Genres

Visitors Review

christopher-underwood 2012-05-22 09:23:34

Very enjoyable and involving noir

Very enjoyable and involving noir. John Hodiak plays a WW2 veteranstruggling with insomnia and not many clues to go on. It's captivatingstuff and the pace is just right as we struggle, as does he, to workout what has gone on. As more people become involved, the plot reallythickens and we are in the familiar territory of seedy clubs, ruthlesshoods, car 'accidents', clairvoyance, a sanatorium and a wonderfullyevocative dark and dirty dockside. Great dialogue throughout and wittytoo. Nancy Guild is by no means stunning as the co-star helping Hodiakin his desperate race and I understand that Mankiewicz had to coach herindividually to help her with the delivery of her lines. Despite thisand because the story is so good her slightly faltering performance cantake nothing from this thriller.

2012-05-21 21:01:30

reminiscent of Spellbound

This review is from: Somewhere in the Night (Fox Film Noir) (DVD) This film is about a man with amnesia (similar to Hitchcock`s spellbound) in that he`s trying to find out who he really is and in what way is he involved in a murder. A solid cast, good photography and well written. I found Nancy Guild to be adequate in her role, but there is no real chemistry between her and Hodiak. She reminded me of Veronica Lake who might have been better in the part with more charisma to offer. A good mystery that holds you to the end.

2012-05-20 09:36:39

A Nifty Noir

I have always enjoyed this flick, a interesting example ofpost WW2 film noir....I suppose that's why Nicholas Christopherchose it as the title for his book on the noir genre...Eventhough the plot and continuity take a few sharp turns, theoverall story was unique....I paricularly enjoyed the wellchosen cast---a "duke's mixture" of characters...I thoughtJohn Hodiak's especially good, as was Fritz Kortner's...PerhapsNancy Guild's was somewhat weak considering she had the leadfemale role but, I don't feel she subtracted anything fromthe story either...My cousin, Anderson Lawler, produced thisfilm so, I may well be biased...His chief role was in selectingthe various actors albeit, he had no veto on Guild....Zanuckchose her to make a debut in it, hoping it would propel herto stardom I guess....Joe Mankiewicz was still relativelyunexperienced as a director---really only his second exposureto the field; but, still turned out a credible film...Thisfilm got wonderful reviews when first released but, as theyears passed, almost fell into oblivion....Thankfully, Foxrescued it and made it available....If you're a noir buff,you'll surely enjoy it; good entertainment for almost twohours with an interesting blend of actors...You'll have topay close attention to the story line to understand the eventsas they unfold....Last but not least, sights and scenes from1946 L.A. should be rewarding as well....The quality of thevideo and audio in this DVD is excellent I feel..! Go for it..!

2012-05-20 04:51:41

Style Over Substance

This review is from: Somewhere in the Night (Fox Film Noir) (DVD) Despite weaknesses in this film it has enough good qualities to recommend. For starters, despite layered plotting and red herrings the script telegraphs it's inevitable conclusion. The film's leads, John Hodiak and Nancy Guild, though attractive are merely serviceable. The film though does boast great atmosphere with it's use of shadowy cinematography and seedy L.A. locations. The film also has a better than average supporting cast in Richard Conte, Lloyd Nolan, Sheldon Leonard, Harry Morgan, et al. This one is a tough call because the potential is here for a better than average noir. If you're a completist of Fox's noir series like I am you're obligated to purchase it. Otherwise, rent it or wait until it pops up on TV.

2012-05-19 09:52:37

JOSEPH L. MANKIEWICZ, OPUS 2

This review is from: Somewhere in the Night (Fox Film Noir) (DVD) **** 1946. Co-written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. An amnesiac tries to find out, all alone, in Los Angeles the man who could reveal him his identity. Another great film noir of the Fox collection even if its last 30 minutes are a little too verbose even for a film directed by Mankiewicz, the dialogue's wizard. Note Lloyd Nolan's performance as the detective movie-goer and bear in mind that the British writer Somerset Maugham also worked on the screen adaptation of the story. Recommended.

HunterTX 2012-05-19 00:41:24

An Excellent Film Noir Mystery That Will Keep You On The Edge of Your Seat.

