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Better Late Then Never

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Amnesia is a great vehicle for screenwriters. It allows a story about someone who is menaced by bad guys but doesn't know why because he's forgotten his past. In this film, George Taylor (John Hodiak) returns from the Pacific war not even knowing what his true name is. After being discharged, Taylor attempts to recreate his past, getting involved with gangsters, $2 million of Nazi loot in a suitcase, and with the beautiful nightclub singer Chris (Nancy Guild). After a lot of fairly confusing twists and turns including a great scene inside a sanitarium, the film has an unexpected twist ending that sharp viewers will anticipate.Every time I see John Hodiak in a film I wonder what he would have accomplished, since he died so young. His body of work is very good and I don't remember any real losers he did. Nancy Guild is good as the woman who protects him while transforming from a tough gal to falling in love with Taylor. There's a very interesting scene which takes place in a 1940s L.A. Chinese restaurant.Lots of familiar faces pop up here: Whit Bissell (an ill-fated bartender); Sheldon Leonard (jealous and tough-guy husband); Lloyd Nolan (a detective, of course); Richard Conte (bar owner); Jeff Corey (bank teller); and Harry Morgan (bath attendant). The story is pretty confusing at times, and some of the characters don't make a lot of sense, but Hodiak is great as the amnesia victim who sometimes isn't the nicest guy around. It's a great example of B&W 1940s thrillers, so try to catch it.

During the World War II, a soldier is hit by a grenade that deforms his face and leaves him with amnesia. Sometime later, he is recovered and learns that his name is George Taylor (John Hodiak) and he is discharged from the army. He finds a letter written by a man called Larry Cravat that would be his pal and he goes to Los Angeles to seek out Larry Cravat to find his identity. He goes to a bank, a hotel, a Turkish bath and a night-club following leads. He is beaten up by Hubert, the henchman of Anzelmo (Fritz Kortner) that dumps him at the front door of the singer Christy Smith (Nancy Guild) that works in a night-club. George tells his story to her and Christy decides to help him. She calls her boss and friend Mel Phillips (Richard Conte) that schedules a lunch with his friend Police Lt. Donald Kendall (Lloyd Nolan) and Christy. They learn that Larry Cravat was a private investigator that somehow received US$ 2 million three years ago from Germany from a Nazi that was immediately deceased. Then George receives a tip to go to the Terminal Dock where he meets Anzelmo that explains that Larry Cravat is wanted by the police for the murder of a man at the dock to keep the money. Larry has disappeared and Anzelmo believes George Taylor is the man that was with him and probably the killer. George further investigation finds that a man named Conroy was a witness of the crime, but he was hit and run by a truck and is interned at the Lambeth Sanatorium. When George meets Conroy, he realizes that the man was stabbed but he tells where he hid the suitcase with the money before dying. Now George is close to solve the mystery."Somewhere in the Night" is an intriguing film-noir with a mystery about who is and where is a man called Larry Cravat. The direction of Joseph L. Mankiewicz is tight as usual and the plot has many twists and the story is disclosed in pieces like a puzzle. The gorgeous Nancy Guild performs the role of an independent woman ahead of time. Alan Parker was probably inspired in George Taylor to develop the character Harry Angel in the 1987 "Angel Heart". My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Uma Aventura na Noite" ("One Adventure in the Night")Note: On 29 July 2018 I saw this film again.

George Taylor wakes up in a military hospital, with no memory of who he is or how he got there. His discharge papers point him to an address and he follows the lead looking to figure out his past. The path leads him into a dangerous world of dames and hoodlums with a three-year old murder and a missing fortune at the core of the mystery. This is the basic plot and if offered me some interest; OK the amnesia device is not the most original but it is how it is used that matters and this plot sounded like it would tough, pacey and engaging. Sadly it doesn't totally manage to make it all work even if at times it is pretty good.The biggest problem for me is the length and the pacing of the delivery; it is longer than it can sustain and the plot unfurls in a way that is almost too slow and deliberate. The slow pace means that urgency is lost but more damagingly is that it gives you plenty of time to think – so rather than being dragged along by the developments and thrilling plot, the viewer tends to be looking ahead. This is damaging partly because it prevented me getting into the film as much as I would have liked, but also because it means I was thinking about where it was going and, too early in the film, I was able to be pretty sure of the twists that were coming – a good hour before the film actually got there. At its heart this story is still good but it needed to be tougher and breathless in its pace so that the viewer was never allowed to be looking ahead of it. It is still OK for what it is, but the pace damages it.The direction also seems pretty stiff and slow. Static shots, stiff framing and very little motion within the shots means that it adds to the feeling of the film being unnecessarily slow. The cast match this approach somewhat. Hodiak is too stiff and unnatural and his lack of fear and panic is a negative to his performance; he is likable as the lead but there was a lack of heart there. I liked Hutchinson alongside him, even though I felt the film gave her character too much time, adding to the slowing effect. Conte surprised me by being quite dull here, although he had a nice presence the film never uses him enough.Overall Somewhere in the Night has a good plot but it never delivers it in a way that plays to its strengths. The film runs too long and the scenes are delivered at a patience and slow pace that really doesn't suit what it should be doing. This hurts the delivery, robs the plot of urgency and exposes the plot developments to scrutiny which more or less allows the viewer to spoiler the ending for themselves about a hour before the film gets there. Solid film but way too slow.

I wanted to like Somewhere in the Night and at first was impressed by the off kilter style of the opening in the WWII field hospital with the heavily bandaged amnesia victim played by John Hodiak, but when it switched to its stateside development I soon realized it was derived from several predecessors and didn't really have a clue where to go itself. Hodiak and leading lady Nancy Guild, while meant to evoke Bogey and Bacall, are about as interesting as watching paint dry in this overlong derivative production. Supporting cast is the high point with Richard Conte, Lloyd Nolan, and several other familiar faces doing their small parts to make the movie memorable. Eddie Muller's commentary on the Fox DVD is fun. Only recommended for noir completists.