In a Lonely Place, directed by Nicolas Ray and adapted from Dorothy Hughes’ 1947 novel of the same name, is not only a masterclass in screenwriting, featuring an engaging murder mystery and a heartbreaking love story at its center, but also an in-depth character study of a flawed man played by Humphrey Bogart, who gives one of the most memorable performances of his distinguished career.
Dixon “Dix” Steele (Humphrey Bogart), an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter with violent tendencies who hasn’t written a hit film since WWII, is tasked by his agent, Mel Lippman (Art Smith), with adapting a trashy, best-selling novel. He invites Mildred Atkinson (Martha Stewart), a restaurant hat check girl who has read the book, to his house to narrate the story. However, Dix quickly gets bored and irritated by the book’s premise, gives her money for her troubles, and sends her home. As he goes to bed that night, Detective Sergeant Brub Nicolai (Frank Lovejoy) comes to his residence in the wee hours to inform him that his superior, Captain Lochner (Carl Benton Reid), has summoned him for questioning. At the station, he finds out that Mildred was murdered last night while going home and that he is the primary suspect. Fortunately for Dix, his neighbor, Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame), provides an alibi, and he is released. They quickly become acquainted and fall in love with one another. Despite multiple warnings and signs, Laurel ignores the dark side of Dix; however, after experiencing it head-on, she comes to doubt their relationship and even begins to suspect that Dix might be responsible for Mildred’s death.
The screenplay skillfully maintains the ambiguity of whether Dix killed Mildred until the end by gradually instilling doubt in both the audience’s and Laurel’s minds. When informed of Mildred’s murder, instead of exhibiting the expected emotional response of sorrow and shock like an average person would, his demeanor is casual, as if it is not a big deal. But on the other hand, he served in the military during WWII, so hearing about deaths no longer shocks him. He passionately describes the hypothetical murder scene from the screenwriter’s point of view to Brub and his wife Sylvia (Jeff Donnell) over dinner, and the light shining on his face during his monologue makes him appear menacing and guilty of the crime. But then again, it could simply be his artistic and creative zeal as a writer taking over. Since Mildred had no enemies, no money, and the murder was not a sex crime, Captain Lochner’s theory—which makes sense—posits that there was no actual motive for killing her. Instead, he believes the killer to be someone with a sick mind who enjoys inflicting pain on others and is capable of violent deeds, all of which fit Dix’s characteristics because he has a history of violent altercations and assaults that have landed him in trouble. However, on the other hand, it’s only a theory.
The character study of Dix, a complicated man with serious issues, is meticulously written and flawlessly executed on the screen. From the willingness to fight a total stranger on the streets to his attack on a Hollywood big-shot over an insult directed at a has-been actor named Charlie (Robert Warwick), we get a sense of his violent temper in the first couple of scenes, which helps in establishing him as a solid suspect in Mildred’s death. Initially, I thought that the root of his violent tendencies was him venting out his frustration owing to his professional and personal failures. But then Dix falls in love with Laurel, who gets him off the sauce. He starts writing again, and suddenly, his life appears to be on the upswing. Eventually, however, his erratic and violent mood swings make a triumphant return, becoming increasingly irritable and angry at those around him for seemingly trivial reasons. He beats a stranger senselessly and almost kills him by smashing a big rock on his face over practically nothing, slaps Mel in a fit of rage, and even gets violent with Laurel, making the audience realize that this behavior is deeply ingrained in him. As a result, despite her best efforts, Laurel fails to inspire any change in him because he is inherently insecure, self-loathing, and broken on the inside.
Humphrey Bogart does an outstanding job as Dix, portraying a tormented, conflicted man to perfection. His performance contributes significantly to maintaining the ambiguity of Mildred’s murderer until the end. Just look at how he reacts when he initially learns of her death and when Mel questions him directly about whether he killed her. With rage in his eyes, a sinister grin, and aggressive body language, his performance successfully evokes Dix’s unpredictable behavior, rendering the character scary and the audience terrified for Laurel’s life. On the other hand, we come to empathize with the character, whether it’s his tenderness, love, and devotion towards Laurel, whom he hopelessly falls in love with, or his defense of Charlie, an alcoholic, helpless, and failed actor, against a Hollywood bigwig. The film’s heart is his remarkable chemistry with Gloria Grahame, who also delivers a superb performance as Laurel Grey. She expertly conveys her conflicting emotions towards Dix, especially in the scene where Dix proposes to her.
In a Lonely Place is a dark, melancholy film that has stood the test of time and remains one of the greatest noirs ever made.
In a Lonely Place movie links: IMDB, Letterboxd
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