SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT is not only a pleasure in terms of plot and atmosphere, it is filled with terrific supporting actors: Lloyd Nolan, Jeff Corey, Whit Bissell, Sheldon Leonard, Henry Morgan, Fritz Kortner, and the superb, virtually ignored Josephine Hutchinson, who has the emotional center of the film as a lonely victim of the murderous scheme. Some may remember Hutchinson as the android babysitter from The Twilight Zone episode "I Sing the Body Electric". And when are Corey, Bissell, Morgan and Nolan not welcome? Only Nancy Guild fails to equal her surrounding players, but she gets to deliver a few wry observations.<br /><br />Not much can be said about Richard Conte, without spoiling the plot, but this is another one of the infallible actor's memorable characterizations.<br /><br />John Hodiak probably never had enough opportunities to play lead in good films. We are fortunate to have here his extremely convincing amnesiac veteran: in a sense, the ultimate existential noir protagonist. A voice credit has been given to John Ireland, but it certainly sounds like Hodiak during the nightmarish opening sequence.<br /><br />This was the second film Mankiewicz directed, and it's a big improvement over DRAGONWYCK. SOMEWHERE IN THE NIGHT belongs in the canon of compulsory Film Noir. Go out of your way to see it.<br /><br />