Despite that little idiosyncrosy, it should be said that I have a general love for those dark films that we'll call noirish. And I'm really more interested in writing about good, old films.
So...I started with....
Somewhere in the Night (1946)
Director: Joseph L. MankiewiczNo, Somewhere in the Night is not really one of the classics of the genre. But it's a nice little film, that I happen to own. It is part of the Fox Film Noir series of DVDs (Spine #8).
Directed by Hollywood legend Joseph L. Mankiewicz (All About Eve), it features noir heavyweight Richard Conte in a supporting role, and one I surprisingly think he pulls off well. Lloyd Nolan also makes an appearance, playing exactly the kind of character he always seems to play in these films. Though I tend to like him more often then Conte for some reason. Lead, John Hodiak, has his moments, especially in early scenes as the amnesiac George Taylor awakening from war injuries, but as the film progresses his performance becomes more wooden and lacking the emotion you would expect to find in his character. Similarly, actress Nancy Guild doesn't quite pull off Bacall, which can be problem for me considering I think Bacall sets the bar pretty low. The lines are provided her...but she just doesn't seem to deliver them.
Still, a nice little film because of a wonderfully, convoluted storyline.
The story centers on wounded war vet George Taylor, who awakens with amnesia, and for some reason a desire to hide this from his physicians. Perhaps because a letter he finds in his wallet from a scorned lover indicates Georgie may not have been the most admirable of men, pre-amnesia. To be continued...
