Greetings again from the darkness. Was very anxious to see this one on the big screen for the first time. It’s a mystery why this film doesn’t get the same love and respect as some of the others from this era. It is one of Humphrey Bogart’s finest performances and one of director Nicholas Ray‘s (Rebel Without A Cause) first films. It also has a terrific performance by Gloria Grahame, who most know as Violet from It’s a Wonderful Life.
Andrew Solt wrote the screenplay based on the novel by Dorothy B. Hughes. With numerous changes to the source material, we get Bogie in quite a unique role. He plays Dixon Steele, an aging writer accused of murder. His alibi is his beautiful new neighbor (Grahame, left) who may or may not be telling the truth to the police. Of course, Steele himself may or may not be telling the truth. In fact, he has such a history of flashing a violent temper, that after he punches a director, his friends just laugh it off saying “oh, that’s just Dix”.
The scenes with Grahame and Bogart are tremendous and we certainly see that both of their characters have secrets, as well as difficulty in accepting happiness. Support work is provided by Frank Lovejoy as Det Brub Nicolai. His wife Sylvia is played by Jeff Donnell, who went on to a long run on General Hospital. Martha Stewart (no not that one) plays Mildred, the perky murdered girl … well, perky before the murder. Art Smith plays Steele’s long suffering agent and only true friend.
The film skirts film noir traits, but is equal parts murder mystery and tragic love story. The ending is quite different than the first one Ray (left) filmed, but it is one of the most powerful, emotional endings we have ever received from Hollywood. Some of the behind the scenes scoop make this one even more fascinating. Ray and Grahame were still married during filming, but they no longer lived together. Their marriage ended formally soon after, when Ray caught her in bed with his son. Her stepson! They eventually married (Woody Allen wasn’t the first!).
If you are a Bogart fan, you need to see this one for his performance. He goes much deeper than in his earlier roles, and watching him teeter between charmer and jerk is spellbinding. His demeanor leaves us doubting not whether he is capable of murder, but rather if he committed THIS one.
note: this movie has one of my all-time favorite scenes … Bogart describes “how it could have happened” as Lovejoy and Donnell act it out. There is a brief clip of that scene in the trailer below
SEE THIS MOVIE IF: you want to see one of the best from Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, and Nicholas Ray OR you want to watch one of the most powerful endings of any Hollywood film
SKIP THIS MOVIE IF: you aren’t much into Bogart OR you prefer your murder mysteries to be a bit heavy on detective work
watch the original trailer:
Movie Reviews from the Dark 