The Steel Key

An enjoyable B feature which races along for its 70 or so minutes, The Steel Key has all the requisite ingredients with Terence Morgan at his most dashing and quick-witted as the confidence trickster hero Johnny O'Flynn. Throughout the film, he is able to keep at least two steps ahead of the usual clay-footed police headed up by Insp Forsythe (Raymond Lovell) and at the same time outwit the gang of double dealers behind the plot to steal a rare chemical formula.

Colin Tapley is suaveness personified as the villainous boss but seems far too nice and polite to be truly evil; Arthur Cosgrove, however, is a completely different kettle of fish - no one did nasty, weasly unpleasantness better than him and he crops up in quite a few films of the time in much the same role, although remains a relatively little-known name.

With twist, double twist and counter twist, the narrative does become over confusing if scrutinised too closely; better to sit back and enjoy the fun ride.

"The Steel Key" looks like an early try-out for "The Saint" TV series.

Terence Morgan plays an attractive rogue that police forces around the world would love to catch red-handed; and yet he is happily focused on bringing real criminals to justice.

The "steel key" is a military secret - a "Macguffin" that matters not one jot. The baddies want it - Terence Morgan's character (who uses three different names during the film) gets involved by pretending to have it.

Forsythe, the policeman, is Chief Inspector Teal by another name. And Joan Rice is absolutely charming in the love interest role.

Good fun - with nice views of Fifties Newhaven.

I can see the point being made by the other reviewers.This is a Saint film in all but name.Terence Morgan is constantly evading the police whilst looking for the professor and his formula.The cast is quite interesting.Edmond Knight who was blinded in the sea battle with the Bismark,playing the professor.Michael Balfour is a sailor.Sam Judd with a moustache plays a henchman.Same Cannon is a rather dotty patient in the doctors waiting room.The film was made on the south coast and I am wondering if it used Brighton studios which was one of the oldest studios,closing in the sixties.The script isn't marvellous,but it provides some action.

Terence Morgan has a bit of a glint in his eye here as "Johnny", a bit of an opportunist who finds himself embroiled in a plot to abduct a professor (Esmond Knight) and pinch his formula for hardened steel that could revolutionise production and durability. Together with his charming - and quite wily - girlfriend "Doreen" (Joan Rice) they have to thwart these would be thieves and save the boffin whilst convincing Scotland Yard's finest "Insp. Forsythe" (Raymond Lovell) that they are on the level too! It's quite a lively affair and the sort of roguish, but honourable, antics of the star really did remind me of a "Simon Templar" type of character. It's all pretty predicable fayre, but there are a few fun cameos from amongst the supporting cast and it whizzes along fine for an hour. You'll never remember it afterwards, but it's perfectly watchable on a wet afternoon.

An early Berman/Baker production for Tempean in which several people get murdered without anybody seeming particularly alarmed, least of all the police. Shady hero Terence Morgan meanwhile simply shrugs his shoulders and pleads innocence by declaring that "I haven't murdered anybody in a month of Sundays..."!

It being the fifties, Esmond Knight as the bearer of the film's MacGuffin (which furnishes the cool title) keeps his tie on throughout his incarceration and rough handling by what the principal bad guy calls "our little organisation". The women - Mata Hari Dianne Foster and Girl Friday Joan Rice - naturally look great in their permanent waves and immaculate clothes; and there are attractive locations used as backdrops in and around London in places that at today's prices would be prohibitively expensive (including a couple of visits to Newhaven).

Sam Kydd sports a spivvy little moustache as a sinister chauffeur, while Esma Cannon (billed as 'Esme') is a delight as usual in a very brief role sitting in a waiting room as a neurological patient who recently received a phone call in the middle of the night from her long dead husband. (Nobody else has mentioned that this film also contains the final featured appearance by Raymond Lovell as the scowling detective, since he died a few months after it was released aged only 53.)

A Metallurgist Writes: The process by which Iron is transformed into Steel is already a process for strengthening it; and anyone out there who understands chemical formulae could probably amuse themself by studying the scribblings we briefly get a close-up of to see if they actually make any sense...