The Glass Key (1942)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Stuart Heisler

Writers:

Dashiell Hammett (novel)
Jonathan Latimer (screenplay)

Release Date:

23 October 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Crime | Mystery

Plot Keywords:

Suicide Note | Reformer | Casino | Engagement | Escape

Cast

Brian Donlevy	...	Paul Madvig
Veronica Lake	...	Janet Henry
Alan Ladd	...	Ed Beaumont
Bonita Granville	...	Opal 'Snip' Madvig
Richard Denning	...	Taylor Henry
Joseph Calleia	...	Nick Varna
William Bendix	...	Jeff (Varna's henchman)
Frances Gifford	...	Nurse
Donald MacBride	...	DIst. Atty. Farr
Margaret Hayes	...	Eloise Matthews
Moroni Olsen	...	Ralph Henry
Eddie Marr	...	Rusty (Varna's henchman)
Arthur Loft	...	Clyde Matthews
George Meader	...	Claude Tuttle
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tom Dugan	...	Jeep (scenes deleted)
Edward Peil Sr.	...	Politician (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #8207) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Sweden:15

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Goofs:

Continuity: In Farr's office, when Ed is slowly tucking the anonymous letter in his inside pocket, Farr tells him he expects a visit from Nick. The camera is on Ed who abruptly takes his hand out of his inside pocket and turns to Farr, but then the camera cuts to show both him and Farr and he's still tucking the letter in his inside pocket.

Quotes:

Ed Beaumont: What'll we talk about?
Janet Henry: You.
[pause]
Janet Henry: Comfortable here?
Ed Beaumont: More or less.
Janet Henry: No fun?
Ed Beaumont: No fun.
Janet Henry: Hasn't your *nurse* been treating you well?
Ed Beaumont: Not as well as I'd like.
Janet Henry: Poor boy. If I'd known you were being neglected, I would have come sooner.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Yi ge mo sheng nu ren de lai xin (2004)

Soundtrack:

I Don't Want to Walk Without You

Satisfying film noir despite muddled motivations...

What holds interest in THE GLASS KEY is not the convoluted plot full of red herrings (until the murderer is unmasked), but the performances of the three leads--Brian Donlevy, Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd. Ladd and Lake have some good chemistry going here, especially in the scene where they first meet and find themselves immediately attracted--a flirting encounter that director Stuart Heisler uses to catch every glimmer of their star appeal as a team.

Everyone takes some hard physical stunts. Lake's sock to the jaw when she encounters Brian Donlevy (as a crooked politician) turned out to be a real one. (She told him she didn't know how to pull punches). Dane Clark (in an unbilled early role) gets shoved through a plate glass window by Donlevy and into a pool. And Alan Ladd takes a brutal beating from William Bendix that is painful to even watch, it's brutally realistic. Ladd's "beating" make-up deserved an Oscar. His escape out of a broken window has him falling off an awning and crashing through the ceiling where a family is having dinner.

Richard Denning has a brief role as Bonita Granville's unfortunate brother who gets killed off early in the proceedings. No use telling the plot outline--just be ready to watch the film for its authentic '40s film noir style--crisp B&W photography full of menacing shadows and some unpredictable twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end. Ladd's icy calm is a little too guarded but watch him in the scene where Bendix takes him upstairs for a drink. Their contrasting acting styles are fun to watch--and Ladd manages to steal the scene with his underplayed cat-and-mouse expression as he casually toys with a glass or a bottle.

For fans of Ladd and Lake, a good one--but personally I liked the story of THE BLUE DAHLIA better with a plot easier to follow.