Of the many characters played by the nonpareil Humphrey Bogart, that of In a Lonely Place, Dixon Steele, most hints at the hard-bitten malevolence underlying his shtick as the “tough guy” of the movies, just as it suggests the nature of the man himself and his own tendencies. Humphrey Bogart plays a burned-out screenwriter manqué, Dixon Steele, who tends toward violent outbursts that are as innate and character-driven as they are products of his screenwriter’s career, which has long been compromised by hackwork (the corrosive agent of many a man’s character). One night, while drinking with his buddies at a Hollywood hangout, his agent importunes him to look at some…
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Thinking of the staid, halcyon clichés of the American 1950s, I could not help contrasting them with the underbelly of corruption obtaining in the same decade, when illicit activity and human lustfulness were as they have always been, but with more mendacity and concealment papered over by a culture touting its suburban harmony, its kid-friendliness, its tight-knit families and traditionalist values. It is this underbelly that L.A. Confidential, adapted from the novel by James Ellroy, explores and exploits with an impressive cast of characters that are true-to-type while affording varied, endearing portraits of law enforcement and the criminal underworld. The three primary characters—Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey), Bud White (Russell Crowe),…
