Dixon Steele (Bogart), a moody, volatile Hollywood screenwriter who's had his heyday, is accused of murdering a coat check girl from a showbiz restaurant. Laurel (Gloria Grahame), an actress who lives in Dixon's apartment complex, provides an alibi for her neighbour when questioned by the police, and the pair start a relationship. But the police are unconvinced of Dixon’s innocence and, after learning of his violent past, Laurel begins to question if she is putting herself in danger by staying with him.

Freely adapted from Dorothy B. Hughes' thriller, In a Lonely Place is a brilliantly turbulent melodrama, fueled by powerhouse performances from Bogart and Grahame and is now widely considered to be one of the greatest films of the 1950s.