The Glass Key

The Glass Key is the second and better known film noir adaptation of the classic suspense novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett, released a mere seven years after the first. This remake features Brian Donlevy, Veronica Lake, and Alan Ladd, who replaces George Raft from the 1935 original version in the lead. Crooked political boss Paul Madvig (Brian Donlevy) is determined to back reform candidate Ralph Henry (Moroni Olsen) for governor after ... more

The Glass Key is the second and better known film noir adaptation of the classic suspense novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett, released a mere seven years after the first. This remake features Brian Donlevy, Veronica Lake, and Alan Ladd, who replaces George Raft from the 1935 original version in the lead. Crooked political boss Paul Madvig (Brian Donlevy) is determined to back reform candidate Ralph Henry (Moroni Olsen) for governor after falling in love with Henry's daughter, Janet (Veronica Lake). Madvig's right hand man, Ed Beaumont (Alan Ladd), believes the move is a big mistake and rightly distrusts Janet's motives. She is only playing along for her father's sake; she is put off by Madvig's crudity and becomes very attracted to much more sophisticated Beaumont. He fends off her advances out of strong loyalty to his friend. The deluded Madvig boasts that Henry has practically given him the key to his house; Beamont warns him that it is liable to be a glass key, one that can... less