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In a Lonely Place



When a gifted but washed-up screenwriter with a hair-trigger temper—Humphrey Bogart, in a revelatory, vulnerable performance—becomes the prime suspect in a brutal Tinseltown murder, the only person who can supply an alibi for him is a seductive neighbor (Gloria Grahame) with her own troubled past. The emotionally charged In a Lonely Place, freely adapted from a Dorothy B. Hughes thriller, is a brilliant, turbulent mix of suspenseful noir and devastating melodrama, fueled by powerhouse performances. An uncompromising tale of two people desperate to love yet struggling with their demons and each other, this is one of the greatest films of the 1950s, and a benchmark in the career of the classic Hollywood auteur Nicholas Ray.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New audio commentary featuring film scholar Dana Polan
• I'm a Stranger Here Myself, a 1975 documentary about director Nicholas Ray, slightly condensed for this release
• New interview with biographer Vincent Curcio about actor Gloria Grahame
• Piece from 2002 featuring filmmaker Curtis Hanson
• Radio adaptation from 1948 of the original Dorothy B. Hughes novel, broadcast on the program Suspense
• Trailer
• PLUS: An essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith

Why would Criterion seek out Dana Polan? Was this commentary created for a stand alone Sony release before they sold the rights to Criterion?

He wrote tha BFi monograph on tha film.

I've patiently waited for this one to hit blu ray, ever since seeing that restoration clip from Sony about 5 years ago and impulsively selling my OOP DVD. Fantastic news

I sold my OOP DVD years ago and got a decent amount for it. I honestly never thought it would be released on blu-ray.

Yes, Dana Polan wrote the BFI monograph on In A Lonely Place. I never got past page 8's deathless insight "In a Lonely Place finally and obviously is not a pure screwball comedy" and this stupefying mangling: "I was born when she kissed me; I lived a few short weeks while she loved me; I died when she left me." The back cover leads with the misquote and even notes, "Yet despite its bleak ending and its frequently noir style, argues Polan, the wise-cracking between Dix and Laurel gives the film the aspect of a screwball comedy."

The Polan choice and that "original typography" on the cover have me perplexed.

Let me take this opportunity to heartily recommend Tape Loop Orchestra's excellent ambient album inspired by this film.

Of course this happens 5 months after I spend $25 on the OOP DVD... Still excited for it though. There's actually a 35mm print playing at my local arthouse next month, which will be awesome.

I wonder if Tony Ray (Nicholas Ray's son who later married Gloria Grahame; also Paul Mazursky's producing partner) was approached for this disc.

Sandor Krasna wrote:Yes, Dana Polan wrote the BFI monograph on In A Lonely Place. I never got past page 8's deathless insight "In a Lonely Place finally and obviously is not a pure screwball comedy" and this stupefying mangling: "I was born when she kissed me; I lived a few short weeks while she loved me; I died when she left me." The back cover leads with the misquote and even notes, "Yet despite its bleak ending and its frequently noir style, argues Polan, the wise-cracking between Dix and Laurel gives the film the aspect of a screwball comedy."

The Polan choice and that "original typography" on the cover have me perplexed.

Next you'll be telling me Bicycle Thieves, Solaris and Lilya 4-Ever aren't screwball comedies either.

This reminds me of Gilda, another Sony license with an old 2K restoration and an old audio commentary (probably recorded for a Sony blu-ray release). So the Polan audio commentary may not be Criterion's doing.

Is he perhaps any relation to Jason Polan?

domino harvey wrote:Why would Criterion seek out Dana Polan?

I'd guess the main reason was that they'd done so before and thought his commentary on The Third Man did the job well enough. I probably won't listen to the commentary, but I have the BFI monograph. His comments about genre vis-a-vis this film didn't seem very convincing to me, but the book has some interesting details about the film's production, which I'm sure will come up again in the commentary.

Another film I have never seen. Really looking forward to this one.

I wonder why the documentary is "slightly condensed". Could they not fit it in the disc.

Rights issues, I guess, as this documentary includes feature film clips.

Not sure but is this Bogarts first entry in the collection? Probably is due to his extensive work with Warners.

It's a great film. My favourite Bogart performance and probably favourite Ray, although On Dangerous Ground runs it close. Grahame is terrific here too. I think this is her first entry in the collection as well.

Napoleon wrote:Not sure but is this Bogarts first entry in the collection? Probably is due to his extensive work with Warners.

It's a great film. My favourite Bogart performance and probably favourite Ray, although On Dangerous Ground runs it close. Grahame is terrific here too. I think this is her first entry in the collection as well.

Yes, this is Bogart's first film to get the criterion treatment. We might see some of his other Columbia titles surface in the future.

Criterion released Casablanca on laserdisc, so this is actually his second spine overall.

giovannii84 wrote:
Yes, this is Bogart's first film to get the criterion treatment. We might see some of his other Columbia titles surface in the future.

Hoping for a definitive release of BEAT THE DEVIL and his other collaboration with Nick Ray, KNOCK ON ANY DOOR (which is available as a MOD from Sony).

My US version does not include a booklet, which seems very odd for a Criterion, especially since the special features list states "PLUS: An essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith". Would anyone who bought this advise if they got a booklet with their copy please?

Sometimes they leave the factory without a booklet. You should return it to wherever you purchased it or contact Criterion to ask for a replacement

That happened to me once - with Oharu - and I emailed Criterion, and they sent me a booklet.