Review of In a Lonely Place (1950) by Riplee . — 01 Jul 2013
Quite a disturbing and thoughtful portrayal of screenwriter named Dixon Steele, played deftly by Bogart. His career is not what it used to be. And when the movie begins, he is now more popular as tabloid fodder for his fights and drunken carousing.
One night he takes a naive woman home to "read" to him about a book he has been asked to adapt. She leaves and is later found murdered in a canyon. Steele is quickly a suspect, and in the course of the investigation he meets Laurel Gray, a neighbor, and an upcoming starlet as well.
As the investigation continues, Steele is zeroed on in as the prime suspect, and yet his relationship with Gray blossoms. The movie plays with the trappings of noir by setting us up for expectations of femme fatales, psychotic sociopaths, and our usual expectations when we watch this type of movie.
Ray's direction of Bogart and Grahame is excellent, especially when he plays on the themes of love, sex and murder. A great movie.
This review of In a Lonely Place (1950) was written by Riplee . on 01 Jul 2013.
In a Lonely Place has generally received very positive reviews.
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