The Glass Key

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Matthew B The Glass Key is perhaps the most cynical of the films made from Dashiell Hammett's novels, or perhaps it is not. It does at least contain one affectionate friendship, which is more than can be said for The Maltese Falcon. Nonetheless this is a story in which there is no comforting detective or private eye seeking to capture a murderer. Rather it is a seedy underworld in which everyone is a criminal, or at least an uncritical relative of one. We see little action by police officers, and they play no significant part in capturing any of the rogues in the film. There is a D.A. in the movie, but District Attorney Farr (Donald MacBride) is in the pocket of the shady mobster Paul Madvig (Brian Donlevy). When he seeks to act against Madvig, it is in the mistaken belief that Madvig is finished, and it is safer for him to do so. There are no crusading newspaper journalists or editors out to expose corruption. Instead we have Clyde Matthews (Arthur Loft), the proprietor of the Observer newspaper, a failing institution bought out by rival mobsters, and intended to be used to incriminate a rival. As for the political process, the candidate for election as governor is being promoted by Paul Madvig, described at the beginning of the movie as "the biggest crook in the state". Notably the candidate, Ralph Henry (Moroni Olsen), is running against the Reform candidate, hardly a good sign. Madvig is helping Henry to clean up the criminals in town, but this means putting the squeeze on other gangsters such as Nick Varna (Joseph Calleia), who previously paid protection money to Madvig. Madvig is warned by his right-hand man and best friend, Ed Beaumont (Alan Ladd) that his attempt to crack down on Varna is a bad mistake, and indeed it does cause Nick to scheme to undermine Madvig. It seems that in this town, even trying to fight crime is an error of judgement, and one that can only be carried out by other criminals when it serves their better interest. Nobody wishes to clear up the corruption or cleanse the town of mobsters. What we have instead is a fight between two gangsters as to who will control the town in the future. It will be noted at this point that Alan Ladd is playing one of the criminals, and he is our movie's ‘hero'. The protagonist is not a private eye who has some desire to seek justice. He is not on the side of legal justice at all. He is the friend and employee of a gangster who is playing politics.This reflects something about the moral world of The Glass Key. In a world where nobody is clean, we are invited to identify instead with a shady political boss's friend because he is fighting to save that boss out of genuine love for him. The plot of The Glass Key is convoluted like many film noirs, and it may take a few watches to grasp many of the finer points. However storyline is not too important in the stories of Hammett and Chandler. What matters is the feel of an individual scene, and that is true of The Glass Key, where the dialogue keeps the movie interesting. While Heisler is hardly one of the great auteurs, he keeps the film moving at a decent pace, and does not get in the way of Hammett's great storytelling abilities. The Glass Key is said to have been the inspiration for Yojimbo, Akira Kurosawa's cynical samurai movie. For fans of film noir, The Glass Key is a must-see film, an important contribution to that canon. I wrote a blog article expressing a longer appreciation of The Glass Key if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2020/03/19/the-glass-key-1942/ Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/24/23 Full Review acsdoug D If you're a fan of 1940s noir you should check this one out. Ladd and Lake sizzle in a good, albeit a tad confusing, story. Is it possible that this film became the germ of the idea behind the Coen brothers' classic Miller's Crossing? The plots don't match, but Donlevy and Ladd's characters reminded me of Finney and Byrne's characters in the later film. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/15/23 Full Review Steve D Not their best together but still strong. Wish Ladd and Lake had more screen-time together. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 05/26/23 Full Review s r One noir that was better than average, but still not a well told story. I still enjoyed Lake and Ladd. Saw it on TCM. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member One of the best Noir Films made The chemistry between Ladd and Lake is truly amazing, and it's no wonder they made more films together. Ladds portrayal of a deeply twisted killer is first rate, and Veronica Lake make a ting look all too easy. Great Film Noir selection for anyone wanting to see what it's all about. After you have watched this film, watch the Blue Dahlia, more great performances! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/07/23 Full Review Audience Member Not the best I've seen... too many cliches and wooden characters. Complex and unbelievable plot, too, Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews

The Glass Key

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