Humphrey Bogart proves that if anyone can make such a despicable character likable he can. That is a battle any seasoned actor would struggle with when tasked to play the role of Dixon Steele, a screenwriter struggling to write a hit film while simultaneously battling a raging temper that can turn deadly at any moment. He will depict the highs of a budding romance and the extreme lows of a murder investigation with him as the primary suspect. He’s quick to lash out and has a history of abusing women. Yet by the end of the film we will feel sorry for him. Only a true thespian could convey all this and keep us with him.
The story follows Dixon, who hasn’t had a hit film in years, something that his agent reminds him at every turn. However, Dixon also refuses to take a sure-fire hit, adapting a best selling novel, because he doesn’t want to follow the one requirement stipulated with that assignment, remain faithful to the book. A young woman, the hat-check girl at the restaurant Dixon is dining in, Mildred Atkinson (Martha Stewart), has read most of the copy on the book and, with Dixon’s invitation, accompanies him to his apartment with the intention of walking him through the story. Afterwards she leaves on her own only to turn up murdered later that same night. The prime suspect is Dixon but his neighbor, Laurel (Gloria Grahame), says she saw the girl leave while Dixon stayed at home, providing him with a solid enough alibi to keep him from being arrested. A romance blossoms between the two but things soon turn dark as Dixon demonstrates that his temper may indeed run hot enough to commit murder. Soon, Laurel begins to doubt his innocence and her role in keeping him out of prison.
One of In a Lonely Place’s strengths is that it doesn’t tell you who killed the girl until the very end. At no point are we sure Dixon didn’t do it. We don’t quite believe Laurel’s provided alibi as she would not have had a clear view to see that Mildred had left alone or that Dixon couldn’t have slipped away unseen and committed the murder anyway. The resolution is not made clear until things are revealed in the last couple of minutes and Bogart does a good job at keeping us unsure. Midway through the film in a fit of rage Bogart sideswipes a car while driving recklessly. When the other driver is understandably upset with the damage to his vehicle things escalate to Bogart beating him mercilessly, even to the point of picking up a rock with the intent of bashing the guys head in. Only the cries of Laurel stop him from doing it. There is no question that he is capable of murder in the heat of anger. What we aren’t shown is if he could do it dispassionately.
Bogart doesn’t play Dixon like a man who is innocent of the murder. Quite the opposite in fact. He is friends with one of the officers investigating the crime, Brub Nicolai (Frank Lovejoy), a man whom Dixon served with during the war. Brub invites Dixon over to dinner one evening and the interchange between Dixon, Brub, and Brub’s wife (Jeff Donnell) is chilling as Dixon relays in great detail how the murder could have been done, directing the scenario with a passion that unnerves Brub’s wife. The scene is disturbing and effective at showing not only how good of an imagination Dixon has but that, alibi or no, he could easily have done it. It is easily one of the best scenes in the whole film.
The romance between Dixon and Laurel starts to sour as Laurel starts to seriously doubt Dixon’s innocence after the brutal attack on the motorist. She begins to dread seeing him, yet he remains oblivious of this and presses her to marry him. She agrees but makes plans to flee rather than become his bride. Gloria Grahame portrays her uncertainty and fear perfectly which makes the final moments of this film all the more tragic. We feel her pain and fear even as she realizes that whether he is innocent or not he is still a dangerous man. Her love for him is palpable and, in the final reel, when that live is gone she is completely destroyed by it. The overshadowing uncertainty of his innocence contributes to this but is not the only culprit. Dixon himself bears the lions share of it and he realizes it too late. He is a broken man, a flawed man, but he is not an unfeeling man.
In a Lonely Place is an acting tour de force with tremendous performances by all the leads. It leaves you guessing at every turn without spoiling the surprise until the very last moment. Bogart manages to make Dixon Steele a likable character despite a growing sense of dread as we start to see just what he is capable of. Gloria is shot for shot at his level as the woman who falls in love, then slowly trades that love for fear of the man who is capable of very bad things. There is not a false note among the leads. The film boasts some of the finest acting from Bogart and Grahame and keeps us invested in their relationship as well as the mystery, something that actually takes a backseat to the rest of the story despite being so integral to the drama. It is a well made film that is riveting from frame one and never lets up until the very end.
Release Date: August 1950
Running Time: 94 Minutes
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame and Frank Lovejoy
Directed By: Nicholas Ray
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