laffite
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Posts posted by laffite
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In In a Lonely Place with Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame, both leads have an apartment in the same complex. What is the name of the apartment complex?
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BROKEN ARROW
THE MIRROR CRACK'D or BREAKING AWAY
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ALIENS
?were in hot pursuit nonetheless (Pilot note to self: so much for black camouflage), aliens, figuratively speaking that is, representing perhaps that faction that still believed that Christmas was as American as apple pie and children should have stockings to fill up on that Sacred Morn?. Aboard the craft, Santa, the missus, and the elves were heard singing carols in solidarity. Immediate efforts to identify intruders were made and to the chagrin of the pilot and other crew member it was...
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*SPOILERS THROUGHOUT*
I just watched In a Lonely Place, the second time for me, the first quite awhile back. This time I took in the 20-minute bonus feature that points out, interestingly, that in the novel Dix was a psychotic killer and did kill Laurel in the end. And also that Nicholas Ray shot an ending when Dix kills Laurel anyway. We see a still of her lying there. Ray is said to have rejected this ending because it didn?t feel right. More about that later.
(Question for the group and anyone who is a devotee of this film, would like you to see that ending and should it be included in the DVD as a bonus feature? Film buffs (and everybody here is) presumably would welcome that but there might be some who really like the present ending and wouldn?t want that preference besmirched by any images to the contrary. And who wants to see Laurel Grey in the lovely form of our own Miss Gloria Graham brutally murdered. It?s just possible that we may have to sacrifice the movie buff?s normal curiosity in favor of a little decency here. After all, we?re talking about Gloria
)*Rohanaka* I liked your ending very much. To paraphrase you, she manages to kill him to save her own life and then gets the phone call exonerating him and saying, ?Yesterday, that might have meant something? ((etc)). From there a fade out (and to add my bit) and then fade in to represent a brief passage of time and other people on the scene, photographing the body, policeman everywhere, Laurel standing there dazed and instead of answering the questions they are peppering her with, ie ?What happened!? looking straight ahead instead, stunned, saying those words, ?I lived a few weeks while you loved me?? fade out, The End. (In an earlier scene, while in the car, he asked her to repeat the three lines. She only repeats the first two. In the _the actual ending_ we finally get the third line from her). You?re right, Ro, that ending would have packed a wallop. There would be a poignancy in watching Dix ending up dead that way especially when we find out that he was innocent of murdering the girl. I believe Ray would have nixed that ending as well and for that reason too, Dix being innocent. General audiences might not have liked such an arty ending as that, arty because Dix would have died like a tragic hero, complete with tragic flaw. Ray might have thought that the audience might not accept what could be perceived as an ignominious death especially considering as it turns out he didn't even kill Mildred and rightly saw that audiences would have been more interested in simple justice than tragic flaws. But I think you have an interesting ending there.
*Rohanaka*, you seem to have mixed feelings about Dix, very understandable, especially coming from a woman (it seems to me). Violence against women is a particularly heinous thing and that probably colors your impressions (correct me if I have that wrong). It might be easier for a man to like him in some ways, though Dix does get pretty bad that might be difficult for anyone can swallow. In any case when Dix is not in the throes of his affliction he is clearly likable. It is therefore wrenching to see him go off and all the more at those times when he seems so genuinely sorry after. Following the telephone incident at the restaurant, later in Laurel?s apartment, watch him sitting in the chair, pouting almost like a naughty child, head in his hands, saying, ??I shouldn?t have picked up the telephone, it was none of my business?I don?t why, I?? Then just a few minutes later he nearly strangles her to death. The phone rings. He picks up the phone and then lingers quite a long time (perfect timing here) no doubt with this same sort of bewilderment, as in ?I don?t why, I?? though not saying it this time, before finally talking into the phone and learning that he is no longer a suspect. It?s moments like these, and so well done by Bogie, that humanizes him at least a little and makes him somewhat sympathetic in these, his worst moments. But the extent of his excesses gets pretty bad towards the end and is hard to overlook.
