Ladd, Lake, and Donlevy star in “The Glass Key”

The Glass Key (1942) is an American film noir directed by Stuart Heisler and starring Brian Donlevy, Veronica Lake, and Alan Ladd. The supporting cast includes William Bendix, Bonita Granville, Richard Denning, and Joseph Calleia.

The Glass Key centers on Ed Beaumont (Alan Ladd), the trusted right-hand man of political boss Paul Madvig (Brian Donlevy). When a local gangster, Shad O’Rory, is found murdered, suspicion immediately falls on Madvig, especially since he had recently been publicly feuding with Shad over the affections of Janet Henry (Veronica Lake), the daughter of a powerful senator whom Madvig intends to marry. Ed, despite his personal feelings for Janet, is fiercely loyal to Madvig and sets out to clear his name. He dives deep into the seedy underworld, navigating corrupt politicians, rival gangsters, and the cynical social circles of the elite, all while facing threats and beatings designed to deter him.

As Ed investigates, he uncovers a tangled web of deceit, betrayal, and hidden motives. 

 

Stuart Heiser (1896 – 1979) was an American film and television director. Heisler started out as a film editor from 1921 to 1936. He then worked as a director for the remainder of his career. He directed films starring Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Gary Cooper, and Loretta Young. He directed Susan Hayward in Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman, considered her breakout performance. She earned her first Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her performance. Other films directed by Heiser include Along Came Jones (1945), Blue Skies (1946), Tulsa (1949), Dallas (1950), The Star (1952), and I Died a Thousand Times (1955).

Brian Donlevy (1901–1972) was an American actor noted for playing tough guys in movies. He mostly worked as a supporting actor, but sometimes played the lead, as in the Preston Sturges classic The Great McGinty (1940). Donlevy worked in the theater but soon found regular work in silent films. He transitioned to sound pictures and starred in “A” and “B” pictures at most of the major studios. He supported the biggest stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, including Robert Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich, and Bing Crosby.

Veronica Lake (1922 - 1973) was an American film, stage, and television actress. She was a popular star of film noirs, often paired with Alan Ladd in the 1940s. She was also famous for her peek-a-boo hairstyle. Her home studio, Paramount, dubbed her the peek-a-boo girl. Women and girls all over the world copied her hair-over-one-eye hairstyle. Lake became an overnight sensation with her role in I Wanted Wings (1940). During the height of her career, Lake was making $4,500 a week. Some of her popular films include Sullivan’s Travels (1941), This Gun for Hire (1942), The Glass Key (1942), So Proudly We Hail! (1943), and The Blue Dahlia (1946). Lake’s career declined due to her struggle with alcoholism. She died from cirrhosis of the liver in 1973. She was 50 years old.

Alan Ladd (1913 – 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Before Ladd made in big in movies, he had a successful career on the radio. After numerous bit parts at just about every Hollywood studio, Paramount signed him to a long-term contract and crafted roles that propelled him to superstardom. Ladd established himself in films noir like This Gun for Hire (1942), The Glass Key (1942), and The Blue Dahlia (1946). Other important films include Two Years Before the Mast (1946) and The Great Gatsby (1949). Ladd also established himself in the western genre, starring in Whispering Smith (1948) and one of the most famous westerns of all time, George Stevens’s Shane (1953). George Stevens offered the role of Jett Rink in Giant (1956), but Ladd turned it down because it wasn’t the lead. Ladd’s last film was in a supporting role in The Carpetbaggers (1964).

 

Click HERE to watch the movie on the Internet Archive.

Click HERE to join the online discussion on Monday, August 4, 2025, 6:30 p.m. Central Time. Once you RSVP, you will receive an email with a link to join the Zoom discussion. 

 

Brian Donlevy, Veronica Lake, and Alan Ladd

The Glass Key trivia

• William Bendix accidentally knocked Alan Ladd in a fight scene.
• This was a remake of the version first filmed in 1935, starring George Raft in the Ladd role.
• Paulette Goddard was originally cast in the role of Janet Henry, but had to drop out due to a prior commitment. It was announced that Patricia Morison would replace her, but after the producers saw the chemistry between Lake and Ladd in This Gun for Hire (1942), Lake was cast as Janet.
• This was the second of the four Ladd/Lake pairings.

