In A Lonely Place is one of the few films that nearly equals the novel upon which it was based. The novel of the same name, by Dorothy B. Hughes, is a masterpiece and quite daring for the time, the 1940s. Hughes compares quite favorably with James M. Cain (author of Mildred Pierce, Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice) and in many ways surpasses him as a writer of noir. Her character development exceeds Cain's, in my opinion.