After my viewingf of this film a while back, I think I puzzled a little too much and too long on what is it that makes Dix tick and why does he go off the way he does. It is probably simply mental illness in the general sense though perhaps there are more specific reasons, still not sure. There seems to be touches of paranoia (at least my lay idea of what that means) as well as the garden variety flying off the handle when someone overtly offends him. It?s interesting to me that he can lose it so completely in these cases but is surprising calm and even humorously flippant at the idea by some, including the police, that he is being considered a suspect in the murder case. Why isn?t he upset (ie fly off the handle) about that? There was some talk in previous discussions here or at least point made about whether he has a PTSD thing with the war. I was watching carefully for this. Dix?s agent says while happy that Dix is working so diligently, ?Dix hasn?t been able to work like this since before the war,? and we get the police chief reading Dix?s past transgressions with the dates 1946 and 1947, dates that resonate in connection with the war theory as if Dix problems are all subsequent to it. But at another time we hear from his agent that he has known Dix a long time and that he (Dix) is just this way, ie temperamental, a propensity that, in listening to Dix's agent in this instance, would have predated the war.
And in previous discussions earlier here what was the verdict of this seeming crux regarding the bearing of gifts to both the murdered girl and the battered football player? Are we supposed to believe at the moment Dix's is sending money to the football player that because he was guilty of beating up the football player he must have been guilty of murdering the girl as well because he sent her flowers (after she was dead). I hope there is an explanation of that lest I feel that I have been cheaply misled that Dix murdered the girl when, as it turns out, he didn?t.
Is it noteworthy at all that, at the end, he could have gone to Laurel and said, look, I?m innocent, you have nothing to worry about with me. Probably not because he had indeed gone too far. I suspect that Ray and others may have puzzled over how to end this movie but the one they finally chose is wrenching enough and probably a little atypical for a Hollywood tendency that so often looks to find a way for a happy ending. That they didn?t try to force one on us is to their credit. They may have tried to work one out, I don?t know, but the ending we got is daring and maybe even a little shocking. Despite seeing Dix at his absolute worst it is still difficult to see him simply to walk out of her life forever. But a very good ending, IMO
Bogart and Dix seems an inexhaustible subject. In fact, the movie as a whole. I know this film has already been much discussed on this thread and what I've said here does not represent anything particularly new. Still, Bogie and Gloria are so good and it would be fun to go on. There is something interesting to say about so many scenes. I wanted to mention as well that for some reason I appreciated in Dix the kind regard he had for the old Thespian. I like the old guy myself. Some time ago I posted something on him and the poem he keeps reciting, a sonnet of Shakespeare.
But enough for now. I haven't even touched on Gloria, not a good thing since she is the main event on this thread...but (a warning!) I want to do a separate post on her later.
A short word and accolade for Martha Stewart who imbues Mildred Atkinson with a bubbly enthusiasm, some cute behavioral nuances, and a few charming lines. (Dix looks at her at times as if she were an idiot) Here is Mildred on what is an epic ?You know, a story that is real long and has lots of things going on.? She might not be a literary critic but she has a sweet demeanor and a genial simplicity and I think Martha Stewart, whoever she may be, did a pretty good job being Mildred Atkinson.
Edited by: laffite on Nov 4, 2009 5:03 AM
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A CHRISTMAS STORY,
?ostensibly anyway, was nothing more than a mess as Paolo used non-professional actors and included a **** sequence involving ole St Nick that was reminiscent of an earlier movie and that was plainly over the top, in fact, downright disgusting, proving that the movie had a scent after all. The director and the wannabe left the theater just as they were preparing the lobotomy for ole Nick, having had enough and wanting to?
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Scarlet Street
cricket
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TOPPER
?who asked them both if they had seen anyone named Marian Kirby. The director and the wannabe just glared at him after which the director quite calmly had this Topper gentleman thrown out. Some questions just shouldn?t be asked. They tried to resume their conversation but noticed a movie playing in the theater. They stopped and watched. It was not about murder, nor mayhem, nor anything unpleasant (including scent), It was fantasy, a wondrous story of knaves and old ships and heroic events under yellowy skies and pale, rosy-orange clouds, where...
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Let's hope they don't make Pepe Le Pew star of the month. That would be a, uh, gas.