 

Discussion questions

1. What do you think of the second pairing of Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd?
2. Some film noir plots are hard to follow, or in some cases, are second to the relationships between the male and female characters. Was the plot of this film hard to follow?
3. What did you think of the supporting cast? Did anyone's performance stand out to you?
4. Did anything surprise you?
5. Was the ending satisfying, believable?

Kiss of Death starring Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, Coleen Gray, and Richard Widmark in his screen debut

Kiss of Death (1947) is a film noir directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, and Coleen Gray. It marked the screen debut of Richard Widmark; he earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination and a seven-year contract at 20th Century-Fox.

Brian Donlevy, Richard Widmark, and Victor Mature

Mature stars as Nick Bianco, a small-time criminal who robs a jewelry store on Christmas Eve with three other crooks. The robbery seems to go off without a hitch until the injured proprietor manages to set off the alarm. In an attempt to escape, Nick assaults a cop and is sent to Sing Sing Prison for 20 years.

Louis D’Angelo (Donlevy), the Assistant District Attorney tries to persuade Nick to name his partners in crime in exchange for a lighter sentence. At first, Nick refuses, but when his wife commits suicide and his two young daughters are sent to an orphanage, he has a change of heart. But “ratting” on other criminals brings complications of their own that put Nick and his family, which now includes new wife Nettie (Gray), in peril.

Henry Hathaway (1898 – 1985) was an American film director and producer. Hathaway started working in silent films in 1925 as an assistant to established directors like Victor Fleming and Josef von Sternberg. His first solo directorial effort was Heritage of the Desert (1932) starring Randolph Scott. Hathaway, along with Scott, would be known for western movies. Besides Scott, Hathaway directed Gary Cooper in several films, including The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (1935) which earned him his only Best Director Academy Award nomination. In 1940, Hathaway began working at Fox where he directed Tyrone Power in Johnny Apollo and Brigham Young (both 1940), Gene Tierney in China Girl (1942), Don Ameche and Dana Andrews in Wing and a Prayer (1944), and Call Northside 777 (1948) starring James Stewart and Richard Conte. After leaving Fox, he was one of three directors who worked on the western epic How the West Was Won (1962). He directed Steve McQueen in Nevada Smith (1966), directed John Wayne in True Grit (1968) which won Wayne his one and only Best Actor Academy Award.

Victor Mature (1913 – 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actor who became a major movie star during the 1940s under contract to 20th Century-Fox. Before his film career took off, Mature starred in Lady in the Dark (1941) on Broadway opposite Gertrude Lawrence. Some of Mature’s notable films include I Wake Up Screaming (1941) with Betty Grable, The Shanghai Gesture (1941) with Gene Tierney. In 1942, he starred opposite Rita Hayworth in the musical My Gal Sal. Other notable films include Samson and Delilah (1949), and The Robe (1952), the first film released in the Cinemascope widescreen process. Mature was self-deprecating when it came to his acting. He said, “I’m no actor, and I’ve got 64 pictures to prove it.”

Brian Donlvey (1901 – 1972) was an American actor noted for playing tough guys in the movies. He mostly worked as a supporting actor, but sometimes played the lead as in the Preston Sturges classic The Great McGinty (1940). Donlevy worked in the theater but soon found regular work in silent films. He transitioned to sound pictures and starred in “A” and “B” pictures at most of the major studios. He supported the biggest stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age including Robert Taylor, Barbara Stanwyck, Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich, and Bing Crosby.

Victor Mature and Coleen Gray

Coleen Gray (1922 – 2015) was an American actress who was under contract to 20th Century-Fox in the 1940s. She co-starred in the noir classic Nightmare Alley (1947) with Tyrone Power. She also had a role in Red River (1948) with John Wayne. In the 1950s she started working in television, guest-starring in many popular shows of that period.

