Bogart's characterization of Dixon Steele, an erratic and violent screenwriter, builds on a role seen three years earlier in "The Two Mrs. Carroll's". In that one he was a scheming husband with a penchant for disposing of used up wives. Here however, Bogey is driven to maniacal excess that roils to a raging white heat best exemplified when he stops short of smashing a man's head in with a rock in a 1950's fit of road rage. It may be the proverbial straw that destroys the romance between Steele and Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame), a would be actress who insinuates herself into the writer's life by virtue of an alibi in the death of a young woman.
The film keeps one guessing as to Steele's guilt or innocence, but his re-creation of the murder for a detective friend and his wife only adds to the intrigue. Not to mention feigning guilt every time his agent Lippman (Art Smith) comes around. It's the bantering between the pair that keeps the film off balance in the early going and lightens the story with an air of dark comedy.
It was hard for me to warm up to the Laurel Gray character. There was always a veneer of caution and distrust about her, made more ominous by the revelation that she was on the run from a former boyfriend. In turn, her own internal warning system slipped into high gear as the film progressed, becoming increasingly wary of Steele's hot temper and growing intrusion into her life.
I'm always intrigued by the slightest of film nuances and this one offers a couple. For one, when the character of detective Brub Nicolai (Frank Lovejoy) is introduced for the first time to Laurel Gray at the police station, his boss calls him 'Nicholson'. And were you quick enough to catch Myron Healey as the uncredited postal clerk in the latter part of the movie?
Humphrey Bogart was equally at home portraying both heroes and villains, but it seems that bad guys brought out more intensity in the actor. Though not nearly as strong or well known as Bogey's A-list of films, and we all know which ones they are, "In A Lonely Place" is a strong contender to head up his second tier along with "Conflict", "The Enforcer" and "Knock On Any Door". The latter film, as this one was directed by Nicholas Ray, who achieved his seminal career work in "Rebel Without a Cause".
The film keeps one guessing as to Steele's guilt or innocence, but his re-creation of the murder for a detective friend and his wife only adds to the intrigue. Not to mention feigning guilt every time his agent Lippman (Art Smith) comes around. It's the bantering between the pair that keeps the film off balance in the early going and lightens the story with an air of dark comedy.
It was hard for me to warm up to the Laurel Gray character. There was always a veneer of caution and distrust about her, made more ominous by the revelation that she was on the run from a former boyfriend. In turn, her own internal warning system slipped into high gear as the film progressed, becoming increasingly wary of Steele's hot temper and growing intrusion into her life.
I'm always intrigued by the slightest of film nuances and this one offers a couple. For one, when the character of detective Brub Nicolai (Frank Lovejoy) is introduced for the first time to Laurel Gray at the police station, his boss calls him 'Nicholson'. And were you quick enough to catch Myron Healey as the uncredited postal clerk in the latter part of the movie?
Humphrey Bogart was equally at home portraying both heroes and villains, but it seems that bad guys brought out more intensity in the actor. Though not nearly as strong or well known as Bogey's A-list of films, and we all know which ones they are, "In A Lonely Place" is a strong contender to head up his second tier along with "Conflict", "The Enforcer" and "Knock On Any Door". The latter film, as this one was directed by Nicholas Ray, who achieved his seminal career work in "Rebel Without a Cause".