Somewhere in the Night (1946) (2024)

Popular reviews

• Review by Rick Burin ★★★★½ 18

  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…

• Review by sakana1 ★★½ 10

  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,…

• Review by theironcupcake ★★★½ 5

  As a noir, I'd give Joseph L. Mankiewicz's Somewhere in the Night a middling score for being a totally convoluted head-scratcher, but as a vehicle for mustachioed amnesiac WWII veteran John Hodiak to roam Los Angeles in search of the enigmatic "Larry Cravat" (a name which is said 85 times, according to the IMDb - I believe it), sneaking into a sanatorium to interrogate an "insane" witness to a murder and hunting beneath a dock for a stolen Nazi-art-loot fortune and whatnot, it's an amusing little morsel of fun. Besides, for a character actor fan, it's hard to argue against any film that brings Lloyd Nolan, Josephine Hutchinson, Fritz Kortner, Sheldon Leonard, Jeff Corey and Whit Bissell together.

  And as…

• Review by Channing Pomeroy ★★★½ 1

  I keep forgetting how much I love a good amnesia thriller. Eddie Muller says that amnesia is the common cold of noir. The amnesiac, in his blind ignorance, is a stand-in for the viewer. Both us us are trying to unravel this mystery. He bounces around town trying to weave a past from random threads he encounters. He bounces off wise-cracking dolls and gets bounced by guys a foot bigger than him in all directions. Joseph L. Mankiewicz assumes the viewer is smart enough to keep up and and enjoy his stylized, peak-noir dialogue.

  Pull quote: “Memories have a way of getting stuck together, like pages of a book.”

• Review by Bob McQueen ★★★

  It starts off strong with the confusion of surviving a grenade blast in WWII and the mystery surrounding our "hero" but by the mid point it slowed down and got plenty procedural as the man with amnesia knew enough to figure a way out of the jam he found himself in. It's fine, it's interesting.

• Review by Slipthrough Dan ★★★★

  A thrilling pageturner of a mystery. Well-filmed and well-acted, with a well-crafted screenplay, there is an overflowing 'well' of cinematic goodness. The twists and turns may be more predictable for today's audience, but at the time, it must've been mind-blowing. The 'well' seemingly inspired the likes of Memento with unconventional narrative centered on amnesia, Total Recall with paranoid gaslighting, and Fight Club with the quest for a nefarious unknown criminal.

• Review by J ★★★ 2

  Criterion Channel - Fox Noir #6

  Identities overlap and swap in the initially mysterious but ultimately convoluted film noir “Somewhere in the Night”. Shell shocked and amnesiac, George Taylor is discharged with a Purple Heart from the Marine Corps, unable to make heads or tails about himself, about his past. Wallets and letters fill in some gaps but not without prying them open with more questions. Someone’s name keeps emerging, its syllables seem to console George like a friend only to harden its consonants with suggestions of something sinister; it’s “Larry Cravat.” So under the dock and into the cellar, George searches for Larry far and wide, simultaneously meeting foes, pals, and lovers of old and new. Thereby, he voluntarily…

• Review by PUNQ ★★★½ 3

  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. While what would be called noir had been around a few years, it wasn't in full swing yet, so Somewhere in the Night felt like something 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!

• Review by RetroHound ★★★½

  A decent little thriller. A Marine (John Hodiak) recovering from a head wound caused by a hand grenade wakes up with amnesia. He decides it's better not to tell anyone about it and have to deal with shrinks. He finds a letter in his wallet from an angry woman and another about some money in a bank in Los Angeles placed there by a Larry Cravat. Everyone is calling him George Taylor so goes by that name and heads to LA to find out who he is. Everywhere he goes asking about Larry Cravat gets people killed, him followed or beat up, and the police come sniffing around. Of course he meets a woman who helps him out. Nancy Guild, Lloyd Nolan, and Richard Conte also star. Worth a watch.

• Review by Lencho of the Apes ★★★½

  My tastes in noir/and related have evolved straight into the gutter, but this is hands-down the best A-schedule noir I've seen in forever, it hit me like The Big Sleep did when I was a tadpole. Psychological depth that vaguely pretends to a cultural critique, something about discovering that the society you've grown up putting your faith in is corrupt top to bottom (and where does that leave you, thinking about the ways you reinforce it in your daily life?)

• Review by Avirup

  Starts off very strongly with a very good opening 40-45 minutes. Amnesia is obviously a typical noir set up and it inevitably gets convoluted which creates the sense of uneasiness and decent level of mystery. Mankiewicz directs it very well and maintains the intrigue throughout, also film looks good and has a very solid supporting cast. Second hour isn't as good as the first it's still decently fun following around our protagonist trying to piece things together. Better than I expected it to be.

• Review by AJ ★★★½

  Have you ever wondered why a detective keeps his hat on all the time? I found out why tonight. You see, if you have to shoot a man you don't want to be holding a hat in your hand. Seems the movies are right.

  Amenisiac noir that's about as by-the-book as you can get, but Joseph Mankiewicz is a master of the craft and he knows all the pages to flip to. It's such a nice feeling watching a convoluted noir where the director has faith that the viewer is able to keep up with the twisting story, which is quite a feat considering how weird this one is. Being an LA-based wander with hidden Nazi loot only adds to the allure.