As far as domestic thrillers go, this one begins like any other number of standard Bogart mash ups. After a twisting opening sequence through a neon-spackled downtown LA, a cynical and angry screenwriter by the name of Dixon Steele (as per 40’s style machismo) walks into a bar with a nice-looking dinner jacket, a gin and tonic on the mind and that oh-so-familiar drawl of his. Nasal but not annoying. I was surprised by the tone of the movie, very jaunty. Almost carefree at first. Yet the subject matter, as I suppose is the case with any film noir, drastically shifts once Steele has been accused of murder. Still, it hardly seems like your casual ‘suspicious minds’ story about a relationship wracked with paranoia and mistrust.
The whole screenwriter angle is less for metafictional icing, sagging with meaning or purpose, than it is like an odd choice of wallpaper that’s meant to accentuate the quirkiness of Steele. But let me just say that if you were expecting Bogey to be up to his old tricks then you’d be wrong. Though he retains thuggish elements, he's not a thug. Nor is he a cop. There are no gangsters or gun molls to be found. Rather, he's just an average working guy who's just managed to top the suspect list of the local PD in the murder of a coat-check girl from that bar I mentioned earlier.
And perhaps this is what is so likeable about the role. He’s no longer tied to the typecast of Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe. Bankrolled by his own production company, Santana, "In a Lonely Place" seems to move around with an artistic freedom that is clear from the get-go once we see that he won’t be punching out Peter Lorre. Similarly, the low-key profession finally allows Bogart's other qualities as an actor outshine his more pulpish roots.
I'll admit, it does get a bit predictable at times but I suppose the slow pacing can occasionally mess with my ADD-addled mind as it wanders to and from the possible traps that await Steele's neighbor and lover, Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame), as she precariously tries to figure out if Steele is indeed the volatile killer he seems to be. Tame by today’s standards, that feeling of noir-ish tragedy is still worth the price of a time warp. Bogart’s smoothness may seem a bit uncharacteristic of the kind of character he’s trying to go for but I guess that’s what director Nicholas Ray always wanted in the end. To show that even stand-up guys like Bogart might house an insecure frailty. That even good people have their flaws.
Ideal consumption occurs when you like: A.) Seeing an unappealing male lead (sorry but those wrinkles…so many wrinkles!) B.) Your men…protective. C.) BOGART. (I said Bogart a lot huh?)
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