Customer Reviews

The Glass Key [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2.4 Import - United Kingdom ]

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There are many reasons to check out this film. First, it is the second and best on-screen teaming of Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake (they were first paired in This Gun For Hire with Ladd playing the bad guy) Second, it is based on a novel of Dashiell Hammett whose exterior narration style transfers very well to screen. Third, it's just a good 40s whodunit.

The book is toned down but for the most part its satire of politics is allowed to remain intact. Most of what gets eliminated are subplots and partying which, though interesting, do not add to the story much. The movie is much leaner but less complex than the book but it is still faithful to the overall spirit.

Alan Ladd plays a tough guy/toadie to a local politician, Madvig, who has his fingers in a few too many pies. Madvig falls in love with Veronica Lake and burns a few political bridges to win her hand. Lake is the daughter of a senator, one of Madvig's political rivals. All seems to be going well until Lake's no good brother is found dead in a gutter and all fingers point at Madvig. The only person who seems to care about proving him innocent is Ladd. Even Madvig seems determined to get himself convicted. Ladd becomes obsessed with finding out the truth and goes through beaurocratic red tape, underworld sleaze, a torture session and his own feelings for Lake to find out who the real killer was.

Alan Ladd does a great job in the strong-silent role. He is stoic without being cartoonishly so. (The injury makeup is so convincing that you want to flinch for him) Veronica Lake is also good but really isn't given much to do besides show up onscreen in a series of ever more outlandish hats. (I love 40s fashion!) She isn't given any really good scenes until the last third of the movie. The supporting cast is universally good, it includes former Nancy Drew actress Bonita Granville as Madvig's kid sister. (changed from daughter in the book to make up for the relative youth of the actor)

This is a good bit of film history and a very good mystery (you think you have it figured out when it suddenly takes another twist) It is also a chance to see one of the great 40s screen teams in action. A must for classic film noir fans, don't miss it

Although Dashiell Hammett's novel The Glass Key had already been made into a movie in 1935 starring George Raft, Paramount decided to cash in on the popularity of Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake, whose on-screen chemistry in the classic "This Gun for Hire" made it a box office hit. While this is not the best Ladd/Lake movie, it's still a very entertaining noir mystery with an unexpected twist at the end.

Alan Ladd plays Ed Beaumont, the right-hand man of crooked political boss Paul Madvig (Brian Donlevy). Madvig is madly in love with Janet Henry (Veronica Lake), who has agreed to marry him if he backs her father, aging politician Ralph Henry (Moroni Olson), as a candidate for mayor. But when Janet meets Beaumont, the mutual attraction is immediate, and she begins flirting with him behind Madvig's back. Meanwhile, Madvig strongly objects to his teenage sister Opal (Bonita Granville) carrying on a romance with Janet's playboy brother, Taylor (Richard Denning).

When Taylor's murdered body is found, Madvig becomes the prime suspect, and he gets Ed to try and find out who the real killer is. Nick Varna (Joseph Calleia), a powerful gangster with political ambitions of his own, begins a smear campaign against Madvig. Ed begins to investigate the sinister Varna, but he ends up getting a savage beating from Varna's bodyguard Jeff (William Bendix, who gives one of his finest performances). Later one of Varna's mob is shot to death and the police arrest Madvig on circumstantial evidence. Will Ed be able to clear his boss while finding out the real killer of Taylor? Watch and find out!

Although the beautiful Veronica Lake has far too little screen time, her scenes with Alan Ladd are terrific. His tough guy image was used to perfection in this complicated yet gripping mystery. The entire cast is wonderful, especially Brian Donlevy and William Bendix who plays his part to perfection. I don't know why Universal Studios hasn't released this classic and "Blue Dahlia" on dvd, but I suspect they will be released in the near future as the popularity of film noir is continually increasing.

I was impressed how this movie stuck very close to the story and dark overtone of the book itself. I highly recommend the book, you will get a sense of Hammett's brilliance as a writer. The movie itself stands fairly well by itself. Alan Ladd plays the dark hero (Ed Beaumont, Ned in the book) and henchman of political magnate Paul Madvig. Madvig is currently busy on promoting his newest senator candidate into power. Madvig's sister however is secretly seeing the candidate's gambling, conniving son behind his back. After an ultimatum by Madvig to his sister, the senator's son is found shortly thereafter dead in the street. Thus the mystery begins. Veronica Lake (who is stunningly beautiful) plays the senator's daughter who Madvig is in love with. Won't go into more detail, but will say that it is well worth your time to both watch the movie and read the book. Crime noir at it's best.

Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake star in this remake by Paramount of the Hammett classic. Brian Donlevy has the role of Paul Madvig, the political boss. The script is not too faithful to Hammett's original work but I still recommend the movie. William Bendix and Joseph Calleia round out a strong supporting cast.

Ed Beaumont is the smart assessor and chief aide of his boss Paul Madvig who took from the dark gutters in order to occupy this coveted status. However, he is overtly opposed to Madvig's decision to support Senator Henry's reform ticket in the next elections, because he guesses Madvig is being used by the senator and his beautiful daughter. The reform includes the elimination of the vice and gambling, which will arouse the enmity of Nick Varna, the principal racketeer of the city. And when Senator Henry's son, Taylor Henry, is in love with Paul's sister Opal Madvig is killed, Paul is implicated but he refuses to defend himself. So with the purpose to discover what's behind stage Ed pretends to work for Varna, but soon Nick realizes the set up and Ed is sadistically beaten by his henchman Jeff. Then Ed realizes the hidden interests among Nick and Mathews (a newspaper publisher).

These are the pieces in motion that gradually will conform a superior, smart and tense script that will involve you until the end of this absorbing Noir, in which William Bendix as the sadistic gangster steals the show although his brief appearance.

One of the smartest and most emblematic Noirs ever filmed

This film stars the electric combination of Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake, two of the most charismatic stars of the film noir genre. This film came out in 1942 when Ladd was 29 and was just becoming famous as the star of "This Gun for Hire".

The screenplay is adapted from the novel by Dashiel Hammett. It is unfortunate that Hammett did not participate more in the writing as the plot is a little difficult to understand.

Ladd plays Ed Beaumont, the wise-cracking best friend of Madvig, a politician who is trying to clean up corruption in his town. Beaumont and Madvig both fall for Janet (Veronica Lake) on first sight. Lake obviously falls for Beaumont, but for some reason gets engaged to Madvig. Woven around this love triangle is a plot to frame Madvig for murder. Beaumont infiltrates the bad guys to save his friend and suffers a severe beating.

Ladd is still baby faced, wears too much makeup and smiles superciliously in this role. Still one can see the beginning of his trademark deadpan delivery. Lake as usual looks like a medieval princess in 40's clothing and is an excellent foil for Ladd. Despite some plot problems this is a decent film for noir fans.

Apparently this film was Akira Kurosawa's inspiration for "Yojimbo" and the scene where Ladd gets beaten up is duplicated frame by frame by Kurosawa.

Great performances in the classic thriller from the 40's. There is good chemistry between Lake and Ladd. It is a whodunit that will keep you guessing. A must for any collection of movies from that era.

This is one of a handful of films I kept giving chances to like and finally did on the third viewing. Maybe I expected too much on the first viewing, when I first began to appreciate film noir and had become a fan of Veronica Lake. In The Glass Key, though, Lake didn't have her usual snappy dialog, and that was one of the disappointments, along with too-confusing a storyline.

By the third viewing, I guess I finally understood what was going on in this Dashielle Hammet story. Hammet's stories weren't always the easiest to understand.

Even with knowing what to expect, William Bendix in this film still is so brutal in here he almost makes me uncomfortable. Well, he DOES make me uncomfortable. He plays one of the meanest, sadistic thugs I have ever seen on film and one of his punches literally knocked out Alan Ladd when they were filming this.

Brian Donlevy is perhaps the best character in here as the slightly-corrupt politician. It's an okay Ladd-Lake film but nothing special. If you're a collector of film noir, then you should have it, but don't expect the zip in here that the other Ladd-Lake noirs possessed. Speaking of that, it's a pity and an outrage this, and another Ladd/Lake/Bendix movie - The Blue Dahlia - are still not out on DVD as of early 2009.

Maybe not a great noir, but The Glass Key, based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett, is one of the most satisfying crime movies to come out of the Forties. I've watched it several times and undoubtedly will again. Why does it work so well? First, there's a death tied to a whodunit and the solution is well disguised until the very end. Second, there's the milieu...big city crime and politics, corruption and violence. Third, a startlingly unhinged performance by William Bendix. And fourth, and most importantly, there is the relationship between two strong men, both slightly amoral but which is based on friendship and trust.

