In a Lonely Place

In A Lonely Place is a 1950 film starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame, adapted from a 1947 novel by Dorothy B. Hughes.

Bogart plays Dixon Steele, a Hollywood screenwriter who is commissioned to adapt a novel into a film. Too lazy to read the book, he invites the coat-check girl at his restaurant to his apartment to summarize the book for him. Hours after Steele sends her home, the girl is found murdered in a nearby ravine, and the police latch onto him as the prime suspect. Steele is given an alibi by his neighbor Laurel Gray (Grahame). After being released by the police, Steele strikes up a relationship with Gray, and they soon fall in love.

The police continue to investigate the murder, which puts a strain on their budding romance as Laurel is questioned again and learns about Dixon's history of violent incidents, making her unsure if he's really innocent. As Laurel grows wary of Dixon and he becomes suspicious of her behavior, the tension in their relationship reaches a breaking point.

A bleak thriller, In A Lonely Place is considered a classic of Film Noir.


 * Acquitted Too Late:
 * Crazy Jealous Guy: Dix, as the film goes on.
 * "Dear John" Letter: Laurel writes one when she plans to leave for New York, but has to hide it.
 * During the War: How Dixon Steele knew the detective Brub.
 * Hair-Trigger Temper: Steele.
 * Film Noir: Dark atmosphere, constant suspicions, murder, Humphrey Bogart... check.
 * Friends Rent Control: Dix is a screenwriter who hasn't had a hit in years, and Laurel has no known source of money except an alluded-to wealthy previous lover. Both have fairly nice apartments in Beverly Hills.
 * Incriminating Indifference: The police suspect Steele quickly due to the fact that he barely reacts to the fact that a woman was murdered minutes after leaving his house.
 * In Name Only: The film is nothing like the novel, and all that is really carried over is the title, the names of the two main characters and Dix's vague occupation.
 * Not His Sled: In the original novel,.
 * Pretty in Mink: Laurel, several times.
 * Sociopathic Soldier: It's implied that Steele was like this when he served in World War II.
 * Stylistic Suck: The book Steele is supposed to adapt sounds just as melodramatic and boring to the audience as it does to him.
 * The Murder After: Though the meeting is entirely platonic, Steele falls under suspicion anyway.
 * Title Drop: When Steele is discussing how the crime could have been committed.
 * Typecasting: Bogart plays the same jaded, stoic, wisecracking thug he would play as a private detective. And it works perfectly.
 * Wacky Marriage Proposal: Not so much wacky as out-of-nowhere and incredibly uncomfortable.
 * Wrongfully Accused: Dixon is continually suspected of murder despite being cleared from Laurel's alibi.