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THE LAST OF SHIELA
THE LAST COMMAND or THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS
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Terms of Endearment
IQ
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SPEAK EASILY
?and clearly and make sure you appear to know what your talking about, especially when you don't, and always have sea sickness pills handy because you never know when your going to encounter dizzy spells from feuds, recalcitrant actors, intransigent producers, bonehead writers, re-postings, scissor-happy editors, and other horrors of the business. The rest is sheer luck. For instance, when I?
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THE KITE RUNNER
BLADE RUNNER or RUN, LOLA, RUN
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Fagin...Ron Moody in Oliver
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Tobacco Road
propitious
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Mitchum, Robert
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So sorry for the repeat posts. I received server messages telling me that my posts were not being completed. I had no idea that they were actually being posted because I couldn't see them. Then when the problem resolved, they all appeared at once. Yike! Apologies. Laffite
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A MAN AND A WOMAN
?made an unexpected appearance on the set. To everyone?s amazement they saw Marian?and Marion?together. The were arguing vehemently. Marian complained that with the new plan she wouldn?t have anything to do. Her orientation would be of no use in the film. The director declared he would create a small role for her but she was adamant. She was holding out for full equality. The two warring genders brought the whole project to a stalemate and the director, beside himself, decided to?
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A MAN AND A WOMAN
?made an unexpected appearance on the set. To everyone?s amazement they saw Marian?and Marion?together. The were arguing vehemently. Marian complained that with the new plan she wouldn?t have anything to do. Her orientation would be of no use in the film. The director declared he would create a small role for her but she was adamant. She was holding out for full equality. The two warring genders brought the whole project to a stalemate and the director, beside himself, decided to?
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A MAN AND A WOMAN
?made an unexpected appearance on the set. To everyone?s amazement they saw Marian?and Marion?together. The were arguing vehemently. Marian complained that with the new plan she wouldn?t have anything to do. Her orientation would be of no use in the film. The director declared he would create a small role for her but she was adamant. She was holding out for full equality. The two warring genders brought the whole project to a stalemate and the director, beside himself, decided to?
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A MAN AND A WOMAN
?made an unexpected appearance on the set. To everyone?s amazement they saw Marian?and Marion?together. The were arguing vehemently. Marian complained that with the new plan she wouldn?t have anything to do. Her orientation would be of no use in the film. The director declared he would create a small role for her but she was adamant. She was holding out for full equality. The two warring genders brought the whole project to a stalemate and the director, beside himself, decided to?
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A MAN AND A WOMAN
?made an unexpected appearance on the set. To everyone?s amazement they saw Marian?and Marion?together. The were arguing vehemently. Marian complained that with the new plan she wouldn?t have anything to do. Her orientation would be of no use in the film. The director declared he would create a small role for her but she was adamant. She was holding out for full equality. The two warring genders brought the whole project to a stalemate and the director, beside himself, decided to?
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A MAN AND A WOMAN
?made an unexpected appearance on the set. To everyone?s amazement they saw Marian?and Marion?together. The were arguing vehemently. Marian complained that with the new plan she wouldn?t have anything to do. Her orientation would be of no use in the film. The director declared he would create a small role for her but she was adamant. She was holding out for full equality. The two warring genders brought the whole project to a stalemate and the director, beside himself, decided to?
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A MAN AND A WOMAN
?made an unexpected appearance on the set. To everyone?s amazement they saw Marian?and Marion?together. The were arguing vehemently. Marian complained that with the new plan she wouldn?t have anything to do. Her orientation would be of no use in the film. The director declared he would create a small role for her but she was adamant. She was holding out for full equality. The two warring genders brought the whole project to a stalemate and the director, beside himself, decided to?
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Next Thursday, Nov 5 on TCM
*Waterloo Bridge* 630am Pacific
*That Hamilton Woman* 830am Pacific
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Movie Trivia
in Games and Trivia
Posted
I was looking for what they called it the movie. Gloria Grahame mentions one time the name of the apartments, the Patio Apartments. Not a really good question, almost too trivial really (if that's possible for a trivia game). As to the actual location, your answer is correct. Nicholas Ray, the director, actually lived in those apartments. I wonder though if any of In a Lonley Place was actually shot on location. Ray had the patio area partially reproduced on a sound stage and that, of course, is what we see in the movie.
Finance, your thread.