In A Lonely Place

Comment/Synopsis
An unstable screen writer with a history of violence invites a woman back to his flat to explain a book to him. She is murdered shortly after leaving his flat and his attractive next door neighbour gives him an alibi as he is the police's number one suspect. The neighbour initially falls in love with him, but as his behaviour becomes more unstable she begins to have doubts about his innocence. There is a great performance from Humphrey Bogart as the complex and unstable writer who also struggles to deal with his emotions for the woman he is attracted to and who is attracted to him. There is good support from Gloria Grahame as she is attracted to him, defends him to the police but then starts to become afraid of him. When released the film did not do well at the box office, but it does contain perhaps nearly the best performances from both Humphrey Bogat and Gloria Grahame. It s also one of the classic pieces of Film Noir.