In a Lonely Place (1950)
Director: Nicholas Ray
Honors:
This murky, suspenseful, film noir that takes place in the
backgrounds of Hollywood’s darker side would mark yet another financial failure
of the burgeoning independent studio market within American cinema during its
period. Starring Humphrey Bogart, whose company produced the picture, and
Gloria Grahame, In a Lonely Place was well praised critically and would
come to be one of their finest works in cinema, but fell short in box office
returns. Under its grim tale of mistaken identity and distressed romance would
lie an interesting look at world of celebrity, how short it can be and the
effects of being near it.
In a Lonely Place is a suspense film noir of a
temperamental screenwriter whose bouts of violent rage makes his girlfriend begin
to suspect him of murder. Down on his luck Hollywood screenwriter Dixon Steele
(Humphrey Bogart) becomes tied up as a suspect of the murder of a local girl,
but finds an alibi in the witness of a neighbor, aspiring actress Laurel Gray
(Gloria Grahame), with whom he begins a romance with shortly after. Dix’s
reputation for a violent temperament leans many to believe he could still have
performed the deadly crime, and after many dangerous outbursts even makes
Laurel worrisome and question that her lover in fact murdered the young girl. Frightened
by what his rage can do to her Laurel attempts to flee enraging Dix to the
point of strangling her when news arrives of his innocence after word of the
true murderer’s confession. Despite exonerated of any suspicion Laurel and
Dixon’s relationship becomes the victim of his violence.
This picture takes a dark, serious tone to the plainly laid
out story of mistaken identity as it manifests our Humphrey Bogart main
character as a dangerously violent tempered man whom we empathize with yet hate
and are terrified by all at the same time. It also shines a light on the sort
of “other side” of Hollywood fame as we watch Dix as a screenwriter where his
work had dried up. His world lies socializing in a corner of Tinseltown with schmoozers
and has-beens. This is perhaps best emphasized by Robert Warwick’s character as
Dix’s washed up actor friend living on the generosity of comrades that remember
him in his more successful days. The film is at times both romantic and cold
with it rich black and white cinematography as it captures stars Humphrey
Bogart and Gloria Grahame in what is considered their finest performances of
their lives.
Despite being a well assembled plot laden with complicates
characters set to the background of Hollywood the film bears little resemblance
to the source material, the 1947 novel of the same name. Produced under
Bogart’s independent studio Santana Productions the story was restructured by
producer Robert Lord and director Nicholas Ray with Bogart himself to play the
main character. Great changes were presented that made Dix more sympathetic,
yet still the driving force that delivers evil in the story. They took a character
that turned out to be a serial murderer of the novel and made him into a
violent tempered man whose actions only make some accuse him of murder, but not
one that takes a life. Most of the script would see daily changes even up to
the moments of filming. Even the originally scripted ending of the movie, which
saw Dix kill Laurel in his fit of rage, was reworked on set into the sad
revolution and separation that made the film more poetic than originally
penned.
From the beginning the picture was a vehicle for Bogart with
a number of considerations for the female lead. Ginger Rogers for a while was
considered before Bogart’s own wife Lauren Bacall was brought up making this
yet another possible “Bogie and Bacall” pairing. Warner Bros. blocked the lending
out of Bacall out spite of Bogart’s recent independent status which was seen as
a threat to the traditional studio system. From this Nicholas Ray would help in casting
his wife Gloria Grahame as the troubled Laurel. Ray and Grahame’s marriage was
just beginning to crumble during the time of production after Grahame was found
in bed with her stepson whom she would later marry (yes, you read that right),
so her working contract was constructed in a manner that made it plainly clear
that she was supposed to follow her husband’s direction on set.
For Bogart his performance was painful as a character that
was deeply flawed yet could be sympathetic as a character that loved deeply,
but fell off the deep end so quickly. For many cinema historians his
performance here as Dix was considered his finest work, and it may be perhaps
the performance most closely resembled how Bogart acted in real life.
By this time Grahame had achieved much success in Hollywood.
An actress ever worried about her appearance, having many facial cosmetic
surgeries that by this time rendered her upper lip paralyzed, she was more
subdued in her performance, but carried the suspense when it was needed with
Dix’s outbursts. You would hardly know she was the same seductive supporting
actress of many feature film just a few years prior with her more stoic
performance here. She too received high praise for her portrayal of Laurel. Years
later, after the end of her career it too was considered her best acting performance
of her body of work. However, her career would hit a bit of bump as out of
spite Howard Hughes, head of RKO where she was contracted, slated her for
supporting roles after all the critical success she was receiving working for
other studios.
Other critical performances in the picture see Martha
Stewart (no, not that Martha Stewart) portraying the young hat girl who works
for Dix for an evening to describe to him the plot of a novel he is hired to
adapt, because he does not want to read the book himself. It is she that dies
and becomes the focus of the crime mystery attached to Dix despite we, the
audience, knowing he did not murder her. Also featured is Frank Lovejoy as a
police Sergeant on the case that also happens to be Dix’s friend who must
battle with knowing Dix has a tendency to burst into violent tempers. His wife is
played by Jeff Donnell who portrays a lovely yet worrisome spouse that is only
a bit character in the movie, but complements the story rather well matching
the feeling the audience has with Dix’s strange conduct of emotions.
Distributed by Columbia pictures, In a Lonely Place
was rather well received by critics, but sadly did not see the same support in
box office numbers. Once again it was a disappointing turn out for Santana
Pictures who would not stick around very long. Both Bogart and Grahame were
praised by critics, but perhaps with the lack of Lauren Bacall playing opposite
of Humphrey Bogart the picture was not a major attraction enough to save the
picture and its independent studio who would close up shop in just three years.
In the long run In a Lonely Place would become a
career high point for not only Bogart and Grahame, but director Nicholas Ray.
For Ray this film marked a pinnacle in his artistry in the realm of film noir
that would be praised and studied for years. Many consider In a Lonely Place
one of the best film noirs of all time gaining election into the National Film
Registry in 2007 to be preserved as historically and culturally significant,
putting the film on a pedestal of America cinema. Many contemporary critics and
historians continue to praise the picture and name it on lists of the best
pictures of all time, a quiet example of a small picture that leaves on impact
on culture, despite its lack of recognition by the greater public.
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