{"id":78690,"date":"2021-12-17T13:35:27","date_gmt":"2021-12-17T20:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=78690"},"modified":"2021-12-28T10:59:33","modified_gmt":"2021-12-28T17:59:33","slug":"glass-key-the-1942","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=78690","title":{"rendered":"Glass Key, The (1942)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;A funeral&#8217;s hardly the place to talk about a murder &#8212; even privately.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Poster-198x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-78691\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Poster-198x300.png 198w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Poster-674x1024.png 674w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Poster-84x128.png 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Poster-178x270.png 178w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Poster.png 729w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA crime boss (Brian Donlevy) in love with the daughter (Veronica Lake) of an aspiring politician (Moroni Olsen) asks his right-hand man (Alan Ladd) to help smooth over a sticky situation involving Lake&#8217;s brother (Richard Denning) owing money to a gambler (Joseph Calleia) whose henchman (William Bendix) takes perverse pleasure in beating people up; meanwhile, Denning&#8217;s girlfriend (Bonita Granville) &#8212; also Donlevy&#8217;s sister &#8212; tries desperately to help her boyfriend stay out of trouble.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Alan Ladd Films<\/li>\n<li>Bonita Granville Films<\/li>\n<li>Brian Donlevy Films<\/li>\n<li>Murder Mystery<\/li>\n<li>Political Corruption<\/li>\n<li>Veronica Lake Films<\/li>\n<li>William Bendix Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nThis second cinematic adaptation of <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Glass_Key\">Dashiell Hammett&#8217;s 1931 novel<\/a> &#8212; following a <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=44311\">1935 version co-starring George Raft and Edward Arnold<\/a> &#8212; was directed by Stuart Heisler and is generally considered the better of the two. Made the same year Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake co-starred in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=24406\"><em>This Gun For Hire<\/em> (1942)<\/a>, audiences were eager to see the petite couple reunited on screen: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Ladd-Lake2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Ladd-Lake2-1024x755.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"472\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-78696\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Ladd-Lake2-1024x755.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Ladd-Lake2-300x221.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Ladd-Lake2-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Ladd-Lake2-768x566.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Ladd-Lake2-366x270.png 366w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Ladd-Lake2.png 1263w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a> <\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, their performances get off to a rocky start, with too many repetitive shots simply showing them giving each other a knowing glance when they first meet: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Lake5.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Lake5-1024x748.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"468\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-78705\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Lake5-1024x748.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Lake5-300x219.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Lake5-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Lake5-768x561.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Lake5-370x270.png 370w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Lake5.png 1269w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Ladd-Teacup.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Ladd-Teacup-1024x743.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-78699\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Ladd-Teacup-1024x743.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Ladd-Teacup-300x218.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Ladd-Teacup-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Ladd-Teacup-768x558.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Ladd-Teacup-372x270.png 372w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Ladd-Teacup.png 1277w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Donlevy is more effective as the gullible mobster taken in by everyone around him: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Donlevy3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Donlevy3-1024x751.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"469\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-78700\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Donlevy3-1024x751.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Donlevy3-300x220.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Donlevy3-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Donlevy3-768x563.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Donlevy3-368x270.png 368w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Donlevy3.png 1269w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; though it&#8217;s supporting players Bonita Granville: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Granville3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Granville3-1024x745.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"466\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-78701\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Granville3-1024x745.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Granville3-300x218.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Granville3-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Granville3-768x558.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Granville3-371x270.png 371w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Granville3.png 1275w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; and thuggish William Bendix: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Bendix5.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Bendix5-1024x729.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"456\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-78702\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Bendix5-1024x729.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Bendix5-300x214.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Bendix5-128x91.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Bendix5-768x547.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Bendix5-379x270.png 379w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Bendix5.png 1313w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; who really stand out as authentically engaged in their roles. Indeed, Bendix&#8217;s gleeful sadism is perhaps the film&#8217;s most memorable aspect, with most of his lines revealing a single-minded focus on harming people: <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Hey, Rusty, Little Rubber Ball is back. I told you he liked the way we bounced him around.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Wait a minute, you mean I don&#8217;t get to smack Baby?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Hey, Gang! Meet the swellest guy I ever skinned a knuckle on.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I got just the place for me and you &#8211; a little room upstairs that&#8217;s too small for you to fall down in. I can bounce you around off the walls. That way we won&#8217;t be wasting a lot of time while you get up off the floor.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Go on, sit in any chair you want to sit in. If you don&#8217;t like that one, take another one. I want you to consider yourself my guest. We&#8217;ll have a couple of drinks, and then I&#8217;m gonna knock your teeth out.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Storywise, the narrative is as complex as one would expect in such a twisted tale of criminality, politics, and love triangles; it&#8217;s too bad it all ends like a light-hearted rom-com. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bonita Granville as Opal<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Granville.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Granville-1024x749.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"468\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-78694\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Granville-1024x749.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Granville-300x219.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Granville-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Granville-768x562.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Granville-369x270.png 369w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Granville.png 1287w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>William Bendix as Jeff<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Bendix.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Bendix-1024x756.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"473\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-78695\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Bendix-1024x756.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Bendix-300x221.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Bendix-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Bendix-768x567.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Bendix-366x270.png 366w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Bendix.png 1259w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Noirish cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Noir-Lighting.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Noir-Lighting-1024x745.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"466\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-78697\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Noir-Lighting-1024x745.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Noir-Lighting-300x218.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Noir-Lighting-128x93.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Noir-Lighting-768x559.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Noir-Lighting-371x270.png 371w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Noir-Lighting.png 1271w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Lake-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Lake-Cinematography-1024x738.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"461\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-78709\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Lake-Cinematography-1024x738.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Lake-Cinematography-300x216.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Lake-Cinematography-128x92.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Lake-Cinematography-768x554.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Lake-Cinematography-374x270.png 374w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Glass-Key-Lake-Cinematography.png 1291w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though fans of Lake will likely want to check it out. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0034798\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tvguide.com\/movies\/the-glass-key\/review\/2030054287\/\">TV Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1942\/10\/15\/archives\/the-glass-key-a-remake-of-the-murder-mystery-story-by-dashiell.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s4049dark.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/76482\/the-glass-key#articles-reviews?articleId=59920\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;A funeral&#8217;s hardly the place to talk about a murder &#8212; even privately.&#8221; Synopsis: A crime boss (Brian Donlevy) in love with the daughter (Veronica Lake) of an aspiring politician (Moroni Olsen) asks his right-hand man (Alan Ladd) to help smooth over a sticky situation involving Lake&#8217;s brother (Richard Denning) owing money to a gambler (Joseph Calleia) whose henchman (William Bendix) takes perverse pleasure in beating people up; meanwhile, Denning&#8217;s girlfriend (Bonita Granville) &#8212; also Donlevy&#8217;s sister &#8212; tries desperately&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=78690\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","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":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=78690"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78690\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79434,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78690\/revisions\/79434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=78690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=78690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=78690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}