CABARET CINEMA: IN A LONELY PLACE

Humphrey Bogart stars in Nicholas Ray’s powerful, intense film about a cynical Hollywood screenwriter with a violent side. Dixon Steele (Bogart, in one of his strongest performances) is asked to write a screenplay based on a pulpy romance he has little interest in, so he brings home a coat-check girl who has read the book so she can tell him the story. The girl turns up dead, and Steele, known for his drunken forays and abuse of women, is the main suspect. Aspiring star Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame), who has recently moved into the same Beverly Hills apartment complex, supplies an alibi for Steele, but she might have ulterior motives for doing so. Ray’s moody, introspective gem keeps you guessing until the very end. This special screening, introduced by Ken Brown, is part of the Rubin Museum’s weekly Friday-night film series, which is currently focusing on the exhibit “The Red Book of C. J. Jung,” is in the gallery space right outside the downstairs theater. (All of the museum’s galleries are open for free after 7:00.) Upcoming screenings in this series include Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’ECLISSE on January 8, David Lynch’s BLUE VELVET on January 15, and Hiroshi Teshigahara’s THE FACE OF ANOTHER on January 22.