The Glass Key: Kicking off "Noir November" with a hard-boiled masterpiece

The Glass Key - Stuart Heisler - 1942 

★★★★★-Starting Noir November off like a rocket with this masterpiece. The second screen adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's novel of the same name, a peak, twisted, hard-boiled tale.

Read the book over the summer. Loved it. Back then, I knew I was going to start off the month with this flick. I’ve probably watched 300 noir/neo-noir in the last five years, minimum. It’s been quite a while since I was this excited about a noir flick. 

Directed by Stuart Heisler. Mostly remembered for this and the 1944 propaganda film The Negro Soldier, a documentary-style recruitment piece aimed at African Americans to get them to enlist in the military during World War II. Also, the Humphrey Bogart film Tokyo Joe, and the 1949 film Tulsa, starring Susan Hayward, for which he was nominated for an Oscar. Found success with another Hayward movie in 1947 for Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman. 

Veronica Lake is the female lead but not the femme fatale. She was never more beautiful. She’s not great but is obviously a star. Stars Alan Ladd as the hardboiled detective. Mostly think of him as Johnny Morrison from The Blue Dahlia and Shane from Shane. Brian Donlevy plays Paul Madvig, the rich, corrupt politician at the center of the murder who can’t control his daughter. William Bendix plays the thug, as is his way. He’s always great. Complete psychopath in this flick. Kicks a photographer in the face as he’s getting taken out of the police station kind of guy. Perfectly cast.

Film thrusts you in the murky waters of political intrigue, corruption, and romance, with a side order of murder. Crooked politician Paul Madvig (played by Donlevy) is a political boss who's decided to swap his shady dealings for a shot at redemption. He's throwing his weight behind the reform candidate for governor, a move that's unpopular with the criminal underworld. He's also got his eye on the governor's daughter, Janet (played by Lake, who's damn cool). Enter Ed Beaumont (Ladd), Madvig's right-hand man and fixer. He's got to navigate this labyrinth of lies and deceit to clear his boss's name. It's a tale as old as time, guy meets dame, falls for dame, gets framed for murder by gangsters. 

Drew me in immediately. Madvig immediately makes his entrance by throwing a guy out of the window into the pool for giving him shit for talking to a candidate from the opposition party. This guy gets it, and doesn’t give a flying fuck. Donlevy sort of stole the show with his performance. 

Film flies by way faster than an hour and 25 minutes. Still manages to hit all the main beats of the novel. That’s what I love about the genre. You get right into it with an economy of engaging plot with dubious characters, snappy dialogue, and brutality. Plus, beautiful cinematography and women that are to die for.