In a Lonely Place (Santana Productions/Columbia Pictures 1950)
Criterion Collection #810
Directed by Nicholas Ray. Produced by Robert Lord.
Screenplay by Andrew Solt. Adaption by Edmund H. North.
Based on the novel by Dorothy B. Hughes.
Cast: Humphry Bogart (Dixon Steele), Gloria Grahame (Laurel Gray), Frank Lovejoy (Brub Nicolai), Carl Benton Reid (Captain Lochner), Art Smith (Mel Lippman), Jeff Donnell (Sylvia Nicolai), Martha Stewart (Mildred Atkinson).
In a Lonely Place is a milestone of noir for a number of reasons, not the least of all is its having been produced by Bogart’s Santana Productions. It holds not only what is arguably his best performance, but Gloria Grahame’s (Crossfire, Macao, The Big Heat) as well. It boasts a taut screenplay by Andrew Solt loosely based on the popular Dorothy B. Hughes novel. I also feel it is Nicholas Ray’s best effort.
It is the story of screenwriter Dixon Steele whose volatile personality leads to him becoming a murder suspect until he is given an alibi by his attractive neighbor, Laurel Gray. Laurel is slowly drawn to him even though he is being investigated for the murder by the police. They fall in love, but his personality gets worse and worse. His behavior becomes more and more erratic until she begins to have her doubts about him. Her changed behavior only serves to further agitate him. He becomes unstable to the point that she fears him and tries to escape.
Bogart plays the screenwriter with his usual cool, but the anger breaks through to a frightening level that is all nervous energy and loss of control. Graham’s ability to inject humor into the bleakness and Bogart’s Jekyll and Hyde performance combine to make this a dark gem. Nicolas Ray’s direction is at its peak, which is a paradox because his marriage to Gloria Graham was falling apart while the film was in production.
With a beautiful score by the avant-garde composer, George Antheil (Knock on Any Door, Sirocco), and photography by Burnett Guffey (Mr. Sardonicus, Bird Man of Alcatraz, Bonnie and Clyde), Ray constructs a memorable noir while living through a personal lonely place that serves to enhance his performance as a director to a level most never achieve.
The extra features on this Criterion Blu-Ray include 2k Digital Restoration for incredible picture and sound quality. Commentary by film scholar Dana Polan. An enlightening documentary from 1975: I’m a Stranger Here Myself about Nicolas Ray. A new interview with biographer Vincent Curcio (author of Suicide Blonde: the Life of Gloria Grahame) about actor Gloria Grahame which gives insight into both the relationship between the director and his wife and how their relationship inspired Ray’s interpretation of the characters.
*****
Ride the Pink Horse (1947 Universal International Pictures)
Criterion Collection #750
Directed by Robert Montgomery. Produced by Joan Harrison.
Screenplay by Ben Hecht & Charles Lederer & Joan Harrison (uncredited).
Based on the novel by Dorothy B. Hughes.
Cast: Robert Montgomery (Gagin), Thomas Gomez (Pancho), Wanda Hendrix (Pila), Art Smith (Bill Retz), Andrea King (Marjorie), Fred Clark (Hugo).
Ride the Pink Horse is one of those films that is so well done that you have to wonder why it isn’t better known. In reviewing the film’s credits from the adapted original novel to the screen writers and producer it’s not difficult to understand how well made the film is, and Robert Montgomery’s portrayal of Gagin is only surpassed by his direction. Dorothy B. Hughs also wrote the novel that In a Lonely Place was based upon. Joan Harrison worked as an assistant to Alfred Hitchcock and was soon contributing to scripts. She wrote the script for Rebecca with Robert E. Sherwood. Ben Hecht wrote the scripts for Rear Window and Notorious. The film is beautifully photographed by the incomparable Russell Metty (Touch of Evil, The Misfits).
Gagin is a tough guy that has come to Mexico to find Hugo. Montgomery plays the part like as classic hard boiled character, mostly silence and short sentences. He’s mean spirited, arrogant, and condescends to the Mexicans me meets including a teenage girl who gives him a charm to ward off danger. The only thing he will say is that he’s there to see Hugo for his friend ‘Shorty’. A man that claims to be an FBI agent whose name is Retz approaches Gagin and wants to know what he wants with Hugo. Retz tells Gagin that he has been tailing Hugo for some time. He does seem to know more than Gagin does about what is going on, but Gagin won’t talk. Retz tries to appeal to him as an American citizen to do the right thing. Gagin’s a disgruntled veteran who feels he owes nothing to anyone. It is clear that Gagin is in trouble. The Mexican girl gives him the charm of protection for no reason, and now this man is warning him off of Hugo. Things are adding up, buy Gagin doesn’t seem to be paying any attention.
The film holds a lot of surprises. Wanda Hendrix’s wonderfully underplayed Pila as a very concerned and possibly psychic Mexican girl, Thomas Gomez’s over the top Pancho that keeps you guessing, and Fred Clark as a cold and ruthless mobster. Art Smith has his moments of comic support as does Thomas Gomez, but all the humor is dead pan. All in all this deserves all five stars and then some. A great disc to add to any collection.
The extra features on this Criterion Blu-Ray include 2k Digital Restoration for incredible picture and sound quality. Audio commentary featuring film noir historians Alain Silver and James Ursini. A wonderful new interview with Imogen Sara Smith, author of In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City. Lux Radio Theater adaptation of the film from 1947, featuring Robert Montgomery, Wanda Hendrix, and Thomas Gomez. An essay by filmmaker and writer Michael Almereyda.