Movie Review: In a Lonely Place (1950)

Synopsis: A formerly successful but now struggling screen writer, Dixon Steele, invites a hatcheck girl back to his place so she can give him a recap of a book she just read. The girl leaves his apartment a half hour later and is then murdered, making Steele the police department's primary suspect. The only person who can vouch for him is his neighbor, Laurel Grey, who falls in love with him. However, even she soon begins to have doubts about his innocence.





Review: I came across In a Lonely Place a couple weeks ago and since I usually enjoy Humphrey Bogart movies, figured it would be worth adding to my library. I decided to watch it this morning and can honestly say it is now one of my favorite Bogart films.

The thing that impressed me most about this movie was the murder mystery involving the hatcheck girl, Mildred (Martha Stewart). At first, it seemed as though there was no way Steele (Bogart) had anything to do with her death. She was in his apartment for only thirty minutes and left both on good terms and alone. Steele even had Laurel (Grahame) as a witness confirming he went back into his apartment. However, as the movie progressed, some of Steele's actions, comments and body language made the idea of him being a cold-blooded killer believable.

I especially liked the scene where he was describing how he thought the murder happened. Not only did he have a great deal of detail, but his facial expressions also made it clear he was enjoying it. I don't normally get shivers watching movies but that was one scene that was an exception to that.

Also adding to the movie was the fact Steele wasn't exactly a great guy to begin with. He had a history of violence and a very short fuse. As a result of this, the murder mystery was almost a secondary thing because, killer or not, I truly began to fear for Laurel's life as Steele became more agitated, paranoid and possessive. The way he practically strongarmed her into agreeing to marry him, for example, was more than enough not to like him.

As a result of all of that, the ending to this movie couldn't have been better. There was quite a bit of suspense and it left the door open about what could possibly happen next.

My only real complaint about the movie is I wish it would have delved a bit more into why Steele was the way he was. I wasn't sure if he was a guy who was always like that or if it was the result of PTSD from serving in the war. While the detail probably would have had very little impact on the overall plot, it would have given him a bit more depth and maybe even a sliver of humanity.

Final Opinion: This is a great, dramatic movie that has good mix of mystery and suspense helped along with some fantastic acting. It is a film I highly recommend watching.

My Grade: A

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