This is one of my favorite mystery movies. Not only does "Somewhere in theNight" have a great supporting cast, but John Hodiak's performance as onesuffering from amnesia has you with him every step of the way on his searchfor his true identity, missing money, and the reason he is being pursued byothers. This plot has so many twists and turns you will not be bored!Look for an uncanny resemblance between John Hodiak and a very young MartinLandau of "Mission Impossible" fame.I saw this movie four times and rate it SUPERB!

kenjha 2012-05-18 16:57:43

Forgettable Noir

A war hero suffering from amnesia tries to figure out who he is. Itgets off to an intriguing start, but soon runs out of steam and becomesmuch too muddled before reaching a predictable ending. Dour-facedHodiak gives a one-note performance, lacking the looks and charisma tocarry a film. Guild, making her film debut, is charming as a nightclubsinger who inexplicably falls in love with Hodiak. There are goodperformances from Nolan and Conte; the latter would have been a moreinteresting choice for the lead role. Mankiewicz's screenplay includessome good lines but the plot is convoluted and confusing. He faresbetter in the director's chair, creating a solid film noir look.

oscarbreath 2012-05-18 04:49:04

A laugher

but it's not supposed to be. This one is just a mess, the plot is ...well, where IS the plot? Nancy Guild (rhymes with wild) does a very badBacall impression, Hodiak not quite handsome enough to pull off movieleads, Conte and Nolan dependable as always. Fritz and Margo make goodimpressions in bad parts.The best part of the 2005 version of the DVD is the commentary by EddieMuller; as a noir expert, he's not afraid to call a turkey a turkey andhe has a lot of fun poking fun at the movie and (surprisingly, sinceFox paid him) calling it out for what it is. So watch the movie just toget it over with, then sit back and enjoy Muller's critique. It's likea noir MST3000!

2012-05-16 08:20:32

Underrated, unusual, and lots of fun

An interesting, off-the-beaten-track film noir about an amnesiac soldier, recently discharged from the Marines, who returns to civilian life to rediscover his own past. Actor John Hodiak (who bears an uncanny resemblance to Val Kilmer...) plays his role with a sleepy-yet-cool reserve -- for a guy who thinks he's just an average joe, he sure seems to handle himself well when things start getting weird and dangerous in his old hometown of LA. Lee Strasberg (later of the Actor's Studio) delivers a compelling though flawed script... The first half of the film has an odd, stylish charm -- the flip, tough-guy rhetoric of the genre is tempered with a hefty dose of absurdism and playfulness. There are some great sequences and fun, zippy dialogue, although the prologue is far superior to the action part of the film. The second half lumbers along, and while it becomes clumsy, it's still entertaining and definitely a notch above many B-grade efforts of the same era. One particular treat is an extended role for Lloyd Nolan, who plays a too-cool, insouciant police detective -- his introduction is a real hoot, where he effortlessly steals the scene and leaves the audience wanting more... Lots more. You might not have heard of this film before -- I sure hadn't -- but it's definitely worth checking out!

vanwall 2012-05-15 23:10:06

Mankiewicz directs a night-time noir

Mankiewicz does it again. With a small cast of generally B actors, hemakesa nifty film-noir. John Hodiak has his best role, IMHO, and the mostlynight-time settings have a great look. Strange to see Fritz Kortner, fromthe Louise Brooks "Pandora's Box", as a slimy fortune-teller.

2012-05-15 15:39:19

Confusing film noir copying so many others

"Somewhere in the Night" is a confusing and verbose film noir, an early directorial effort by Joseph Mankiewicz. With uncharismatic John Hodiak in the lead as an amnesia victim, the film is a mishmash of confusion punctuated by some of the dumbest lines ever handed to a leading lady, starlet Nancy Guild, a Gene Tierney look alike. There are isolated good moments and some excellent supporting actors but the overall effect is tedium and disorder. This film needed stars like Bogart and Bacall and a director like Howard Hawks to pull it off! A ruthless editor would have helped too.The print of the film is excellent and since film noir has such a cult following, the DVD gets a commentary from noir expert Eddie Mueller. Mueller is realistic about the film's weaknesses.

