"The Glass Key" is my favorite crime, mystery, or suspense movie. "Double Indemnity" and "The Maltese Falcon" may be better crafted and certainly are worthy of their reputations at the top of the heap but this film has something going for it that I find irresistible. Perhaps it is because it is a fine adaptation of one of my favorite books.
More likely, it is because of Alan Ladd who is perfect for the role of Ed Beaumont. Physically he does not resemble author Dashiell Hammett's tall, thin, moustached protagonist (much like Hammett himself), but his performance clearly suits the stoic, pragmatic, loner whose motivations are kept under wraps until it is time to act.
Ladd's range as an actor may have been somewhat limited (though not nearly as limited as is sometimes suggested), but he is clearly in his element in this type of film. He was one of the few actors who could hold a gun like a tool, like someone who knew how to use it, rather than as a prop that is waved around to impress. And no one looked as good in a fedora, especially when he slid it to the back of his head. If hatmakers wanted to bring their products back into style they couldn't do better than to show movie stills of Alan Ladd.
The plot of "The Glass Key" is an intricate one and sometimes murky. Prior to election for an important political office (never made clear in the book) Paul Madvig, a local political boss throws his support behind a Senator who is up for re-election because he is in love with the Senator's daughter. Complications arise when the Senator's son is found murdered and evidence points to Madvig as the chief suspect. Only his best friend, Ed Beaumont, is convinced of his innocence and sets out to prove it.
To do so, he must endure only half-hearted support form the District Attorney, lies and deception from the Senator and his daughter, both of whom stand to gain from Madvig's support, hostile antagonism from a prominent gangster and ward boss, a severe beating from the gangster's henchman that sends him to the hospital, and even the evasiveness of Madvig himself. In the end, Beaumont's perseverance pays off, the guilty party is exposed, Madvig's name is cleared and he, as an unexpected bonus, wins the Senator's daughter's hand.
The movie contains many nice noir touches: the creepy, darkened street where Beaumont finds the body of the Senator's wastrel son, the slow, deliberate "Well Well" zombie-like exchange when Beaumont tells Madvig of the murder, the funeral in the rain, the sleazy apartment in which Beaumont is knocked about, and the low key lighting in the plush country estate of the newspaper editor who is facing bankruptcy. Then there is the tough, but witty dialogue, the best of which occurs just after Jeff, the sadistic thug played with relish by William Bendix, has strangled his boss. "Better get a doctor, in case he's still alive," Beaumont tells a bartender who has looked in on the commotion, to which Jeff sneeringly adds, "Better get an undertaker, in case he isn't." The lines were not Hammett's but would have done the author proud.
My only qualm, a minor one, lies with the casting of two of the leads. Brian Donlevy strikes me as more of a buffoon rather than a political boss who wields so much power. Someone like Edward Arnold who played Madvig in the 1935 version and had since perfected his portrayal of the tough, no-nonsense, businessman/politician in "You Can't Take it With You" and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" would have been more convincing. Donlevy merely commands tolerance; Arnold commands respect. And in the Janet Henry role, I keep envisioning Lizabeth Scott instead of Veronica Lake, even though she was still four years away from her breakthrough role in "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers." But this is just quibbling.
Each time I see this movie - and I've seen it often - I am saddened by the undeserved beating Alan Ladd's reputation has taken over the years. In the '40s and early '50s, he was one of Hollywood's biggest stars and most of his films were good, many still watchable. But now they are hard to find, as if they are being withheld deliberately from the public. The classic "Shane" is on DVD (never a special edition) as are "This Gun for Hire" and "Whispering Smith." but "The Glass Key" and "The Blue Dahlia" are British imports. Most of the criticism is directed at his stature which seems to be getting smaller every year. If these same critics bothered to check out the heights of Cagney, Cruise, Pachino, Hoffman, Bogart, Newman, and Edward G. Robinson (the toughest of them all!), they'd be surprised.
More likely, it is because of Alan Ladd who is perfect for the role of Ed Beaumont. Physically he does not resemble author Dashiell Hammett's tall, thin, moustached protagonist (much like Hammett himself), but his performance clearly suits the stoic, pragmatic, loner whose motivations are kept under wraps until it is time to act.
Ladd's range as an actor may have been somewhat limited (though not nearly as limited as is sometimes suggested), but he is clearly in his element in this type of film. He was one of the few actors who could hold a gun like a tool, like someone who knew how to use it, rather than as a prop that is waved around to impress. And no one looked as good in a fedora, especially when he slid it to the back of his head. If hatmakers wanted to bring their products back into style they couldn't do better than to show movie stills of Alan Ladd.
The plot of "The Glass Key" is an intricate one and sometimes murky. Prior to election for an important political office (never made clear in the book) Paul Madvig, a local political boss throws his support behind a Senator who is up for re-election because he is in love with the Senator's daughter. Complications arise when the Senator's son is found murdered and evidence points to Madvig as the chief suspect. Only his best friend, Ed Beaumont, is convinced of his innocence and sets out to prove it.
To do so, he must endure only half-hearted support form the District Attorney, lies and deception from the Senator and his daughter, both of whom stand to gain from Madvig's support, hostile antagonism from a prominent gangster and ward boss, a severe beating from the gangster's henchman that sends him to the hospital, and even the evasiveness of Madvig himself. In the end, Beaumont's perseverance pays off, the guilty party is exposed, Madvig's name is cleared and he, as an unexpected bonus, wins the Senator's daughter's hand.
The movie contains many nice noir touches: the creepy, darkened street where Beaumont finds the body of the Senator's wastrel son, the slow, deliberate "Well Well" zombie-like exchange when Beaumont tells Madvig of the murder, the funeral in the rain, the sleazy apartment in which Beaumont is knocked about, and the low key lighting in the plush country estate of the newspaper editor who is facing bankruptcy. Then there is the tough, but witty dialogue, the best of which occurs just after Jeff, the sadistic thug played with relish by William Bendix, has strangled his boss. "Better get a doctor, in case he's still alive," Beaumont tells a bartender who has looked in on the commotion, to which Jeff sneeringly adds, "Better get an undertaker, in case he isn't." The lines were not Hammett's but would have done the author proud.
My only qualm, a minor one, lies with the casting of two of the leads. Brian Donlevy strikes me as more of a buffoon rather than a political boss who wields so much power. Someone like Edward Arnold who played Madvig in the 1935 version and had since perfected his portrayal of the tough, no-nonsense, businessman/politician in "You Can't Take it With You" and "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" would have been more convincing. Donlevy merely commands tolerance; Arnold commands respect. And in the Janet Henry role, I keep envisioning Lizabeth Scott instead of Veronica Lake, even though she was still four years away from her breakthrough role in "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers." But this is just quibbling.
Each time I see this movie - and I've seen it often - I am saddened by the undeserved beating Alan Ladd's reputation has taken over the years. In the '40s and early '50s, he was one of Hollywood's biggest stars and most of his films were good, many still watchable. But now they are hard to find, as if they are being withheld deliberately from the public. The classic "Shane" is on DVD (never a special edition) as are "This Gun for Hire" and "Whispering Smith." but "The Glass Key" and "The Blue Dahlia" are British imports. Most of the criticism is directed at his stature which seems to be getting smaller every year. If these same critics bothered to check out the heights of Cagney, Cruise, Pachino, Hoffman, Bogart, Newman, and Edward G. Robinson (the toughest of them all!), they'd be surprised.