And when Henry's wayward son turns up murdered, each character is plunged into dangerous situations.Ladd and Donlevy are pretty good as the leads, although Veronica Lake, as candidate Henry's daughter and a focus of attention for both male leads, is somewhat lifeless in an important role, as her character is meant to drive much of the other action. The lead characters were portrayed by George Raft as Ed [not Ned] Beaumont, Edward Arnold as Paul Madvig, and Claire Dodd as Janet Henry. Dashiell Hammett and his novel The Glass Key have influenced many other hardboiled writers. Web. Reviewers were less sanguine. Written by Bachelor Harry Quincey, head designer in a small-town cloth factory, lives with his selfish sisters, glamorous hypochondriac Lettie and querulous widow Hester. Situated in the heart of the Cité de l'Ecrit in Montmorillon, France a small shop selling a wide range of books and antiques. [3] The novel is similar in that respect to later Depression-era novels, such as The Postman Always Rings Twice. Hammett dedicated the novel to his onetime lover Nell Martin. Kurosawa stated that a major source for the plot was the 1942 film noir classic The Glass Key, an adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's 1931 novel The Glass Key. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. The fragile nature of the relationships and careers of all of the main characters drives the action and suspense. Drama. A meek pharmacist creates an alternate identity under which he plans to murder the bullying liquor salesman who has become his wife's lover. The Glass Key Synopsis. 3rd ed. Together with Hammett's 1929 novel Red Harvest, The Glass Key provided inspiration for the Coen brothers' 1990 film Miller's Crossing.[8]. [9][better source needed], Another film, also entitled The Glass Key, was released in 1942, directed by Stuart Heisler and produced by Buddy G. DeSylva, with a screenplay by Jonathan Latimer. Someone sends a series of letters to people close to the crime, hinting that Madvig was the murderer. The prosecution offer him a more lenient sentence if he squeals on his accomplices but he doesn't roll over on them. It tells the story of a gambler and racketeer, Ned Beaumont, whose devotion to Paul Madvig, a crooked political boss, leads him to investigate the murder of a local senator's son as a potential gang war brews. I remember being disappointed, at that time being under the sway of … Dashiel Hammett's story is a big, fat juicy steak of a story about tryna get ahead the American way. The Hammett mask is never lifted; the Hammett character never lets you inside. The fine character actor Joseph Calleia is excellent as a crooked businessman seeking revenge on Madvig, and William Bendix is very funny, although perhaps a bit over-the-top at times, as one of Calleia's goons. An armored truck driver and his ex-wife conspire with a gang to have his own truck robbed on the route. I can't think of anything special that Mr. Thorne brought to the reading, but he was perfectly competent. Beaumont confronts Madvig with his new discovery, and the two depart, not enemies but no longer friends. All in all, The Glass Key isn't Hammett's best, but it's still more than listen-able. Instead of the potential despair of Hemingway, Hammett gives you unimpaired control and machinelike efficiency". The Glass Key is a 1942 American crime drama film noir directed by Stuart Heisler and based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. Madvig's political base begins to crumble when he refuses to spring a follower's brother from jail. 183. The 1942 film adaptation appears briefly in the season 2 finale of the show Bosch during a conversation between Bosch and the detective on his mother's murder case. Because of this, the characters openly display more animalistic qualities than in Hammett's previous novels. Beaumont refuses, is knocked unconscious and wakes captive in a dingy room where he is beaten daily. Hammett dedicated the novel to his onetime lover Nell Martin. Use the HTML below. All the rest is spillikins in the parlor". During the campaign for reelection, the crooked politician Paul Madvig decides to clean up his past, refusing the support of the gangster Nick Varna and associating to the respectable reformist politician Ralph Henry. The Glass Key was released a year after another celebrated Hammett adaptation - John Huston's The Maltese Falcon (1941). : Vintage, 1989. It was also distributed by Paramount Pictures. The Glass Key is a novel by American writer Dashiell Hammett. [10], The Glass Key was adapted by Howard E. Koch for the March 10, 1939, episode of Orson Welles's CBS Radio series The Campbell Playhouse. 4 were here. The Glass Key Award (in Swedish, Glasnyckeln), named after the novel, has been presented annually since 1992 for the best crime novel by a Scandinavian writer. Madvig expresses confidence in his new future, saying that the upright Henry has "given me the key to his house", but Beaumont warns him that "it's a glass key - be careful it doesn't break off". 4 Dec. 2012. An earlier film version had been released in 1935. Paul receives a "glass key" to the senator's house, which is a cautious invitation, but neither Janet nor her brother Taylor agree with their father's association with Paul. The Glass Key Brian Donlevy Alan Ladd Veronica Lake (1942) A reformed underworld tough attempts to clear his friend's name of murder in this tale of politicians and gangsters. Perhaps Hammett felt all fiction should lack an inner monologue; in the real world people only understand actions and speech and that is all Hammett's characters give us. Directed by Stuart Heisler. An ex-bomber pilot is suspected of murdering his unfaithful wife. "[5], In The Glass Key, Hammett refuses to let the reader into the characters' minds. Jun 03, 2017. Hammett's detectives usually avoid relationships, but Ned is different. