PodBill Just what I expected

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Tymon Sutton The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

bkoganbing Before Joe Mankiewicz's career went into high gear with back to back Oscars for A Letter To Three Wives and All About Eve, he did this crackerjack noir film about a war veteran with amnesia and a past he might not really want to remember. Borrowing heavily from The Maltese Falcon, Somewhere In The Night instead of a legendary bird has a very real and tangible two million dollars of smuggled Nazi loot that a Los Angeles private eye was handling and got lost.In the meantime on the strength of a letter written to him while in the service an amnesiac war veteran comes searching for his past in Los Angeles and finds himself in a lot of trouble he can't decipher. John Hodiak plays the troubled veteran and the only friend he has is nightclub singer Nancy Guild who sings in Richard Conte's nightclub.Hodiak sad to say is a pretty forgotten actor today. He came along during the war years and when folks like Gable and Taylor returned from the service he was kind of an MGM spare tire. I'm sure Darryl Zanuck got him on the cheap for this film at 20th Century Fox. Still Hodiak had an everyman appeal that resonated well with audiences. A shame he died so young of a heart attack, I believe it was a heart murmur that kept him out of the Armed Services in World War II.I wish we had seen a little more of Lloyd Nolan playing a laconic police detective. There's a man who never gave a bad performance even in mediocre films.Although I had it right partially in terms of a solution, Somewhere In The Night will still yield a few surprises to some in the viewing audience. And that's the mark of a good film.

seymourblack-1 Amnesia, confused identities and a number of characters with uncertain motives all contribute to the atmosphere of danger and distrust that prevails throughout this movie. The natural anxiety that accompanies memory loss escalates steadily as the main protagonist tries desperately to discover his own identity and his growing fear is reflected visually in Norbert Brodine's striking cinematography which skilfully uses shadows to give many of the scenes a particularly sinister look.A badly injured World War 11 veteran (John Hodiak), who recovers from a coma in a military hospital in Honolulu, is aware that he's suffering from amnesia but doesn't disclose this to the doctors who call him George Taylor. From certain documents in his possession, he's able to deduce that he previously lived at the Martin Hotel in L.A. and so when he's eventually discharged, he immediately heads to that address, but no-one there knows him or has any record of him having stayed there in recent years.A claim check that he discovers in his bag leads him to recover a briefcase that he'd apparently left some time ago at a nearby train station and in the case he finds a letter and a gun. The letter is signed by Larry Cravat who confirms that he's deposited $5,000 for George in a bank account. George has no success when he tries to claim his cash from the Second National Bank and so embarks on a search for Cravat. His search leads him to a local nightclub called "The Cellar" where on one occasion , he meets a singer called Christy Smith (Nancy Guild) and on another, gets beaten up by a couple of thugs who don't appreciate his interest in Cravat and tell him to call off his search.Christy introduces George to Mel Phillips (Richard Conte) who's the owner of "The Cellar" and his contact Police Lieutenant Donald Kendall (Lloyd Nolan) and all three offer him help. It soon becomes clear that Cravat was a private eye who was connected some years earlier with a crime involving murder and the possession of $2,000,000 which had been transferred into the country by a high ranking Nazi officer. As his investigations continue, George becomes increasingly concerned about what he might discover until ultimately, a number of surprise developments lead him to solve the mysteries surrounding his own identity and the stolen money."Somewhere In The Night" is a well paced and well written mystery with a complicated plot and an anti-hero who's been traumatised by his experiences in the War, disconcerted by his memory loss and made anxious by his inability to know who he can trust. John Hodiak conveys Taylor's mental state by emphasising how tense and humourless his experiences have made him and the supporting cast successfully adds considerable colour and interest to the array of characters that feature in Taylor's bewildering odyssey.

Alex da Silva John Hodiak (George Taylor) wakes up in a hospital with amnesia. He doesn't even know who he is and he spends the rest of the film trying to track down Larry Cravat who has left him some money. His journey takes him to a nightclub called "The Cellar" where he meets Nancy Guild (Christy) and they form an alliance. So where is the mysterious Mr Cravat.....? It is so bleeding obvious where Mr Cravat is. You should guess that part of the plot within the first 15 minutes. However, there are other twists and turns that keep you guessing and I didn't expect the final plot development. As for the story, it can get a little complicated so you need to just go along with it even though it is too long. The cast are fine - my favourite character being Lloyd Nolan's Police Lieutenant who has a way of letting people know that he pretty much knows everything already. He's like Peter Falk's "Columbo". Nancy Guild looks like a cross between Lauren Bacall and Ella Raines, and while many reviewers have given her a hard time about her acting (my girlfriend included), I thought she was fine. It's something about her mannerisms, smugness and trying to act older than she is which seems to annoy.The film starts with an overlong narration and there are dumb parts to the story, eg, why does Hodiak run out of the bank when he is asked to stay and have a quick word with the manager when he goes to cash his cheque from Larry Cravat. Surely, he would be only too pleased to speak to someone who may shed light on his past life or give him information about Larry Cravat. Another ludicrous concept that you have to accept is that Hodiak fell onto a bomb when it exploded. He looks pretty good to me. What a nonsense! However, there are a few moments that provide tension, eg, the episode at the asylum and the scene at the docks where Hodiak and Guild go in search of $2 million. There is also a moment that will make you jump when an attempt is made on Hodiak's life. You'll know the one I mean. That would have properly been game over! Overall, the film is a bit boring. Every scene, particularly at the beginning, takes ages and you'll get fed up with the name of Larry Cravat. Sadly, John Hodiak died unexpectedly while having a shave 9 years after this film was made at the age of 41.

blanche-2 John Hodiak is a war vet with amnesia who searches for his identity and possible complicity in a crime in "Somewhere in the Night," a 1946 film also starring Nancy Guild, Richard Conte, and Lloyd Nolan. The film is directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and he also co-wrote the screenplay with Howard Dimsdale.Severely wounded in the war, Hodiak's character, George Taylor, has had to have facial reconstruction. His recovery is slow, and he can't remember anything. He has a partial letter on his person telling him that he's despicable, and when he picks up his belongings, he finds a letter from one Larry Cravat. Investigating Cravat leads him to murder, stolen money, and some unsavory characters who are after him.This is a muddled movie that still manages to be absorbing, probably because of the talent behind and in front of the camera. Nancy Guild plays a singer in a club owned by Richard Conte. She becomes interested in Taylor and tries to help him. Guild is attractive and looks like a noir heroine in the Bacall-Raines genre, but she delivers her lines in a very flat manner. Lloyd Nolan as a police detective is terrific as always, and Conte gives a smooth performance.You have to pay attention to "Somewhere in the Night" or you'll get lost - sort of like the hero does at points in the movie. Still, it's worth seeing.