The Glass Key (1935)

The Glass Key (1935)

starring George Raft, Edward Arnold

directed by Frank Tuttle

80 minutes

Paul Madvig (Edward Arnold) is accused of murdering Taylor Henry, the son of the Senator John T. Henry, the political candidate Madvig is backing in the upcoming election. Ed Beaumost (George Raft) does what he can to keep Madvig, his headstrong boss, out of trouble. Madvig, the political boss in town, is trying to lock everything down which has earned him some enemies. Shad O'Rory whose gambling house was shut down recently at Madvig's request, is his biggest enemy.

The situation is complicated by the fact that Madvig is fond of Janet, Senator Henry's daughter, although she does not reciprocate his feelings or have much interest in him.  The fact that Opal Madvig, Paul's daughter was dating Taylor and giving him money to help pay off gambling debts that he owed to O'Rory twists things up even more.

Beaumont does his best to protect his boss from self-sbotage, as difficult as that turns out to be.

Thoughts

This movie is based on a book of the same title by Dashiell Hammett who also wrote the book upon which The Maltese Falcon (1931) and The Maltese Falcon (1941) were based.

There is another version of The Glass Key made in 1942 which I have not seen yet but hope to watch in the near future. Miller's Crossing (1991) is also, as I understand it, a version of The Glass Key. There are definite similarities between this movie and Miller's Crossing but there are also some definite differences.

I watched this movie on the Internet Archive. The copy I found there is not in the best of shape but it is watchable. It was only about 78 minutes long even though, according to IMDb, the movie is 80 minutes long. I have no idea what if anything was missing.

This movie is not great. I enjoyed watching it mostly as a historical piece. It has a few moments that I liked. I am very familiar with Miller's Crossing. I have watching it numerous times. I had fun seeing how it paralleled this movie and where it diverged. It was a fun watch for me but I can see how others who aren't as taken by Miller's Crossing or interested in film history might not enjoy it as much I did.

Notes

The only other movie that George Raft is in that I have seen recently is They Drive by Night(1940).

This might be the first film that I have seen Edward Arnold in that was not directed by Frank Capra. The film I saw him in most recently was You Can't Take It With You (1938).

Charles Richman played the part of Senator Henry. His screen career goes all the way back to 1914 but I think the only other movie that he is that I have seen is Dark Victory (1939).

Ray Milland played the part of Taylor Henry. This movie was early in his career which lasted from 1928 to 1985. He already had appeared in 30 films by the time The Glass Key was made.

Ann Sheridan has a very small role in this movie playing the part of a nurse in one scene. She is included in the credits and does have a few lines. The only other movie I have seen her in is They Drive by Night (1940) which starred George Raft. She played his girlfriend in that movie.