The Key (1958)

Absolutely Fantastic

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

William Holden's last black and white movie is now rarely shown on TV and is not currently available on DVD. A CinemaScope movie, superbly photographed by Ossie Morris, it didn't sit at all well on our old-fashioned TV receivers and is not likely to be revived now because it is not in color. Yet Reed, Morris and art director Wilfrid Shingleton have lavished all the care of Croesus into creating atmospheric, brilliantly realistic compositions that superlatively capture the bleakness, the horror, the pettiness, the resigned helplessness of war-torn England. Although he has a fondness for close-ups, Reed brilliantly utilizes the full width of the screen so dramatically that cropping not only dissipates interest but leads to confusion because of the loss of essential detail. Admittedly, the original ending with its stark black and white images at the railroad station was restored in TV transmissions, but that was not enough to compensate for the image losses beforehand. Reed was always a director with a keen eye for tightly dramatic compositions. In fact, in my opinion, his visual acumen was second to none in British cinema.

Jan de Hartog's novel "Stella" becomes interesting, erratic, uneven WWII battle story mixed with romantic melodrama. William Holden, an American sergeant with the Canadian Army (!), is transferred to England to captain a rescue-tugboat in U-boat-infested Atlantic waters; the job inadvertently comes with a flat and a resident girl (Sophia Loren, an Italian by way of Switzerland!). Carol Reed directs the shipboard battle sequences well, but there's too much intricate detail (bombs going off, waves rocking the ships, crews scrambling the decks) that one loses sight of the main characters. Holden has some wonderful moments early on--fearful of his new position, nervous about his first day on the job--and his gaining respect from his men is one of the highlights of the picture. Loren has much less to work with...and in much less time; every so often she has a frightening premonition, or she's cooking, cleaning, or getting out of the tub. The bit with the apartment key near the end (passing it along before a treacherous assignment) is pure balderdash, and even talented Holden can't make the final scenes work. Very nice cinematography from Oswald Morris, sumptuous scoring by Malcolm Arnold; yet, overall, the picture is a minor one. ** from ****

As a master (captain) of salvage tugs I can attest to the incredible reality of the shipboard scenes. I have seen no other film that rivals the scenes shot at sea for this film. I found the film riveting for both the action at sea, and the drama ashore. The plot develops as the characters develop. Will the ship complete her mission? Will the captain return to the apartment? Will the characters overcome the obstacles before them, both emotionally and physically? Trevor Howard is the perfect old salt, full of bravado, yet terrified.William Holden, the optimistic American.Sophia Loren played the role of Stella perfectly! She is the despondent, cynical, war shocked shell in whom we are drawn to share William Holden's hope.I was mesmerized to the end.

Sophia Loren shines in a rather somber role as a woman in England who obstinately attaches herself to British naval officers that are involved in some of the most dangerous assignments in the war. Their job is to try to rescue the crews and cargo of ships that have been destroyed by Nazi ships or submarines. Since the Nazis know exactly where the battle took place, they know where the rescue ships are going to be, so the death rate among the rescue teams is very high. The great Trevor Howard gives a wonderfully understated performance, and William Holden also holds his own very well. The film is rather slow, though I prefer to call it casually paced. The wartime atmosphere of southern England is illustrated with good detail, and the action sequences are well-choreographed and suspenseful. It's not a great film, but I prefer it to most of those 'stiff upper lip' wartime melodramas that England and Hollywood produced in the forties.