La llama revivida

On my second viewing of "The Key" I found it more enjoyable, appreciating William Powell's performance as the key, if you will, to its appreciation. As Captain Bill Tennant, he is thrust back into the life of the woman he loved and left---Norah Kerr (Edna Best). Now married to Bill's friend and fellow officer, Captain Andy Kerr (Colin Clive), Norah has been haunted by the memory of her love for Bill. Bill is the same man he always was---free of encumbrances, to women or causes.

Filmed against the backdrop of the Irish resistance to British rule, "The Key" is a simple film expertly shot. Director Michael Curtiz keeps the action moving as things heat up between the former paramours and between the political adversaries.

William Powell is inexplicably cast as Captain Bill Tennant. I say inexplicably because he is supposed to be a British officer, but sounds just like an American--which he is. They could have gotten around this by saying he was a Canadian but didn't. So, at the outset, the film has a big deficit in regard to casting.

Tennant is a bit of a rogue. Although he's a good soldier and always seems to land on his feet, he has a long history of sleeping with the wrong women--often married women. Because of this history, it's very surprising that he is friends with Captain Andy Kerr (Colin Clive)--who is a rather dull married man. Kerr also is clueless as to how big a scoundrel Tennant is, as in the past, Tennant had a relationship with Norah--who is now Andy's wife. Not surprisingly, Norah and Tennant soon pick up where they left off.

When Andy learns the truth, he does something crazy--he just wanders into the streets of Dublin--a terrible place to walk about if you are a British soldier during the Troubles in Ireland (i.e., during the height of the violence in Ireland in the early 20th century). Not surprisingly, he's taken prisoner by Irish nationalists and will be executed if a member of Sinn Féin is hung. What is Tennant to do? After all, Andy's predicament is his fault.

I think with better casting as well as a less sappy love story this film would have played a lot better. I did like how the film took a rather neutral view of the Irish problems and the look of Ireland in the film was quite nice.

I thought The Key was excellent. Interesting story, strong dialogue and good performances. To my mind this is one of Michael Curtiz' best films. It's not just a matter of creating atmosphere. In shooting the street scenes and club scenes Curtiz fills the frame with movement. This film really has the feel of life in the city. With the help of cinematographer Ernest Haller and art director Robert Haas, Curtiz makes the tension of the situation palpable. There are some weak moments, but my only real complaint is that William Powell could be stronger. He's fine at the beginning when he's just playing the breezy adventurer. But as we see that the character is more complex, Powell needs to do more to show the conflict within. Instead he keeps it mostly on the surface. On the other hand, a lot of the actors in small roles are marvelous. Over all, this is a really solid movie.

"The Key" starts off promisingly with atmospheric photography as British troops track down a Sein Fein leader. Apparently Warner Bros thought this wasn't enough, so halfway through the film a love triangle is introduced between William Powell, Edna Best and Colin Clive. All it succeeds in doing is derailing the film into very familiar territory. Seeing Colin Clive making dead bodies with a gun rather than bringing them back to life in a lab sparks some interest but other than that he spends his time looking glum (did he ever smile?). William Powell begins the film with an accent and a "right-ho, pip, pip" clipped speech that vanishes by the third reel and he and Edna Best (in her first U.S. film) have absolutely no chemistry. Director Curtiz does well until the highpoint of the love story where he pulls the camera out the window into the fog and goes into a flashback that looks like it belongs on a 1890 stage. Add to this a criminally underused Donald Crisp and a hokey ending and you have one missed opportunity.

William Powell is Bill, a British officer who finds an old love in Ireland in "The Key," a 1934 film also starring Edna Best (Norah) and Colin Clive (Andy). A very young Donald Crisp, though his voice identifies him immediately, plays a Sein Fein leader whom the British army seeks to capture. When Bill arrives on the scene, he finds himself living below Andy, a fellow officer and friend, but he doesn't know that the woman he once loved is married to him - and Andy never knew that Bill and Norah were involved. Realizing that their breakup was a mistake, Bill seeks to rekindle the relationship. Norah has continued to love him, and it's stood between her and her husband throughout their marriage.

Full of dry ice and night scenes, this old movie was hard to see at times. The story is very familiar, the film is short; it doesn't have a lot to recommend it. It's atmospheric, although this viewer was not drawn into the story. Powell brings it lots of energy - he's the best thing in it; Best and Clive don't project much and look unhappy throughout.