Somewhere in the Night

Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine3.5

Action! - All About MankiewiczClearly a step up from Dragonwyck, in large part thanks to a more intriguing amnesia thriller bolstered by some of that Mankiewicz wisecracking and witty (some will say sarcastic) humor, all paired up with a rather hard-boiled film noir in which the mystery and the vibes are so well-established you don’t care if you have a hard time following what and why the hell is going on. Brodine does a great job capturing that film noir vibe through his cinematography with some really good lighting work that does a great job playing loose with the shadows. Also, there are a few scenes that evoke and establish the psychological aspect of the film, especially that one paired with the score and the odd performance feels very psychedelic, conveying the mental state of our lead at that moment.The cast is also pretty good at delivering the dialogues and playing the archetypes and stereotypes, with Hodiak (who apparently I’ve seen in two films before) doing a very good job as our amnesiac man trying to put the pieces together all while trying not to get killed in the process.All in all, while I would not go as far as to call it one of the greatest in the genre, I’d say if you like your noir films with a good dose of amnesia and mystery and don’t care about how convoluted they can get, this is for you.Action! - All About MankiewiczTODAY SCHEDULEStolenThe Hearts of AgeSomewhere in the NightMademoiselle Fifi

Rick Burin4.5

This was unexpectedly terrific: a very, VERY underrated movie from the great writer-director, Joseph L. Mankiewicz. It’s a brilliantly-plotted mystery-noir, full of that classic Mankiewicz dialogue: wise, hard-boiled and exceedingly sarcastic.John Hodiak plays an amnesiac war hero searching for a shadowy hoodlum by the name of Larry Cravat, his Third Man-ish investigations bringing him into the orbit of a wry, warm-hearted chanteuse (Nancy Guild), her nice guy suitor (Richard Conte) and a gently omniscient detective (played with great charm by Lloyd Nolan).There are outstanding self-contained, character-led scenes, including an absolute gem featuring Josephine Hutchinson (a former Warner female lead who never quite made it), fine, unexpected examples of jocular post-modernism – in the shape of meta movie gags about Lugosi, lighting and how detectives behave – and a succession of quite magnificent surprises, right up to the finish.From the film’s reputation, I was expecting something fairly shabby and perfunctory, but instead got a film that’s impressive, interesting and almost impossible to second-guess. The leads are strictly second-tier, but while Hodiak is fairly bland, the director takes Guild into strong territory (like Hutchinson before her, she was on the cusp of superstardom that never came) – the actress emerging as a sort of Ella Raines-Ronnie Lake hybrid, with a gift for a one-liner – as Nolan and Conte hoover up everything that’s left.

sakana12.5

Very vague, mostly tonal spoilers ahead.I understand why people refer to this movie as "noir," but I would argue that it's not an accurate label. Beneath its postwar setting and narrative-driving mystery, Somewhere in the Night is far more a romance than it is anything else. Well, a romance-cum-crime-film, but one that is almost laughably wholesome in its sentiments and sincerity, as well as the simple goodness of a core of characters whose morality is never in doubt.If Somewhere in the Night was truly a noir film, it would be about Richard Conte's bar owner, Mel Phillips. Mel is indulgent and comforting, a guy who never says the wrong thing, and who can be counted on to help, no matter the ask. (Or is he?) And he's a guy with unspoken connections, whose ability to turn up at just the right time is, to the cynic (he's the movie's only cynic), nearly as suspicious as it is reassuring. And it would be about Phyllis (Margo Woode), the story's lone hard-boiled dame. Phyllis is a survivor, someone who is never off balance because she's heard it all before; experienced everything already. By now, she's mostly just marking time, half-heartedly waiting for a chance at something big — a profit, or a job. Maybe love. She's well past the point of expecting anything, but if something interesting shows up, she'll jump at whatever it is, if only because it means a change.Instead, though, we get good guy amnesiac George Taylor (John Hodiak) and the eager, good-hearted girl of his dreams, Christy Smith (Nancy Guild). Christy, whose belief in George is childlike in its sincerity, and whose willingness to support him is unshakable. She is the furthest thing possible from a noir character, and George himself shares her generous sensitivity; her desire to uncover and reveal the truth.Framed differently, Somewhere in the Night might be an engaging, often sweet mystery. As it is, thought, it's a disappointment, simply because of the ways in which it fundamentally diverges from the genre in which it claims membership.