The Glass Key (1942)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The glass key |
| Original title | The Glass Key |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1942 |
| length | 85 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Stuart Heisler |
| script | Jonathan Latimer |
| production |
Fred Kohlmar Buddy DeSylva (anonymous) |
| music | Victor Young |
| camera | Theodor Sparkuhl |
| cut | Archie Marshek |
| occupation | |
| |
The Glass Key (Original title: The Glass Key ) is an in black and white twisted thriller by Stuart Heisler from 1942, a remake of the film The Glass Key dating back to 1935. The script is based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett .
action
The influential and corrupt politician Paul Madvig holds the reins tightly in his hand in Baltimore and sells his loyalty to the highest bidder. When he falls in love with Janet Henry, daughter of the honorable Senator Ralph Henry, he switches sides to support the Senator in the upcoming gubernatorial election. Madvig's right-hand man, Ed Beaumont, thinks this is a mistake because he mistrusts Janet's motives. When Madvig brags about the fact that the senator practically gave him the key to his house, Beaumont warns him that it could be a glass key that could break at any moment. Beaumont's concern only increases when Madvig informs gangster Nick Varna that he will no longer protect him from the police.
At a reception at the Henry house, Beaumont realizes that he was right about Janet. She has only gotten involved with Madvig to improve her father's chances of being elected and she intends to end the relationship immediately after the election. Janet's real erotic interest is aimed at Beaumont herself, who, although resisting her advances out of loyalty to Madvig, does not inform him about Janet's real intentions either.
Much to Madvig's discomfort, Janet's brother Taylor, a light-hearted gambler, begins an affair with Madvig's sister Opal. Madvig gets into an argument with Taylor. A short time later, Taylor is found dead, murdered on the street. Nick Vama uses the opportunity to denounce his adversary as a murder suspect with the power of a daily newspaper he controls. Beaumont senses an intrigue, but when he asks Madvig to reconcile himself with Varna, a break occurs. Varna learns of this, and he is now trying to ally with Beaumont. When Beaumont rejects him, however, Varna lets his sadistic henchman Jeff beat him up and imprison him. Using brutal torture, the gangsters try to extract dirty details about Madvig from Beaumont in order to use them in the newspaper campaign. However, Beaumont is able to flee seriously injured without disclosing any useful information.
After Beaumont has recovered and reconciled with Madvig in the hospital, a former Madvig employee named Sloss arrives who claims to have watched Madvig and Taylor Henry quarrel on the night of the murder. Sloss is shot dead before he can officially testify and Madvig is arrested on suspicion of murder. To wash him clean, Beaumont goes in search of Jeff. He finds him drunk in a bar and tries to get information out of him in the back room. But just as Jeff is just starting to talk, Nick Varna appears and orders him to shut up. An argument develops between the two, in the course of which Jeff admits to having shot Sloss. Beaumont disarms Varna and then sits idly by as Jeff strangles him.
After arresting Jeff, Beaumont convinces the district attorney to arrest Janet Henry as the actual murderer of her brother. As Beaumont had secretly hoped, her father confessed during the arrest that his son's death was an accident and that he fell fatally in an argument with him. Madvig, who witnessed the incident, gave the Senator his word not to tell anyone about it.
The next day, released from jail, Madvig overhears Janet Beaumont confess her love. He realizes that both are meant for each other and gives the couple his consent.
background
The glass key , a remake of a film of the same name from 1935, is considered to be one of the early masterpieces of film noir alongside Die Spur des Falken (1941) and Die Scarenhand (1942) .
The film ran in US cinemas on October 15, 1942. In Germany, where it was not shown in cinemas, it was first shown on television on November 2, 1977.
criticism
"An exciting gangster film."
"A groundbreaking film noir."
Web links
- The Glass Key in theInternet Movie Database(English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Alain Silver, Elizabeth Ward (Ed.): Film Noir. An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style, Third Edition. Overlook / Duckworth, New York / Woodstock / London 1992, ISBN 0-87951-479-5 , pp. 127-130
- ↑ a b The glass key in the lexicon of international films .
- ↑ "A seminal film noir." Michael L. Stephens: Film Noir: A Comprehensive, Illustrated Reference to Movies, Terms and Persons. McFarland & Co, Jefferson (NC) 1995, pp. 159-160