The Glass Key (1942)

Director: Stuart Heisler                                Writer: Jonathan Latimer
Film Score: Victor Young                             Cinematography: Theodor Sparkuhl
Starring: Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Brian Donlevy and Richard Denning

While Dashiell Hammett was undoubtedly one of the best of the early noir writers, films made from some of his stories haven’t been nearly as strong. Two of his novels, The Maltese Falcon and The Thin Man, have made terrific films, but much of the rest of his work, set in small towns and dealing with local politics and publishing don’t quite pack the punch of his more popular works. The Glass Key is typical of this phenomenon. It’s a great cast, bringing together Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd again after their successful teaming in This Gun for Hire, but this time with mediocre results.

The plot concerns a small town political boss/mobster played with childlike glee by Brian Donlevy. When Veronica Lake, the daughter of a candidate that Donlevy has smeared in the local press slaps him in the face in public, he falls head over heals in love. So much so, that he switches allegiance and backs her father for governor. Alan Ladd plays Donlevy’s best friend and right hand man. He keeps his moves close to the vest during the crisis that arises from Donlevey rescinding his protection from the rackets boss played by Joseph Calleia. When Lake’s ne’er-do-well brother, Richard Denning, dies suspicion naturally falls on Donlevey as his sister was having an affair with him and he wanted it stopped. There are some nice plot twists at the end, for which Hammett was known for, but the film palpably lacks the big city intrigue of his other novels.

The assignment of Stuart Heisler was certainly an uninspired choice for director as he worked mostly in B movies filming low-budget westerns and horror films with equally uninspired names like The Monster and the Girl and The Cowboy and the Lady. The score by Victor Young is unmemorable, and there is nothing about the cinematography to attract attention. The obvious reason to watch the film is for the pairing of Lake and Ladd, but even that aspect is tepid. Still, The Glass Key is a mildly interesting murder mystery with typical Hammett flair. There is certainly nothing noir about it, and those expecting the same magic as This Gun for Hire will not find it here. The fact that it's only available on VHS tells you it's relative importance, at least to the studio. Turner Classics has released it as part of a Paramount box set, but it is only available on the TCM website, or when the odd used copy pops up on Amazon.