The Glass Key

1942
Approved
1h 25m

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

7.6K

YOUR RATING

Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, and Brian Donlevy in The Glass Key (1942)

Play trailer1:30

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Film Noir Crime Drama Thriller

A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

7.6K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Videos1

Trailer 1:30

Trailer

Photos97

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The always aloof Alan Ladd, a former laborer, preferred the friendship of film crews rather than other actors or studio execs. Yet he was able to form lasting friendships with a few of his co-stars, especially William Bendix who accidentally cold-cocked Ladd during a particularly vicious fight scene in this film. Ladd was so taken aback by the sincerity of Bendix's apologies that they formed an immediate and unlikely friendship. They even purchased homes across the street from one another at one point. According to Bendix's wife Tess, the bond was strained in later years after Ladd's wife and manager, Sue Carol, made an offhand remark about Bendix's lack of military service. Stuck in the middle, it would be a decade before the wounds healed between the two. By then, Ladd was career down and self-destructive, leaning heavily on Bendix, who was thriving out of town frequently in the 1960s with stage work. Bendix's heartbreak was evident in the wake of Ladd's premature death (and probable suicide) in January of 1964. Bendix's health failed quickly and he too died (of bronchial pneumonia) a week or so before Christmas that same year.

Goofs
At c.30 minutes, Paul and Ed are served a full glass of beer each. Following an argument, Ed knocks Paul to the floor, after which Ed breaks an empty glass on the table to threaten Paul. However, neither of them drank any of the beer.

Quotes
Rusty: My first wife was the second cook at a third-rate joint on 4th Street.

Connections
Edited into Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)

Soundtracks
I Remember You
(uncredited)
from The Fleet's In (1942)
Music by Victor Schertzinger
Played as background music when Opal meets Taylor

User reviews92

Review

Featured review

6/10

Despite some excellent performances, the film was very muddled and uneven

I really wanted to enjoy this movie a lot more than I did, as I am a big fan of Alan Ladd. However, apart from a couple excellent performances, the film was a big let-down and was not even close to being as good as THIS GUN FOR HIRE or THE BLUE DAHLIA--two other famous Ladd films from the same era. This isn't the fault of Ladd, who as usual did an excellent job playing a tough guy (which is interesting coming from a guy as tiny as Ladd). In addition, William Bendix had an even more impressive role in the film as a sadistic animal who revels in beating people to a pulp. The sheer pleasure he obtains hurting other people is amazing and scary to watch! Now as for the rest of the film, apart from some snappy dialog, the rest of the characters are pretty one-dimensional and unconvincing. The bottom line is that this film had many of the elements of good Film Noir except for a decent script. The movie was often confusing and the ultimate solution to the mystery seemed to come from no where! In fact, it was as if they'd written and written and decided to just tack on an ending generated by a coin flip and call it a day! In the end, this is a watchable but horribly flawed film. You can certainly do better with other Noir or Ladd pictures.