few actress jump from a thespic nowhere into a star role . you might count them on the finger of one hand . but it happen to nancy guild . sign to a fox contract when cast director and rufus le maire and spot her picture in a 1946 life magazine lay out of current college girl dress fashion and nancy jump straight from fox dramatic school ( where she spend a few month a the star pupil ) to the lead feminine role in joseph l. mankiewicz somewhere in the night ( 1946 ) . and she do well too . extremely well by a rather difficult role . be she a good girl and or one of the villain . nancy play it cool and which be a perfect choice and especially when surround by consummate scene stealer like richard conte and lloyd nolan and john hodiak and fritz kortner . but her debut prove to be the high point of her motion picture career . next cast in a fox b and the brasher doubloon ( 1947 ) opposite george montgomery philip marlowe and she follow with a minor dan dailey 1948 musical and give my regard to broadway . fox then drop her . at this stage and orson welles come to her rescue by offer her the part of marie antoinette in black magic ( 1949 ) in which gregory ratoff front for him a producer and director . ( ratoff actually do direct half the movie and but welles handle all his own scene and write some of his own dialogue ) . although this united artist release be anything but a success and universal offer miss guild a contract . she play the main feminine role in abbott and costello meet the invisible man ( 1951 ) and be then third bill ( mark stevens and rhonda fleming be the star feature on all the poster ) in little egypt ( 1951 ) . fourth billing in francis cover the big town ( 1953 ) and a minor role in otto preminger 1971 such good friend complete her motion picture career . eight film role and only one of which ( her first ) be of any importance . what a waste . get back to the rivetingly noir and somewhere in the night and this movie be not just an actor heyday ( which it be you will probably miss the clever way one of the player signal the plot to the audience in the first 15 minute and so watch for it on a second view ) and but a photographer and set designer paradise as well . mankiewicz keep a firm control of both act and atmosphere . this exceedingly well produce movie always enjoy a considerable cult reputation and which and for once and be thoroughly deserve . full mark for a really solid script on which none other than lead novelist w. somerset maugham work with lee strasberg ( later to gain fame with his actor studio ) .