2012-05-14 20:47:22

DVD Movie

This review is from: Somewhere in the Night (Fox Film Noir) (DVD) DVD received in excellent condition. Terrific B/W Flicfrom the old days when they knew how to make movies.

george_chabot 2012-05-12 10:03:37

Paint by numbers derived from many noirs

I wanted to like Somewhere in the Night and at first was impressed bythe off kilter style of the opening in the WWII field hospital with theheavily bandaged amnesia victim played by John Hodiak, but when itswitched to its stateside development I soon realized it was derivedfrom several predecessors and didn't really have a clue where to goitself. Hodiak and leading lady Nancy Guild, while meant to evoke Bogeyand Bacall, are about as interesting as watching paint dry in thisoverlong derivative production. Supporting cast is the high point withRichard Conte, Lloyd Nolan, and several other familiar faces doingtheir small parts to make the movie memorable. Eddie Muller'scommentary on the Fox DVD is fun. Only recommended for noircompletists.

2012-05-11 15:30:21

An amnesiac unravels the mystery of his existence

WW2 Combat veteran John Hodiak wakes up in a Honolulu military hospital with his jaws wired shut, face bandaged, and memory totally gone in the solid Joseph Mankiewicz directed film-noir "Somewhere in the Night".After a long convalescence he heads to Los Angeles based on a letter he has in his possession from a friend Larry Cravat. He learns that his name is George Taylor, as it is inscribed on his wallet.He begins asking around for Cravat in a local nightclub and immediately becomes the focus of mayhem courtesy of some shady locals. Hodiak meets and then confides his plight to nighclub singer Christy Smith played by attractive brunette Nancy Guild. She refers him to her boss Mel Phillips played by Richard Conte who helps by introducing him to slick L.A. detective Don Kendall played by Lloyd Nolan.We learn that Larry Cravat and two million dollars have mysteriously disappeared three years ago. The plot proceeds chronicling the revelation of the identity of Hodiak and the whereabouts of the money.While the film was nothing outstanding, it certainly was a convincing drama with satisfying storylines and acting performances.

2012-05-10 20:13:16

JOSEPH L. MANKIEWICZ, OPUS 2

**** 1946. Co-written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. An amnesiac tries to find out, all alone, in Los Angeles the man who could reveal him his identity. Another great film noir of the Fox collection even if its last 30 minutes are a little too verbose even for a film directed by Mankiewicz, the dialogue's wizard. Note Lloyd Nolan's performance as the detective movie-goer and bear in mind that the British writer Somerset Maugham also worked on the screen adaptation of the story. Recommended.

2012-05-10 11:49:10

Best Voice-Over Ever-in Film Noir

This review is from: Somewhere in the Night (Fox Film Noir) (DVD) John Hodiak was a radio actor in Michigan before heading for Hollywood. His voice over (while his jaw is wired shut) is the best ever in a film noir movie--better than Fred MacMurray in Double Indemnity. The plots a little creaky (sort of a minor league Maltese Falcon)in 2008 but add Loydd Nolan and the slick Richard Conte and sit back and enjoy a lost gem of the genre'

pvassall 2012-05-06 04:03:47

A great film noir....!

A really great example of film noir....A shame it's not shown more oftenontelevision....And, alas not available on video yet either.....(As far as Ican determine.) My cousin, Andy Lawler, produced this film so, I will haveto fess up to a degree of bias but, all in all a great watch if you enjoythis genre....Incidently, Andy chose the title for the film which was shotas 'LONELY JOURNEY.' Ironic that the title is the same used as a booktitleon film noir vehicles; but, so seldom shown on televison moviechannels....!

2012-05-06 00:52:37

OK but pretty lame

I liked Nancy Guild--hadn't heard of her before--but it was a little creepy to watch her at 20 or 21 puffing away on her cigs and knowing that 50 years later she'd be dead from emphysema.As to the movie...too much reliance on willing suspension of disbelief in the viewer. And it wasn't John Hodiak's finest moment. If you just have to watch every noir ever made, go ahead and watch this movie. If you aren't a completist, don't bother.

