The Key

1934 "A Dare-devil Drama of a Swashbuckling Soldier of Fortune."
6| 1h11m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 09 June 1934 Released
Producted By: Warner Bros. Pictures
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

A British officer stationed in Ireland falls for the wife of an intelligence man.

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Reviews

Scanialara You won't be disappointed!
Protraph Lack of good storyline.
Steineded How sad is this?
Teringer An Exercise In Nonsense
SimonJack "The Key" is one of the last films that William Powell made for Warner Brothers before going to MGM and stardom. This film is set in 1920 Dublin during the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921). As the film shows, the Irish revolutionary period that was nearly a century old had now evolved into open warfare. Powell plays an English captain of some notoriety with women. He has endured in the Army only because of his daring and accomplishments. His most recent assignment was Africa, but now he arrives for duty in Ireland. And here he meets an old friend, and an old flame. Lo, they are wed to each other. There's plenty of drama in this rather dark and sinister film, much of it shot on Hollywood sets made to resemble night time streets and scenes in Ireland. The English are trying to Capture Peadar Conlan (played by Donald Crisp), the leader and inspiration for the Irish underground. Powell's Capt. Bill Tennant is a mix of easygoing good guy and cad. Still, the Powell persona is there. The female in the love triangle is played by Edna Best. She was a prominent actress in England, but one wouldn't think her that talented just from her performance here. She is very wooden throughout the film as Norah Kerr. Her expression seldom changes and she seems to lack emotion except for her pleading for Bill to helps save Andy's life. On the other hand, Colin Clive gave a superb performance as Capt. Andy Kerr. This is a rare film in which the leading man doesn't win the lady in the end. But it's the right ending in this case. The film clearly is a drama, as billed. But it has a few funny lines. Here are my favorites. Capt. Bill Tennant, says to General C.O. Furlong (played by Halliwell Hobbes), "You get the paunch and the promotions. I get the fun and the medals. And we both die and get the same funeral." Capt. Bill Tennant's aide, Homer, has been dozing. Tennant says to the headquarters aide, "You know, in Africa, the tsetse flies used to bite him and go sound to sleep."Capt. Bill Tennant says to Norah Kerr, "It wasn't that I forgot. I simply couldn't mortgage my tomorrows." Homer, Tennant's Aide, says, "When shall I expect you sir?" Capt. Bill Tennant, "Oh, eventually."Capt. Bill Tennant, to Norah Kerr, "I suppose it's only in story books that there's a path back to yesterday."
MartinHafer William Powell is inexplicably cast as Captain Bill Tennant. I say inexplicably because he is supposed to be a British officer, but sounds just like an American--which he is. They could have gotten around this by saying he was a Canadian but didn't. So, at the outset, the film has a big deficit in regard to casting.Tennant is a bit of a rogue. Although he's a good soldier and always seems to land on his feet, he has a long history of sleeping with the wrong women--often married women. Because of this history, it's very surprising that he is friends with Captain Andy Kerr (Colin Clive)--who is a rather dull married man. Kerr also is clueless as to how big a scoundrel Tennant is, as in the past, Tennant had a relationship with Norah--who is now Andy's wife. Not surprisingly, Norah and Tennant soon pick up where they left off.When Andy learns the truth, he does something crazy--he just wanders into the streets of Dublin--a terrible place to walk about if you are a British soldier during the Troubles in Ireland (i.e., during the height of the violence in Ireland in the early 20th century). Not surprisingly, he's taken prisoner by Irish nationalists and will be executed if a member of Sinn Féin is hung. What is Tennant to do? After all, Andy's predicament is his fault.I think with better casting as well as a less sappy love story this film would have played a lot better. I did like how the film took a rather neutral view of the Irish problems and the look of Ireland in the film was quite nice.
Torchy I thought The Key was excellent. Interesting story, strong dialogue and good performances. To my mind this is one of Michael Curtiz' best films. It's not just a matter of creating atmosphere. In shooting the street scenes and club scenes Curtiz fills the frame with movement. This film really has the feel of life in the city. With the help of cinematographer Ernest Haller and art director Robert Haas, Curtiz makes the tension of the situation palpable. There are some weak moments, but my only real complaint is that William Powell could be stronger. He's fine at the beginning when he's just playing the breezy adventurer. But as we see that the character is more complex, Powell needs to do more to show the conflict within. Instead he keeps it mostly on the surface. On the other hand, a lot of the actors in small roles are marvelous. Over all, this is a really solid movie.
brianina "The Key" starts off promisingly with atmospheric photography as British troops track down a Sein Fein leader. Apparently Warner Bros thought this wasn't enough, so halfway through the film a love triangle is introduced between William Powell, Edna Best and Colin Clive. All it succeeds in doing is derailing the film into very familiar territory. Seeing Colin Clive making dead bodies with a gun rather than bringing them back to life in a lab sparks some interest but other than that he spends his time looking glum (did he ever smile?). William Powell begins the film with an accent and a "right-ho, pip, pip" clipped speech that vanishes by the third reel and he and Edna Best (in her first U.S. film) have absolutely no chemistry. Director Curtiz does well until the highpoint of the love story where he pulls the camera out the window into the fog and goes into a flashback that looks like it belongs on a 1890 stage. Add to this a criminally underused Donald Crisp and a hokey ending and you have one missed opportunity.