During World War II, successive tugboat British Captains sent on dangerous salvage missions pass-on the key to a home-port apartment, where a lonely Swiss-Italian young war-widow lives.
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Title: The Key (1958)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| William Holden | ... | Captain David Ross | |
| Sophia Loren | ... | Stella | |
| Trevor Howard | ... | Captain Chris Ford | |
| Oskar Homolka | ... | Captain Van Dam (as Oscar Homolka) | |
| Kieron Moore | ... | Kane | |
| Bernard Lee | ... | Cmdr. Wadlow | |
| Beatrix Lehmann | ... | Housekeeper | |
| Noel Purcell | ... | Hotel Porter | |
| Bryan Forbes | ... | First Mate Weaver | |
 |
Sidney Vivian | ... | Grogan |
| Rupert Davies | ... | Baker | |
|
|
Russell Waters | ... | Sparks |
| Irene Handl | ... | Clerk | |
| John Crawford | ... | American Captain | |
|
|
Jameson Clark | ... | English Captain |
Edit
Plot Summary
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Add Synopsis
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Storyline
During World War II, tugboats conduct what are called salvage missions, picking up disabled ships. Not well equipped with weaponry, the tugs are sitting ducks for enemy fire. As such, the crew working the tugs have precarious lives, many with deep seated emotional problems. Before the Americans join the war, ex-American military man David Ross is assigned to captain a tug for the British military. He is shown the ropes by an old friend, Captain Chris Ford. Chris currently shares a flat with a young beautiful Italian-Swiss woman named Stella, who came with the flat and who lives a reclusive life there. Chris is the latest in a long line of tugboat Captains who have lived there, each who has found another person to take over the flat and the associated looking after of Stella if anything is to happen to him. That person is given a key to the flat, the key only to be used if needed. The first in the series was Phillip Westerby, to whom Stella was to be married before Phillip was killed. ... Written by Huggo
Plot Keywords:
male male relationship | male female relationship | bare chested male | hairy chest | homosexual subtext |Taglines:
Each night she was warm and waiting for him...and then one night she drew him gently to her...calling him softly by another man's name. See more »Parents Guide:
View content advisory »
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See full technical specs »
Details
Language:
EnglishRelease Date:
6 June 1958 (UK) See more »Also Known As:
Stella See more »Company Credits
Show more on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Sound Mix:
Mono (Westrex Recording System)Color:
Black and WhiteAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
Edit
Captain Chris Ford: Say, can you tell me where Cmdr. Wadlow's office is?
Captain Van Dam: Has America come into the war?
See more »
(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung by a vocal group at the air raid shelter
See more »
Did You Know?
Trivia
Finnish censorship visa register # 49357. See more »Goofs
When William Holden first opens the fuse box, in the lobby of the apartment to get booze, the hinge is on the left. Later in the movie, he opens it and it opens with the hinge on the right. See more »Quotes
[first lines]Captain Chris Ford: Say, can you tell me where Cmdr. Wadlow's office is?
Captain Van Dam: Has America come into the war?
See more »
Soundtracks
The First Noel(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung by a vocal group at the air raid shelter
See more »
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An extraordinary movie in every way, from the combat scenes, which are so lifelike as virtually to constitute a documentary, to the superb acting by every single member of the cast, including each of the supporting players. But the very highest praise must go to Sophia Loren's absolutely stunning performance (not to mention her uncanny command of English at so early an age). Her quiet, dignified, and restrained interpretation of her very unusual and extremely demanding role is simply in a class by itself. I have never been able to get her graceful performance out of my mind. This is one of those movies of great merit, bewitched from the start, that simply disappear from public and critical consciousness---never to be recalled or mentioned even when, for example, the careers of Loren, Holden, or Trevor Howard are discussed. It is as if it were never made at all. A great shame.