2012-05-04 18:54:32

Real men don't ask for directions nor do they seek help for amnesia

This review is for the 2005 Twentieth Century Fox DVD.The film opens in a "MASH" unit near a World War II battleground where a wounded George Taylor (John Hodiak) slowly realizes that he has amnesia. Rather than confront the issue head on with the medical staff, he decides to try to regain his identity by using all of the people around him for feeding information about himself. When he is finally discharged from the military, he goes to Los Angeles to piece his past life back together. He later discovers that a friend he doesn't remember named Larry Cravatt left him some money at a bank. When George goes to the bank to withdraw the cash, George has reason to believe that the police are after him and flees the bank and then has to do a lot more detective work on his own. This sets up the rest of the film where the stakes suddenly are much bigger than he ever imagined since he discovers that he may have been involved in a murder that was tied to $2 million worth of missing money.Beyond the obvious issue of suffering from amnesia and refusing any medical help, the story goes off into a long string of highly improbable events that don't seem that well connected to each prior event. The main character just seems to have an uncanny knack of falling backwards into some other fantastic situation. In spite of these problems, the film does a few things right. First, it's a clearly a film noir movie set mostly in the seedier parts of Los Angeles and photographed with plenty of shadows and darkly lit settings. Another nice touch is that just about all of the supporting actors are recognizable characters from the classic film noir era. Even though the film has some of the necessary ingredients for success, the script is disappointing since it doesn't connect the dots that well from one scene to the next, and doesn't thoroughly sell the audience on several key points of the movie such as the main male character (Hodiak) and his relationship with the leading female character (Guild), the surprise villain, and how uncreatively the villain is brought to justice. Overall, I think classic film noir fans will still find the movie rewarding based on the visual presentation, but mystery buffs will be holding their noses with this plot. As for the DVD, the black and white full screen presentation is overall excellent. The picture is sharp and with superb contrast. The only minor problems were some graininess and occasional tiny signs of film deterioration, but considering the film was made in 1946, it's a great transfer. The DVD bonuses include commentary by noir author Eddie Mueller plus several other Fox Film Noir trailers.Movie: CDVD Quality: A-

bmacv 2012-05-04 05:20:19

Even for an amnesiac noir, this archetypal entry is too often forgotten

Borrowed as the title of Nicholas Christopher's study of film noir and theAmerican city, Somewhere In The Night remains a movie less familiar thanLaura or The Big Sleep or Out of the Past. But it's almost in their class –an atmospheric and at times archetypal noir, the first directorial effort ofJoseph L. Mankiewicz and the first major post-war feature to use the deviceof amnesia-as-metaphor: How vets survived global cataclysm only to have toconstruct new lives in a homeland that had, in their absence, turned intoalien territory.Drifting up out of coma in a military hospital, John Hodiak can't figure outwhy everybody calls him George Taylor. Only two letters offer clues to whohe is, one from a vindictive girl he ditched, the other apparently from anold pal, Larry Cravat. Without much to go on, he heads to Los Angeles totrack down Cravat and thus himself. But as he skulks though the city's darkdemimonde (Turkish baths, mobbed-up nightclubs, phony spiritualist parlors,insane asylums), he's quick to learn that other people don't want Cravatfound. Yet he finds allies in club canary Nancy Guild, her boss RichardConte, and police detective Lloyd Nolan. He also finds that the reason forall the violence unleashed against and around him is $2-million in Nazimoney (which disappeared in 1942, the year he joined the Marines). Cravatproves both elusive and uncomfortably close....Somewhere In The Night boasts a strong cast in supporting (Conte, Nolan,Fritz Kortner) and even tertiary roles (Sheldon Leonard, Whit Bissell, HenryMorgan, with special mention to Josephine Hutchinson, who plays a poignantlargo midway though the movie). Where it offers scant measure is in itsprincipals. 20th-Century Fox was grooming Guild as its answer to Warners'sultry sensation Lauren Bacall, failing to grasp that Guild's appeal wasless romantic than matey – the gal pal (like a couple of other Nancys fromthat era, Olson and Davis). Hodiak's more problematic. He enjoyed a few years in the Hollywoodlimelight (Lifeboat, Marriage Is A Private Affair, Desert Fury, CommandDecision) before his untimely death in 1955. But he never brought theillumination – the star quality – to his work that would elevate it from thecompetent to the classic. So he stays generic through his picaresqueordeals, without the specific anguish that distinguished, for example, JohnPayne or even Gordon MacRae and Edmond O'Brien as they underwent theirs (in,respectively, The Crooked Way, Backfire and D.O.A.).Mankiewicz' first go as director comes as a surprise. Most vividlyremembered as writer/director of A Letter To Three Wives and the immortalAll About Eve (movies whose sparkling scripts camouflaged their lack ofvisual interest), he generates a menacing look in his nightscapes for theCity of Angels, camping out in Bunker Hill walk-ups and on Skid Row. Thestoryline's almost as complicated as The Big Sleep's, and as murky, but thenclockwork plots never sat well in film noir – the universe it dwells instays random, volatile, unfathomable.