Media Alert
I’ve brought this up in the past, but it’s coming around again, so I figured I should note it again. If you're a fan of film noir, there is a superb and somewhat-lesser known one on TCM late tomorrow Tuesday (or early morning the day after, depending on where you live). It's In a Lonely Place that stars Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame (who played 'Ado Annie' -- the girl who cain't say no -- in Oklahoma!). The 1950 movie was directed by Nicholas Ray and written by Andrew Solt. It's based on Dorothy B. Hughes' 1947 novel.
The movie airs on TCM tomorrow at 11:00 PM (Sept. 19) on the West Coast, or 2:00 AM early morning the next day in the East.
It's not just an intriguing story, but also a fascinating psychological study. But don't take just my word for it. Though it's not as well known as some of the great film noirs, its reputation has grown over the years. The film was named by Time magazine to their "All-Time 100 Movies" list. The BBC had it #89 in their list of the 100 greatest American films of all time. In 2007, In a Lonely Place was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Keep in mind that all three of these are not for "best film noirs," but for films, period.
Here's the trailer. It's more heavy-handed than the movie -- what I like about the film is how subtle and nuanced it is, and the suspense and uncertainty grows. The trailer is less shaded (rightly or wrongly...) in order to get audiences to go the theater. It does a nice job on setting the tone, but mediocre in being fair to the story and the direction it does take. If you plan to watch the movie, then avoid the trailer. If you're not sure, then it's worth watching.
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