Vice, corruption, betrayal, murder, and a skeleton in every closet: it's business as usual in big city politics. What many consider to be the definitive screen adaptation of a Dashiell Hammett crime thriller is more or less typical of its kind, with hard-boiled heroes in anonymous trench coats and tough, beautiful blondes squeezing terse, cynical dialogue at each other out of the side of their mouths. As usual the convoluted plot tends to frustrate any attempt at a quick description; suffice to say the heroes and villains run true to form, with the weakest link, oddly enough, being the two stars: Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake, a pair of the squarest jaws in Hollywood at the time. Their minimal emoting in the lead roles is completely overshadowed by the livelier performances in the supporting cast, notably Brian Donleavy as Ladd's earthy political kingpin boss, and William Bendix as his rival's cheerfully sadistic henchman.
Review of The Glass Key
