This is Karloff's least memorable movie (since he isn't the antagonist). However, Karloff does portray the hapless inventor well. The only fault I see is that the film didn't make use of his individual talent as well as it could have. Any person could have been Mr. Mallory. Nevertheless, "Night Key" is a pleasant film because of its just funny dialog and realistic acting. I recommend it not only because it offers a change of pace for Karloff fans but also because its noir elements make it still entertaining. This film is surprisingly memorable not just because of the creative story but because of the amusing dialog. For example, when Ranger arrests Petty Louie he laments that the 10,000th person that his alarm has helped him arrest wasn't a big-name criminal. Louie apologizes and says that he was too shy to have been a more loathsome criminal. Also, Louie's accent and his constant recognizance of Mallory as his "boss" if very amusing just by how out of place the dialog feels. Even though Karloff gets the credit as the popular actor, Cavanaugh has the best performance. Mallory could have been portrayed by any actor.
Review of Night Key
