{"id":6639,"date":"2016-10-01T01:01:33","date_gmt":"2016-10-01T00:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/?p=6639"},"modified":"2016-10-10T01:33:16","modified_gmt":"2016-10-10T00:33:16","slug":"the-glass-key","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2016\/10\/01\/the-glass-key\/","title":{"rendered":"The Glass Key"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"the-glass-key_\"<\/a>
The Glass Key<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n

\nFormat:<\/B> Blu-ray

\nRelease date:<\/B> 19 September 2016

\nDistributor:<\/B> Arrow Academy

\nDirector:<\/B> Stuart Heisler

\nWriter:<\/B> Jonathan Latimer

\nBased on the novel by:<\/B> Dashiell Hammett

\nCast:<\/B> Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Brian Donlevy

\nUSA 1942

\n86 mins\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Masculinity is the true focus of Stuart Heisler\u2019s noir<\/i> tale of crime, power and lust.<\/i><\/b> <\/p>\n

Power, corruption and lies are at the burning heart of The Glass Key<\/I>, with lust adding fuel to the fire. It\u2019s election season, and local power broker Paul Madvig (Brian Donlevy) has unexpectedly decided to throw his weight behind the reform candidate Ralph Henry, turning his back on his own shady interests and his gangster cohorts. The reason: Henry\u2019s beautiful, clever daughter Janet (Veronica Lake), who\u2019s more than happy to take advantage of Madvig\u2019s intentions to help her father\u2019s campaign. <\/p>\n

But events are complicated further when Janet\u2019s gambling-addicted brother Taylor, in debt to Madvig\u2019s former partner-in-crime Nick Varna (and also secretly involved with Madvig\u2019s sister Opal), turns up dead, his body found by Ed Beaumont (Alan Ladd), Madvig\u2019s right-hand man. The death becomes a pivotal moment in the power struggle between Varna and Madvig, with Beaumont\u2019s involvement, rather predictably, ensnaring Madvig, Janet and himself in a love triangle. It\u2019s classic noir<\/i> territory, although Stuart Heisler\u2019s 1942 adaptation of the Dashiell Hammett novel doesn\u2019t quite sit as easily alongside some of the greats from the genre, due to its slow, muddy start. <\/p>\n

Donlevy plays Madvig as something of a clown, his romantic volte-face derided by his opponents, while everyone seems to know that Janet is playing him for a fool. Veronica Lake is icy in her demeanour, all chiselled cheekbones and glossy, smooth hair, any feelings she has buried beneath her cynical exterior. But The Glass Key<\/I> is really Alan Ladd\u2019s picture (despite some good lines, Lake is criminally underused in the film). Beaumont comes into his own after Taylor\u2019s death; though initially a suspect himself, he\u2019s canny and connected enough to get himself off the hook, using guile and misdirection to figure out who is behind the murder. But Varna is clever too, sensing blood when Madvig emerges as the most likely suspect. <\/p>\n

Everyone is in somebody\u2019s pocket, including the local newspaper owner and the district attorney, with everyone looking after their own skin. It\u2019s these sleazy back-room deals that make the film compelling, the tension increasing as Beaumont finds himself in increasing danger. The Glass Key<\/I> really picks up after Varna decides to get to Madvig through Beaumont, taking a satisfyingly dark turn that leads to the film\u2019s most explosive and powerful scenes. While Ladd fails in this as a romantic lead, with some wooden acting in his scenes with Lake, and, through no fault of his own, some laughable soft-focus close-ups, he excels as a man fighting for his life. In the end, the most compelling relationship in the film is the one that develops between Beaumont and one of Varna\u2019s thugs, Jeff (William Bendix), who is full of admiration for his opponent\u2019s fighting spirit.<\/p>\n

In the end, it barely seems to matter who murdered Taylor, the film more concerned with the themes of honour, loyalty and masculinity. Despite its early failings, there are moments when The Glass Key<\/I> really shines, with some classic cinematography, plenty of innuendo, and some standout performances, especially from the minor characters. <\/p>\n

Sarah Cronin<\/B><\/I><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Masculinity is the true focus of Stuart Heisler\u2019s noir<\/i> tale of crime, power and lust.
\nReview by Sarah Cronin<\/B><\/I><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11,3],"tags":[1384,133,130,1386,80,1385],"class_list":["post-6639","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-check-it-out","category-dvds-and-blu-rays","tag-1940s-film","tag-american-cinema","tag-crime-film","tag-dashiell-hammett","tag-film-noir","tag-veronica-lake"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","wps_subtitle":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/purUP-1J5","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4721,"url":"http:\/\/www.electricsheepmagazine.co.uk\/reviews\/2014\/07\/08\/the-assassin\/","url_meta":{"origin":6639,"position":0},"title":"The Assassin","author":"Pam Jahn","date":"July 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Elio Petri\u2019s 1961 debut feature is a cleverly structured ironic noir tale about the corruption of Italian society. 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