Somewhere in the Night

Amnesia plots can be tricky things, but sometimes everything clicks. Armed with only a name, our lead sets off into the world stepping into disaster at every turn trying to leverage little pieces of information into a wider picture. It essentially turns into a great detective noir with a twist. The script is great, a strong plot, and pretty good dialogue. The supporting cast is brilliant, and the only weak point is that the two leads are a little stiff, but it works out with their characters.

A decidedly mixed bag. Some of the dialogue is really good, but a lot of it is absolutely terrible. Mankiewicz does an okay job, but doesn't bring much pizzazz to it. Where we really have problems, however, is the acting. Hodiak is decent in the lead, but Guild is a poor man's Lauren Bacall... a VERY poor man's. Pretty face, lousy actress. Fortunately the film is salvaged by a number of great character actors. And the plot, although convoluted, is a good deal of fun and trucks along nicely.

I'm probably overrating this because it's not very good, really. Contrived, derivative (the femme fatale is even named Phyllis!) and kind of uninspired. Still, I found its algamam of noir conventions enjoyable enough; plus Guild and Woode are far from hard on the eyes. And I really like Richard Conte, he was a bona fide movie star.

Intriguing without seeming too conveniently put together. Survives the 100 minute running-time pretty well.

Uma Aventura na Noite estreava há 75 anos nos EUA. Esse filme tem um enredo mais intrincado do que o usual noir médio, é quase hitchcockiano na sua construção e é apenas o segundo filme que Mankiewicz dirigiu, além de tudo está mais do que na cara que foi a maior influência de Angel Heart do Alan Parker. Box Versátil Filme Noir Volume 10 - fiquei triste porque não há extras desse filme, este que é um dos melhores de toda a coleção.

Somewhere in the Night (1946) contains what today can be described as film-noir cliches, but in 1946 this was still the fresh new way of telling a story, done with a little more vision than your average Hollywood production at the time. Didn't have the biggest of stars, but they way John Hodiak and the rest of the cast was used, it didn't matter. The format carried us through the suspense and mystery, and they were effective tools in Joseph L. Mankiewicz creation. Quality example of the genre!

80.50

Güzel kadınlar, iyi sinematografi, iyi işleyen twistler, içi para dolu bir bavul... İçinde iyi bir film noir için gereken herşey mevcut. Mankiewicz bir kez daha beklentimi karşıladı.