waterman
Morris Ankrum	...	Lloyd Barnes
William Ching	...	Ted Barton
Steven Geray	...	Paul, Headwaiter
Hadda Brooks	...	Singer

Also Known As:

Late at Night (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:PG | Norway:16 | USA:Approved (certificate #14256) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Gloria Grahame, at the time, was estranged from her husband, the film's director Nicholas Ray. She would subsequently go on to marry one of Ray's sons from a previous marriage.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the Laurel's apartment, Mel talks with her about Dixon. In a certain moment he has his right arm by his side. Next shot he walks away with his right hand in the pocket.

Quotes:

[referring to the book Dixon is supposed to adapt into a screenplay]
Mildred Atkinson: Oh I think it'll make a dreamy picture, Mr. Steele. What I call an epic.
Dixon Steele: And what do you call an epic?
Mildred Atkinson: Well, you know - a picture that's REAL long and has lots of things going on.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Broken English (2007)

Soundtrack:

I Hadn't Anyone Till You

Classic Bogart, classic script, classic noir

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.