We're talking about Paul Madvig (Brian Donlevy), a big-time gambler and enforcer who has moved into big-time politics, and Ed Beaumont (Alan Ladd), his right-hand man. This bond of trust and friendship between the two is one of the movie's major themes. It's the engine that drives the movie. Madvig is a tough, cheerful guy who can use his fists or a threat or use a pay-off to get his way. Surprisingly, he's backing a reform candidate for governor. He's gone so far as to shut down illegal gambling operations, which has made a dangerous enemy of gambler Nick Varna (Joseph Calliea). Even more surprisingly, Madvig has fallen for his candidate's daughter, Janet Henry (Veronica Lake).

Beaumont, on the other hand, is a taciturn hard case. He's no one's fool. He's smarter, or at least shrewder, than Madvig. His loyalty to Madvig is complete but he never hesitates to try to talk sense to Madvig. At one point Madvig is bragging about his entry into high society and respectable politics with his association with the candidate he's backing. "I'm going to society, " he says to Beaumont. "He's practically given me the key to his house." Says Beaumont, "Yeah, a glass key. Be sure it doesn't break in your hand." Beaumont sees Janet Henry and her family as wealthy, condescending snobs. Why do you stay with Madvig, she asks him with a coy little condescending smile. "I get along very well with Paul because he's on the dead up-and-up. Why don't you try it sometime?" he says and walks out.

Before long Janet's brother, the wastrel son of Madvig's candidate, is found dead and Madvig is the prime suspect. Beaumont doesn't believe this for a minute. He's sure Nick Varna had something to do with it. Soon Beaumont is being used as a punching bag by Jeff (William Bendix), one of Varna's goons. It doesn't take much time, either, for Beaumont and Janet Henry, who has said she'd marry Madvig, to realize there's a strong attraction between them that's starting to show. Beaumont, however, is determined to respect Madvig's feelings. By the time we reach the end of the movie, there have been plenty of beatings, deaths and corruption. The person responsible for the brother's death has been discovered. It's a clever surprise. Of course, in an Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake movie, there's also a happy ending.

William Bendix was a big, beefy actor who more often than not played good guys. When he played a bad guy, he was something to see. Jeff is just this short of a psycho, but short on the other side of the line. "Meet the swellest guy I ever skinned a knuckle on," he says, draping an arm across Beaumont's shoulder. He enjoys dishing out beatings. The most startling scenes in the movie center on Jeff. In the first, Ed Beaumont is being held captive. He's going to be beaten until he gives the low-down on all of Madvig's less savory activities. He won't talk, so Jeff beats him within an inch of his life. It's an almost sadomasochistic scene. Ladd's face, with some realistic make-up, looks like hamburger...and Jeff isn't through. The other scene has Jeff losing control when a major character gives him one too many orders. "Now you see what we gotta do," Jeff says, "we gotta give him the works." As Beaumont leans against the door in the background and watches, we see the sweating, shaking face of Jeff as he strangles the guy. We don't see the victim, only the victim's kicking legs. Which is worse, Jeff killing the man or Beaumont watching with a slight smile?

This was Alan Ladd's follow-up film to This Gun for Hire. He was never a great actor; he said so himself. But he had whatever it takes to be a star and this movie secured his star status. Veronica Lake leaves me with mixed feelings. In The Glass Key she is so carefully coifed, dressed and made-up that, with her tiny stature, she looks like a kind of odd porcelain doll. Although Ladd and Lake never much cared for each other, they made an intriguing couple on the screen. And what of Brian Donlevy? Sure, he was a stolid actor, very straight forward. Yet, for me, he always combined a kind of honest, nice-guy quality with a streak of solid bad-guy potential. "Reliable," I guess is what people would call him, yet I can't think of anyone who could have done a better job as Sergeant Markoff in Beau Geste. Donlevy had top billing for The Glass Key.

For those who like old songs as well as old movies, there's a nice instrumental version of "I Remember You," music by Victor Schertzinger and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, used as background in a scene. "I Don't Want to Walk Without You, Baby," with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Frank Loesser, is sung by an uncredited Lillian Randolph in a dive while Jeff glowers and downs a couple of scotches.

Who knows why this fine film isn't out on a worthy Region 1 DVD edition; perhaps one of these days.

Maybe not a great noir, but The Glass Key, based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett, is one of the most satisfying crime movies to come out of the Forties. I've watched it several times and undoubtedly will again. Why does it work so well? First, there's a death tied to a whodunit and the solution is well disguised until the very end. Second, there's the milieu...big city crime and politics, corruption and violence. Third, a startlingly unhinged performance by William Bendix. And fourth, and most importantly, there is the relationship between two strong men, both slightly amoral but which is based on friendship and trust.

