Ripeo en DVD hecho por
Wolfman en
FH
Though nobody requested it, I just can't imagine no fireworks going off - now that this gem of the film noir has become available on DVD: :wink:
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
This film is memorable for several reasons. It is based on an interesting political thriller by Dashiell Hammett (which had been filmed before with Edward Arnold and George Raft in 1935), and this version was the second of four movies that co-starred Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake (the closest thing to a "noir" couple that the movies created). Finally it added another Paramount performer to Ladd's films who would reappear (once more with Ladd and Lake in THE BLUE DAHLIA, but with Ladd in TWO YEARS BEFORE THE MAST): William Bendix. The rest of the cast, including Joseph Calleia, Brian Donleavy, Moroni Olsen, and Donald McBride is quite good in showing the level of corruption that is taken for granted in the political world portrayed in this story.
Hammett had been a detective for the Pinkerton Agency in the teens and twenties, before he quit and became a writer. He was rather disenchanted by his experiences. While he certainly enjoyed detective work, he was not thrilled at the anti-union labor busting activities of his firm. If you want to get a real view of it, pick up his least remembered novel, RED HARVEST, about a factory town in a labor union lockout. Hammett became progressively more left wing in his views - views shared by his girlfriend (and the model for "Nora Charles" in THE THIN MAN) Lillian Hellman. In the end those views and his alcoholism restricted his writing to five novels and a book of short stories, and to his being black-listed in the McCarthy Period. Hellman managed to pull him back together a bit before he died in 1961.
Here he is not dealing with labor problems but political skulduggery. Paul Madvig (Brian Donleavy) is the powerful boss of a mid-western town like Indianapolis or Cincinatti. He is planning a political coup tied to the reelection of U.S. Senator Ralph Henry (Moroni Olsen), a nationally known statesman who has made a career attacking the corruption Madvig represents. But circumstances have thrown the two together, and Henry is willing to make an unpalatable deal with Madvig for his support. But Madvig's sister Opal (Bonita Granville) has been dating the Senator's son Taylor (Richard Denning). Madvig is opposed to this - he thinks young Taylor a wastrel and a phony. Taylor turns up dead. Soon rumors are being spread about the violent death of Taylor, and are hinting that Paul is responsible. When Paul's closest associate Ed Beaumont (Alan Ladd) tries to find out what is going on, Paul puts him off. Ed is suspicious of Taylor's sister, Janet (Veronica Lake) who is seeking to avenge her dead brother, and who has been 1) talking secretly with Opal too much, and 2) been seen romancing Paul. Paul seems besotted by Janet, and it may be affecting his political instincts. Similarly the attacking of Paul's reputation has been increasing the nerve of the ambitious District Attorney Farr (who has been Paul's tool all this time) to think of declaring his own independence. Finally, Ed notices that Paul's most vicious rival, Nick Varna (Joseph Calliea) and his henchman Jeff (William Bendix) are also using the growing rumors and weakening of Paul's position to push their own power base up.
As you can see - this is a great "nest of vipers" type story. It resembles THE THIN MAN and THE MALTESE FALCON in that sense, except it is not the question of where is a missing scientist or whether a purloined statue is truly one of the world's great missing treasures. The issue is who is going to win the control of this city, and it's key is who murdered Taylor Henry: Paul, Varna, Opal, Ed, Jeff?
The dialog snaps and crackles like the best of Hammett's best writing. When Farr is interviewed by Ed about his loyalties (which are very questionable) he is pointedly reminded that the last person who kicked Paul in the seat of his pants avoided retaliation only by jumping out of a ninth floor window. That line is actually in the novel. Most of the script is.
The relationship between Paul and Ed is the key to the resolution of the plot, as they are close friends beyond close political associates. Another relationship which is curious is that of Jeff - Bendix makes this thug very interesting, in that he enjoys beating up on Ed all the time, and he believes Ed likes it too! I have been told that this is a type of homosexual "Battered Wife" relationship, but only on Jeff's part (Ed certainly shows growing heterosexual interests in another direction).
It is a fascinating film noir, and the solution will come as a total surprise - but given the level of corruption and double cross in the politics in the film it actually will make sense to the viewers.
The Glass Key (1942) DVDRip XviD Wolfman.avi [1.46 Gb] 
Specs:
Filesize.....: 1,493 MB (or 1,529,782 KB or 1,566,496,768 bytes)
Runtime......: 01:23:09 (124,737 fr)
Video Codec..: XviD
Video Bitrate: 2315 kb/s
Audio Codec..: ac3 (0x2000) Dolby Laboratories, Inc
Audio Bitrate: 192 kb/s (96/ch, stereo) CBR
Frame Size...: 720x544 (1.32:1) [~37:28]
Subs (just english): The Glass Key (1942) DVDRip XviD Vobsubs Wolfman.rar [869.0 Kb]
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