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading The Glass Key. (1942). Because of this supposed relationship between Ned and Janet, The Glass Key takes on a more traditional story line, that of the detective "hero" and his beautiful heroine, ending with a ride into the sunset of New York. [1] The book was also a major influence on the Coen brothers' 1990 film Miller's Crossing, about a gambler who is a right-hand man to a corrupt political boss and their involvement in a brewing gang war. The Glass Key. Take a look back at the talented actors and actresses who took home a Golden Globe for Best Actor/Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama since the category was created in 1951. Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA. There is general agreement that The Maltese Falcon and The Glass Key are Hammett's two finest books. It tells the story of a gambler and racketeer, Ned Beaumont, whose devotion to Paul Madvig, a crooked political boss, leads him to investigate the murder of a local senator's son as a potential gang war brews. Ned goes to New York searching for Bernie, a bookie who owes him a great deal of money from a gambling debt but ends up getting beaten up. Ned Beaumont does not fit the popular, famous archetype of Jung, nor the weaker, less altruistic "hero" type of Hammett's other works, but is altogether different from either. This classic work of detective fiction combines an airtight plot, authentically venal characters, and writing of telegraphic crispness. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. It was distributed by Paramount Pictures. The novel is set in an unnamed city, a more unassuming place—a smaller, less sophisticated location—than his previous novels. Ed Beaumont is the personal friend, advisor and bodyguard to Paul Madvig, the political boss of a large city. The Glass Key, written in Hammett’s later noir years, is a prime example of his stylistic power. [6][7] With the passing years Hammett looked more and more harshly on his own fiction but conceded that The Glass Key was "not so bad". "Yeah, a glass key. David T. Bazelon, writing for Commentary, thought that Hammett had attempted a conventional novel, in which characters act for reasons of loyalty, passion or power. "I'm going to society. Hammett's distinctive and groundbreaking style helped usher in the hardboiled genre. The Glass Key is a novel by American writer Dashiell Hammett. Other critics wrote that the novel was "Hammett’s least satisfactory" and that the hero was "mechanical and his emotions were not there". [16][17], Beaumont compared to other Hammett heroes, The Great Depression, small-town morality, and "luck", Maxfield, James F. (1985). "The Glass Key" has all the elements expected in a film noir - it has an intricate crime-based plot, a fast pace, and an assortment of interesting characters who interact with each other in unpredictable ways. trailer for the 1942 film noir with Veronica Lake, Alan Ladd and William Bendix Nice ones almost with Edward Arnold as the head guy running the city and backing his senator for the up-coming election. The Glass Key is a fantastic tale of loyalty, politics, and power. Title: "The Glass Key" is probably Dashiell Hammett's best-constructed novel. "Hard-Boiled Dicks and Dangerous Females: Sex and Love in the Detective Fiction of Dashiell Hammett.". Some preferred the Falcon, others said simply that Hammett had written the three best detective stories of all time, and in the New Yorker Dorothy Parker screamed that "there is entirely too little screaming about the work of Dashiell Hammett". New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1981. He does not possess the sort of "immunity" to emotional ties that the author's previous detectives had maintained, such as the Continental Op in Hammett's Red Harvest. "The Glass Key" will certainly be of interest to any film noir/crime film fan, and should be fast-paced enough to make it interesting to other viewers as well. [2] This leaves some ambiguity in the reasoning of Ned Beaumont's actions, such as his suspicions about Janet Henry's father. IMDb. Hammett, Dashiell. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. An ex-convict and a woman fall in love, after she shoots her police Lt. boyfriend dead in self defense, and falsely leads him to believe that he did the shooting. Audience Reviews for The Glass Key. A woman's sanity comes into question, after she claims to have witnessed a murder from her apartment window. Beaumont and Janet pair up to solve the murder. The Irish mobster Shad O'Rory, who played a major role in both the novel and the first film adaptation (in which he was portrayed by Robert Gleckler), was replaced in the second film by a Mediterranean mobster, Nick Varna, portrayed by the Maltese actor Joseph Calleia. Add the first question. Vikings of Brazil, n.d. 30 of 36 people found this review helpful. The Glass Key, released in 1935, is the first of two film adaptations of the suspense novel The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett.The film stars George Raft, featuring Edward Arnold and Claire Dodd, and directed by Frank Tuttle. 