We're talking about Paul Madvig (Brian Donlevy), a big-time gambler and enforcer who has moved into big-time politics, and Ed Beaumont (Alan Ladd), his right-hand man. This bond of trust and friendship between the two is one of the movie's major themes. It's the engine that drives the movie. Madvig is a tough, cheerful guy who can use his fists or a threat or use a pay-off to get his way. Surprisingly, he's backing a reform candidate for governor. He's gone so far as to shut down illegal gambling operations, which has made a dangerous enemy of gambler Nick Varna (Joseph Calliea). Even more surprisingly, Madvig has fallen for his candidate's daughter, Janet Henry (Veronica Lake).

Beaumont, on the other hand, is a taciturn hard case. He's no one's fool. He's smarter, or at least shrewder, than Madvig. His loyalty to Madvig is complete but he never hesitates to try to talk sense to Madvig. At one point Madvig is bragging about his entry into high society and respectable politics with his association with the candidate he's backing. "I'm going to society, " he says to Beaumont. "He's practically given me the key to his house." Says Beaumont, "Yeah, a glass key. Be sure it doesn't break in your hand." Beaumont sees Janet Henry and her family as wealthy, condescending snobs. Why do you stay with Madvig, she asks him with a coy little condescending smile. "I get along very well with Paul because he's on the dead up-and-up. Why don't you try it sometime?" he says and walks out.

Before long Janet's brother, the wastrel son of Madvig's candidate, is found dead and Madvig is the prime suspect. Beaumont doesn't believe this for a minute. He's sure Nick Varna had something to do with it. Soon Beaumont is being used as a punching bag by Jeff (William Bendix), one of Varna's goons. It doesn't take much time, either, for Beaumont and Janet Henry, who has said she'd marry Madvig, to realize there's a strong attraction between them that's starting to show. Beaumont, however, is determined to respect Madvig's feelings. By the time we reach the end of the movie, there have been plenty of beatings, deaths and corruption. The person responsible for the brother's death has been discovered. It's a clever surprise. Of course, in an Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake movie, there's also a happy ending.

William Bendix was a big, beefy actor who more often than not played good guys. When he played a bad guy, he was something to see. Jeff is just this short of a psycho, but short on the other side of the line. "Meet the swellest guy I ever skinned a knuckle on," he says, draping an arm across Beaumont's shoulder. He enjoys dishing out beatings. The most startling scenes in the movie center on Jeff. In the first, Ed Beaumont is being held captive. He's going to be beaten until he gives the low-down on all of Madvig's less savory activities. He won't talk, so Jeff beats him within an inch of his life. It's an almost sadomasochistic scene. Ladd's face, with some realistic make-up, looks like hamburger...and Jeff isn't through. The other scene has Jeff losing control when a major character gives him one too many orders. "Now you see what we gotta do," Jeff says, "we gotta give him the works." As Beaumont leans against the door in the background and watches, we see the sweating, shaking face of Jeff as he strangles the guy. We don't see the victim, only the victim's kicking legs. Which is worse, Jeff killing the man or Beaumont watching with a slight smile?

This was Alan Ladd's follow-up film to This Gun for Hire. He was never a great actor; he said so himself. But he had whatever it takes to be a star and this movie secured his star status. Veronica Lake leaves me with mixed feelings. In The Glass Key she is so carefully coifed, dressed and made-up that, with her tiny stature, she looks like a kind of odd porcelain doll. Although Ladd and Lake never much cared for each other, they made an intriguing couple on the screen. And what of Brian Donlevy? Sure, he was a stolid actor, very straight forward. Yet, for me, he always combined a kind of honest, nice-guy quality with a streak of solid bad-guy potential. "Reliable," I guess is what people would call him, yet I can't think of anyone who could have done a better job as Sergeant Markoff in Beau Geste. Donlevy had top billing for The Glass Key.

For those who like old songs as well as old movies, there's a nice instrumental version of "I Remember You," music by Victor Schertzinger and lyrics by Johnny Mercer, used as background in a scene. "I Don't Want to Walk Without You, Baby," with music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Frank Loesser, is sung by an uncredited Lillian Randolph in a dive while Jeff glowers and downs a couple of scotches.

Who knows why this fine film isn't out on a worthy DVD edition; perhaps one of these days. A VHS version is available and the picture looks clean and clear.