THE STEEL KEY is another low budget British crime film from Tempean Films, directed by Robert S. Baker (of the Berman/Baker) team and with a script by John Gilling. As other reviewers have noted, the plot is very similar to one of the Saint books by Leslie Charteris, albeit with the character names changed. It's no surprise that Berman and Baker would later go on to make THE SAINT TV series in the 1960s.
This film offers the rare chance to see movie bad guy Terence Morgan playing the hero for once. Morgan is a playboy-style hero, ever suffering from having the police at his heels, who adopts the identity of a research scientist in order to bring some real crooks to book. The tale is about the hunt for a scientific formula for hardened steel which is a classic MacGuffin in the Hitchcock mould and doesn't really have much in the way of relevance.
Basically, THE STEEL KEY consists of characters chasing each other around and attempting to outwit each other. Morgan is excellent and really shines as the likable hero and Joan Rice is a fine choice as the plucky nurse who helps him. Raymond Lovell adds humour as the exasperated detective while there are minor roles for the familiar faces of Sam Kydd, Michael Balfour, Esma Cannon, and Esmond Knight. Dianne Foster has a similar femme fatale character to the one she had in Tempean's THE QUIET WOMAN. Once again the south coast (this time, Newhaven) provides a good backdrop for the action. Watch out for Morgan's stuntman, who has different coloured hair to the actor!
This film offers the rare chance to see movie bad guy Terence Morgan playing the hero for once. Morgan is a playboy-style hero, ever suffering from having the police at his heels, who adopts the identity of a research scientist in order to bring some real crooks to book. The tale is about the hunt for a scientific formula for hardened steel which is a classic MacGuffin in the Hitchcock mould and doesn't really have much in the way of relevance.
Basically, THE STEEL KEY consists of characters chasing each other around and attempting to outwit each other. Morgan is excellent and really shines as the likable hero and Joan Rice is a fine choice as the plucky nurse who helps him. Raymond Lovell adds humour as the exasperated detective while there are minor roles for the familiar faces of Sam Kydd, Michael Balfour, Esma Cannon, and Esmond Knight. Dianne Foster has a similar femme fatale character to the one she had in Tempean's THE QUIET WOMAN. Once again the south coast (this time, Newhaven) provides a good backdrop for the action. Watch out for Morgan's stuntman, who has different coloured hair to the actor!