's investigation, his motive being that he wants to back the corrupt senator in order to marry his daughter, Janet. What does Stephen R. Thorne bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book? During World War II, Hammett again served as sergeant in the Army, this time for more than two years, most of which he spent in the Aleutians. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. The publisher commits suicide, after Beaumont seduces his wife. A one-time detective and master of deft understatement, Dashiell Hammett virtually invented the hardboiled crime novel. View production, box office, & company info. Suspicion for this falls on Madvig's daughter Opal, the victim's girlfriend. A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign. It is a fairly standard example of the genre, with a few particularly good moments.The title comes from a metaphor used by one of the characters to describe the relationships at the center of the plot. Gangsters, honorable gangsters. IMDb.com, n.d. "You might as well take your punishment and get it over with") is another deciding factor in the actions of the characters. [4] The film starred Alan Ladd as Ed [not Ned] Beaumont, Brian Donlevy as Paul Madvig, and Veronica Lake as Janet Henry. The follower goes to rival mob boss Shad O'Rory, who eliminates a witness to the brother's crime. Chandler argued that it is due to these authors that this style is developed and raised from a generic form to a "new level of artistic substance". The Glass Key - Kindle edition by Dashiell Hammett. 04 Dec. 2012. He has made the reader as much interested in the relation of his individuals to each other as in the solution of the story". A political boss's (Brian Donlevy) assistant (Alan Ladd) gets him out of a bum murder rap. [4] The Glass Key, written in Hammett's later noir years, is a prime example of his stylistic power. Shadow Man: The Life of Dashiell Hammett. Nick uses the financial situation of The Observer to force the publisher Clyde Matthews to use the newspaper to raise the suspicion that Paul Madvig might have killed Taylor. Rotten Tomatoes, home of the Tomatometer, is the most trusted measurement of quality for Movies & TV. When assassin Philip Raven shoots a blackmailer and his beautiful female companion dead, he is paid off in marked bills by his treasonous employer who is working with foreign spies. The influence of the latter film is evident through director Stuart Heisler's use of the same film noir techniques which Huston had introduced. Yojimbo - Wikipedia Sparkuhl's most famous films include Renoir's La Chienne (1931), the classic adventure film Beau Geste (1939) and the seminal film noir The Glass Key (1942). Hammett felt that the finished book was his best work, nonetheless because "the clues were nicely placed... although nobody seemed to notice". Adapted from one of Dashiell Hammett's best novels, The Glass Key is a lively and straightforward melodrama of political corruption and urban intrigue. Because he is willing to accept the risks that human commitments entail, Beaumont is, if not Hammett's ideal hero, his most completely human hero".[2]. This impasse and Beaumont's growing interest in Janet, Madvig's love interest, cause a second rift between the men. Somerset Maugham saw in Ned Beaumont "a curious, intriguing character whom any novelist would have been proud to conceive" And Raymond Chandler found "an effect of movement, intrigue, cross-purposes, and the gradual elucidation of character, which is all the detective story has any right to be about anyway. Next Beaumont interviews Janet, discovering that she wrote the letters and that the Senator knew about the murder before Beaumont found the body. [11]:351[12][13], Another adaptation, by Robert Cenedella, was presented on Hour of Mystery on ABC on July 7, 1946. Was this review helpful to you? [2] While there is disagreement about whether or not they are together at the end, the fact that there is a relationship at all is indicative of "a different kind of hero".[2]. But Beaumont is a gambler instead of a detective, a man used to taking risks. There have been two US film adaptations (1935 and 1942) of the novel. Beaumont uncovers evidence proving the senator killed his own son and turns him over to the police. The Glass Key is the second of Hammett's novels that I've read, the first being Red Harvest, which I read over thirty years ago. The cast included Welles (Paul Madvig), Paul Stewart (Ned Beaumont), Ray Collins (Shad O'Rory), Myron McCormick (Senator Henry), Effie Palmer (Mrs. Madvig), Elspeth Eric (Opal Madvig), Elizabeth Morgan (telephone operator), Everett Sloane (Farr), Howard Smith (Jeff), Laura Baxter (Janet Henry) and Edgar Barrier (Rusty). A calculating divorcée risks her chances at wealth and security with a man she doesn't love by getting involved with the hotheaded murderer romancing her foster sister. Hospitalized after his escape, Beaumont tells Madvig and Janet that he was laying a trap for O'Rory; he then struggles out of bed to stop the newspaper from printing its expose. Its reception was even better than that of the previous novel, and so were sales, 20,000 copies having been sold eighteen months after publication. The characters, perhaps through the objectivity of the writing style, are portrayed as cutthroat and almost feral. The supporting cast is one of the strengths of the film. Print. When the son of the Taylor's is found dead all fingers point toward Madvig. Although Lake shares top billing here, she’s actually in only a handful of scenes, but when the pair first meet in this, the scene crackles with energy.