The Keyhole

Kay Francis is being blackmailed by her first husband, Monroe Owsley, who seems straight out of an early silent movie, his villainy and makeup are so overdone. He does everything but twirl his mustache.

Unfortunately he never got divorced from Francis, who unknowingly married rich old Henry Kolker. Owsley is blackmailing her - she decides to go to Cuba, where apparently he will stranded on foreign soil. Francis poses as a single woman to avoid publicity.

Meanwhile, suspicious husband Kolker hires handsome detective/gigolo George Brent. There's a funny scene where we first meet Brent having set a governor's wife in a compromising position with him. Hearing there's a police raid, all of the men pour out of the rooms. When the elevator operator asks, "First floor, Mr. Smith?" all of the men go "Yes!" Brent's behavior is kind of uncomfortable. He stalks and pesters Francis throughout the ocean voyage and in Cuba, attempting to seduce her. She does her best to fend him off without telling him that she's married. But he refuses to take no for an answer. Francis even takes a room on another floor to avoid him but he founds out her room number and shows up. So does Owsley. So does Kolker, who is finally suspicious enough of Brent to fly there.

I'll leave it at that. Everything ties up nicely, even though Francis seems oddly unbothered that Brent was paid to seduce her. Brent is too boyish - I kept thinking how much better William Powell would have been. Allen Jenkins and Glenda Farrell lend comic support.

Her gowns are spectacular, a big part of why the film is enjoyable. There's a costume change in every scene!

Was there any pre-Code actress more cooly glamorous than Kay Francis? The story that has her a married woman trying to resist the charms of a private detective (the less than amazing George Brent) who's trying to entrap her is pretty average fare, but it's livened up a bit by a con artist (Glenda Farrell) taking advantage of his assistant (Allen Jenkins), getting drunk on champagne cocktails among other things. In fact, this is one where I might have been more interested in the subplot of the supporting players.

The main story is set in motion because Francis's character is being blackmailed and she feels she can't tell her husband the truth, so he suspects her of having an affair. Without going into all the details, it's a pretty contrived scenario that leads her to Cuba. Aside from Francis's wardrobe and a glimpse of an airplane (the seating section for which was amusing to me) there aren't really a lot of interesting period details, and don't come here expecting any pre-Code naughtiness. Rather predictably, the detective and the woman begin developing feelings for one another in the moonlight, which I'm not sure I was really rooting for. The ultimate fate of the sinister blackmailer (the well-cast Monroe Owsley) was a nice touch though.

THE KEYHOLE has a clear plot hook, strong characters (you love 'em or hate 'em), non-static cinematography and colorful details that keep you entertained from the first frame. A number of Kay Francis movies had a similar plot structure: wealthy, beautiful, fashionable, sophisticated woman with man problems, usually triangular, but in this case quadrangular. Michael Curtiz keeps this one moving at a fast clip. In this particular plot, Francis's nasty ex-husband (Monroe Owsley) is blackmailing her while her jealous, aging current husband (Walter Kolker) hires a dapper private eye (George Brent) to follow her to make sure she's not seeing another man and of course Brent and Francis fall in love. Allen Jenkins (as Brent's dopey sidekick) and Glenda Farrell (as a crooked golddigger) are on hand as comic counterpoint to the lead players. Francis is charming as usual, exhibiting her trademark "look" - the raven hair swept back to show off her natural widow's peak, the unique eyebrow penciling that curves around her melancholy eyes, and the statuesque grace; and of course her character goes through about 15 costume changes in the 69-minutes of running time (a different drop-dead outfit for every segment of the day). The public inevitably tired of her, which is why she is forgotten today; she was more interested in her salary than in the quality of her roles, as she freely admitted. But when she was in her prime, wow, what a prime. Moving with feline grace in backless satin gowns, she is phantasmal and ravishing, yet still earthy, accessible and even vulnerable. You can't look away. So what if she couldn't pronounce her r's?

I've been watching Kay Francis for decades and this is one classy lady. Her career can best be compared to Greta Garbo, as they both experienced enormous success in the 1930s and a decade later left Hollywood, retired, never to be seen again. Fortunately, their films are still with us.

THE KEYHOLE is pure escapism. And let's face it, this would not be a Kay Francis movie without a dynamic wardrobe to match. Bottom line, whether you're going to dinner or going to jail, you must be dressed to impress. This is IT. Also, a few years before his pairing with Bette Davis, earnest George Brent was Francis' leading man, and in fine form here playing a detective, who --quite naturally -- falls for this beautiful lady in distress.

Kind of a corny plot, but it all comes smoothly together, because it's a Kay Francis movie. Best of the best at Warner Brothers are the supporting players. Who else but wise-cracking Glenda Farrell and Allen Jenkins are added to the cast to work their magic, and they do.

Michael Curtez directed, but considering the talent, the wisest thing he probably did was not get in their way and just let it flow. A real treat to watch from beginning to end. These 30s movies truly are like old friends who never wear out their welcome.

10 Stars.

Always on remastered WB dvd. Thank you so much to TCM for running this gem.

You just need to see a few seconds of this and you know exactly what you're getting. It's the sort of movie that can only be an early thirties Warner Brothers: wonderfully corny, fast moving fun.

Did the writers sit around a table playing a game of 'who can come up with the daftest story?' In this lovely chunk of 1930s life, a millionaire tests his wife's fidelity by seeing if gigolo, George Brent, whom he's hired to seduce her can tempt her into bed..... and to pointlessly over complicate things, she's also married to someone else as well. Only in pre-code!

It's no classic but it is classic Warner Brothers, encompassing every trope you'd associate with that studio - great stuff! The cast is also the classic ensemble of cold-hearted rich folk, a slightly shady hero, Kay Francis doing the thing she always did, an idiot friend, a saucy gold-digger and a Captain Hook type villain - only the bumbling Irish detective is missing.

If you enjoy those cheap and tacky Warner pre-codes which are nevertheless professionally made (Michael Curtiz was in the chair here) or just watching Kay Francis doing what Kay Francis does, this should float your boat.