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Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy, Carl Benton Reid, Robert Warwick ... see more see more... , Jeff Donnell , Art Smith , Martha Stewart , Morris Ankrum , William Ching , Steven Geray , Hadda Brooks , Alice Talton , Jack Reynolds , Ruth Warren , Ruth Gillette , Guy Beach , Lewis Howard , David Bond , Laura Brooks , Charles Cane , Arno Frey , Billy Gray , Myron Healey , Robert Lowell , Frank Marlowe , John Mitchum , Michael Romanoff , Cosmo Sardo , June Vincent , Allen Pinson , Davis Roberts , Oliver Cross , Hazel Boyne , Michael Lally , Jack Santoro , Pat Barton , Joy Hallward , Jack Jahries , Evelyn Underwood , George Davis

A haunting work of stark confessionalism disguised as a taut noir thriller, In a Lonely Place -- Nicholas Ray's bleak, desperate tale of fear and self-loathing in Hollywood -- remains one of the filmm... read more read more...aker's greatest and most deeply resonant features. It stars Humphrey Bogart as Dixon Steele, a fading screenwriter suffering from creative burnout; hired to adapt a best-selling novel, instead of reading the book itself he asks the hat-check girl (Martha Stewart) at his favorite nightclub to simply tell him the plot. The morning after, the girl is found brutally murdered, and Steele is the police's prime suspect; however, the would-be starlet across the way, Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame), provides him with a solid alibi, and they soon begin a romance in spite of Gray's lingering concerns that the troubled, violent Steele might just be a killer after all. During production, Ray's real-life marriage to co-star Grahame began to crumble, and his own vulnerability and disillusionment clearly inform the picture; the brooding, bitter Steele -- a role ideally suited to Bogart's wounded romanticism -- is plainly a doppelganger for Ray himself (the site of his first Hollywood apartment is even employed as the set for Steele's home), and the film's unflinching examination of the character's disintegration makes for uniquely compelling viewing. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

Flixster Users

89% liked it

5,492 ratings

Critics

97% liked it

30 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 33 min.

Directed by: Nicholas Ray

Release Date: May 17, 1950

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DVD Release Date: March 18, 2003

Stats: 424 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (424)

  • brooklynspo
    July 17, 2007
    brooklynspo
    verrrry good
  • fb1664868775
    November 14, 2011
    fb1664868775
    Bogart is frightening in Nicholas Ray's masterpiece.
  • axadntpron
    November 13, 2011
    axadntpron
    An indictment of Hollywood, a subversion of the romanticism associated with Hollywood, and the story of the plight of an aging writer who desires to remain true to himself and control his demons. Nicholas Ray's film is truly unlike most noirs I have ever seen. It features one of ... read moreBogart's best performances, and one of the best endings I could have imagined for a film such as this.
  • DragonEyeMorrison
    September 14, 2011
    DragonEyeMorrison
    "The man i love has gotten into many bar fights, OH NOES! HE'S A SERIAL KILLER AND HE'S GOING TO KILL ME, OH MY GAAAAAAAAAWD"
  • rubystevens
    August 18, 2011
    rubystevens
    a very dark view of hollywood and the finest work of ray, bogart & gloria grahame. remarkable chemistry and self reflexive honesty rarely seen in tinseltown make it worthwhile viewing long after the central mystery is resolved. i don't want to spoil it for anyone but quite anot... read moreher ending was scripted, filmed and then scrapped by the director, who had the actors improvise the perfect-seeming ending we see today. serendipity
  • hunterjt13
    April 9, 2011
    hunterjt13
    A screenwriter, suspected of murder, falls for his neighbor, a witness who clears him of the crime.
    Now, with Bogie firmly entrenched as a screen legend, it is difficult to fully realize what a risky role this was for him at the time. The character Dixon Steele is remarkably dar... read morek with anger problems of which the film never exonerates him, and Bogie plays the part with courage and honesty. He's not just a venerable Hollywood personality; he's a really good actor.
    The film itself is also quite risky. The "lonely place" referenced in the title not only refers to the place where the hatcheck girl is killed but also to the creative space in which a writer works. And in Hollywood the writer's ability to control how his work is presented in quite limited, and it is in this place that the emasculation of Steele begins. Hollywood is not presented as a glamorous, glitzy place; rather, art suffers under the pressures of money-men and ego.
    However, I did think that the murder plot could have been better handled. By the end of the film we don't care who killed the girl, and if these plots could have been more seamlessly intertwined, then In a Lonely Place would be a true masterpiece.
  • pier007
    December 12, 2010
    pier007
    Lessons of love in the hard way between an irascible and violent screenwriter, and his anguished soon to be wife.
    One of the most romantic and devastating noirs. It keeps memorable dialogue every two or three sentences.
  • ajv2688
    October 26, 2010
    ajv2688
    A really good crime drama about suspicion and doubt and wild romance. I really liked this movie.
  • romy861
    January 25, 2010
    romy861
    Near perfect - I was very pleasantly surprised with this one. Even though it appears to be a murder story at the beginning, it definitely ends up being more about the two main characters to the point you don't even care at the end when you don't find out who the murderer was.
    I ... read morefound Gloria Grahame totally compelling in this. Humphrey Bogart is also good, though pretty unlikeable, which I assume is intentional. One of the best old movies I have ever watched.
  • flixsterman
    August 8, 2009
    flixsterman
    Finally, a Gloria Grahame film in which she's NOT a promiscuous 'ho' (i.e. The Bad and the Beautiful, It's a Wonderful Life, Oklahoma!, etc., etc., etc...).

View All In a Lonely Place Reviews

Critic Reviews

J. Hoberman
July 15, 2009
J. Hoberman, Village Voice

The grayest, most morally ambiguous of film noirs -- and arguably the most self-reflexive. Full Review

Dave Kehr
October 23, 2007
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

It's a breathtaking work, and a key citation in the case for confession as suitable material for art. Full Review

Variety Staff
October 23, 2007
Variety Staff, Variety

Director Nicholas Ray maintains nice suspense. Bogart is excellent. Gloria Grahame, as his romance, also rates kudos. Full Review

Bosley Crowther
March 25, 2006
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

A superior cut of melodrama. Full Review

Michael E. Grost
January 30, 2012
Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television

Disturbing look at a violent man. Full Review

Kelly Vance
May 5, 2010
Kelly Vance, East Bay Express

For many admirers In a Lonely Place is the ultimate inside-Hollywood sour-grape ball, eclipsing even Sunset Boulevard. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
July 19, 2009
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Grim and haunting, this quintessentially film noir boasts iconic performances from Bogart and Gloria Grahame and is one of the most personal, deeply felt works by Nicholas Ray. Full Review

Keith Uhlich
July 15, 2009
Keith Uhlich, Time Out New York

The genre trappings of this noir masterpiece -- which details the short-lived relationship between live-wire screenwriter Dixon Steele (Bogart) and his goldilocked muse Laurel Gray (Grahame) -- don't ... Full Review

Armond White
July 15, 2009
Armond White, New York Press

Nicholas Ray's 1950 film deserves to be better known; it's one of Hollywood's finest examinations of masculinity. Full Review

Chris Cabin
July 14, 2009
Chris Cabin, Filmcritic.com

grim and glorious Full Review

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Facts

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    • Dixon Steele: There is no sacrifice too great for a chance at immortality."
    • Dixon Steele: I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me.
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  • The following is a quote from which classic film noir: "I was born the day I met you, lived awhile when you loved me, died a little when we broke apart."  Answer »
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