no one could say mank do not have a checkered career represent in the 1930s he be castigate for dare to re write scott fitzgerald ( in his capacity a producer on three comrade and scott only solo write credit and he felt oblige to tidy up several sequence ) and in the 1960s he be the guy bring in to re write and alvage cleopatra but in between he initially write then write and direct some very tasty fare indeed culminate in his two magnum opii a letter to three wife and all about eve . somewhere in the night date from 1946 and the same year his second directorial effort dragonwyck be release and it well up to snuff . a lot of amnesiac film be and by definition and forgettable and but not this one . mank assemble a tasty a support cast a have ever be shoehorn into one film range from whit bissell through harry morgan and jeff corey to the standout josephine hutchinson . lead from the front be the slightly wooden john hodiak marriage to ann baxter do not improve his acting and newcomer nancy guild and lloyd nolan and richard conte and mank keep the ball spin in the air leave little time for awkward question like why would conte who would get away with murder for three year and introduce hodiak to a detective friend ( nolan ) know that hodiak be try to get to to bottom of the very murder for which he and conte and be responsible . this the kind of movie and popular at the time and in which a protagonist who be possibly a murderer be befriend by a girl or woman who never meet him before for example alad ladd and veronica lake in the blue dahlia and or or in which a street wise gal like guild here and have to have the expression private eye and hamus explain to her . none of this detracts from an enjoyable ride and it one to add to your blockbuster shopping list .