Kiss of Death trivia
Kiss of Death was written expressly for Mature due to his excellent performance in My Darling Clementine (1946). The actress Patricia Morison played Mature’s wife who is attacked and raped by a gangster who was supposed to be watching her while Nick was in prison. All her scenes were cut from the film and her rape is only hinted at by Nettie’s (Gray) character. Because of this, Widmark’s role was expanded. The famous wheelchair scene had to be filmed twice because the cameraman forgot to load the film. The trade papers of the day announced that Richard Conte was set to play Udo, the role that made Widmark a star. Widmark received his first and only Academy Award nomination for Kiss of Death. Since the film was shot on location, a toilet is visible in Mature’s jail cell. You wouldn’t see another toilet in an American film until Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960).

To watch the film, click on the YouTube link below. Be sure to use this link because there are several prints of this film on the channel of inferior quality.




To join us on July 28 at 6:30 p.m. Central Time for discussion on Zoom, click the link below.

Stephen Reginald is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Discussion of "Kiss of Death"
Time: Jul 28, 2020, 06:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/78526823065?pwd=bzFaZ01LaUVjMVpoQ2lhdnZNSDczZz09

Meeting ID: 785 2682 3065
Passcode: F8m5H4


Discussion questions
1. Noir or not? Does this fit in with your understanding of film noir?
2. What did you think of Victor Mature’s performance? Was he believable as a small-time criminal? Did the studio make the right choice in casting him?
3. Richard Widmark made an amazing debut in Kiss of Death. Can you see anyone else in this role? In just three years, he would star in Night and the City.
4. Did the movie end the way you thought it would? Was it satisfying to you?

Preston Sturges series: Screening of "The Great McGinty" March 22 at Daystar Center

Preston Sturges series: The Great McGinty
Where: The Venue 1550 at the Daystar Center, 1550 S. State Street, Chicago, IL
When: March 22, 2016
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Hosted by Stephen Reginald

The Great McGinty (1940)  is the movie that began Preston Sturges’s writer/director career. Supposedly Sturges sold his script to Paramount for $10 in a deal so he could direct his first film. The Great McGinty won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and stars Brian Donlevy as a tramp who rises to political power with the help of a corrupt political boss (Akim Tamiroff). The cast also includes Muriel Angelus, Allyn Joslyn, Thurston Hall, and Sturges stock company player, William Demarest.

The suits at Paramount gave Sturges a B-picture budget of $350,000 and a three-week shooting schedule, as well as cheap talent under contract to the studio. Donlevy, a staple in films for almost a decade, was perfect for the role of McGinty, a man who goes from bum to city mayor and then state governor. It’s a wild ride, along with boss Tamiroff, who plans every step of McGinty’s political career. Eventually, the corruption and deal making catches up with both The Boss and McGinty. Will they both go down for the count?

The Great McGinty was a hit when it premiered on August 15, 1940 in New York City. Popular with both moviegoers and film critics, it was named on of the 10 best films of 1940 by the New York Times.

For a preview of the film, check out the clip below. Could McGinty be from Chicago?

Have some Joe and Enjoy the Show!
Before the movie, grab a cup of coffee from Overflow Coffee Bar, located within the Daystar Center. You can bring food and beverages into the auditorium; we even have small tables set up next to some of the seats. General Admission: $5 Students and Senior Citizens: $3.

Join the Chicago Film club; join the discussion
Twice a month we screen classic films and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.

Stephen Reginald is a freelance writer and editor. He has worked at various positions within the publishing industry for over 25 years. Most recently he was executive editor for McGraw-Hill’s The Learning Group Division. A long-time amateur student of film, Reginald hosts “Chicago Film Club,” a monthly movie event held in the South Loop, for the past two years. Reginald has also taught several adult education film classes at Facets Film School, Chicago.


Daystar Center located at 1550 S. State St. works through a grassroots network of collaborations and partnerships with individuals and other nonprofit organizations. Through this web, they’re able to provide educational, cultural, and civic activities that enrich and empower their clients, guests, and community members. To learn more about classes and events offered at the Daystar Center, please visit their Web site.