Synopsis
HE MADE HIS ENEMIES BEG FOR MERCY!
The inventor of a new top-of-the-line burglar alarm system is kidnapped by a gang in order to get him to help them commit robberies.
Night Key
1937 Directed by Lloyd Corrigan
Cast
Director
Producer
Writers
Editor
Cinematography
Art Direction
Special Effects
Visual Effects
Composers
Franz Waxman Charles Previn Heinz Roemheld Clifford Vaughan Arthur Morton Edward Ward Karl Hajos David Raskin Charles Maxwell
Sound
Makeup
Genres
Themes
Releases by Date
Theatrical limited
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USANR
Theatrical
02 May 1937
- USA
24 Nov 1937
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France
Releases by Country
France
24 Nov 1937
- Theatrical
USA
18 Apr 1937
- Theatrical limitedNR New York City, New York
02 May 1937
- Theatrical
Popular reviews
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Though dissatisfying to folks who go in expecting a Universal horror movie (the poster and the KARLOFF billing certainly create that impression), Night Key is in fact a very charming, buddy-ish picture about David Mallory, an inventor (played by Karloff) whose burglar alarm invention was stolen nearly two decades earlier by a former friend, who has used it to build a business security empire.
Bilked for a second time out of a new invention (this one using mysterious "beams" rather than electricity), Mallory seeks a very specific type of revenge: he temporarily disables the alarms he invented in specific stores and pranks them (for example, filling an umbrella shop with opened umbrellas), thus undermining the credibility of his former friend's…
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"WHAT I CREATE, I CAN DESTROY."
When Universal honchos changed heads, they locked up horror and threw away the key. With Boris Karloff still on contract, they decided to have him play an aging buffoon who signs contracts with a past betrayer without a moment's notice (is this meta?) and unleashes all his years of pent-up fury in the cutest way of trolling hard: breaking and entering sans burgling. His sidekick is none other than a robbing hack while his daughter gets romanced by a stalker doing his work dues. It's all very cheap and cheerful in a little over an hour with some electronic tech reminiscent of switchboards. Worthwhile for Karloff fans, but this light crime "drama" is most definitely a B side.
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Karloff elevates everything, even this cheap sci-fi-ish yarn about a wronged inventor who turns himself into a vandal called "The Night Key" to get revenge on the security company who buried his ideas. Karloff is a doddering, gentle old fella who goes completely blind without his glasses, but he's got this one device, an electronic key that can turn off any alarm system he points it at. At first, he uses it to pressure the security company to pay him for his work, but pretty soon some classic 30s movie hoodlums ("The Kid", "Fingers", and so on) realize that he has a pass to every bank in the city and Karloff gets in over his head. Perfectly entertaining and a great character role for Karloff.
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I can only assume it was some kind of admin error that lead to this film being included in the ‘Universal Terror’ blu ray set. This is very much a crime drama with a dash of sci fi but the ‘Terror’ component is completely missing.
Expectations rejigged, I still found this a little on the dull side. Karloff is brilliant as the sympathetic lead and elevated every scene he’s in. The boring romance subplot and annoying comedy sidekick drag it down.
Also, the villain character had the most annoying, drone of a voice I’ve ever heard that was presumably not being exaggerated for comedic effect.
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NIGHT KEY is a film that I first saw in the 1960’s on local television’s “Double Chiller Theatre” which ran late on Friday nights. This was a show that played horror and science fiction films from the 1930’s, 1940’s and 1950’s ... and I was extremely disappointed in this movie. After all, it starred Boris Karloff and there was Absolutely Nothing that was scary about it! Instead, it was a crime drama with a technology element connected. I stayed awake until 1:00 am for this!
Watching it years later ... and at an earlier time ... improved it considerably. The story is clever. An inventor (Karloff) who has lost his patent to his employer for a burglar alarm… -
Bit of an under appreciated Karloff Universal. Probably because he's not a monster, and it's a one off mid-period era Karloff. I love the idea of a hard on his luck investor that keeps getting fucked out of his patents then using those inventions to rob your enemy.
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In a departure from his iconic horror image, Boris Karloff takes on the role of a kindly old inventor who after being betrayed by his old partner, for a second time, resorts to drastic measures to right a wrong. Needless to say, things don't go quite as planned.
If this film had been made by Disney in the 60s it would have starred Fred MacMurray and Kurt Russell and they would have had to team up to thwart villainous Cesar Romero, as is, this film does provide proof that Karloff was an actor of great range and this trip into film noir is one well worth taking.
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Boris Karloff fulfills his contract with Universal with a little crime thriller. He's a inventor with poor eye-sight who tries to sell his burglar alarm, only to get swindled out of it. As revenge he tries to make a mockery out of the company that stole it from him by breaking into the business they're protecting. One hitch. Real crooks want in on the burglaries to steal, not humiliate.
Good production values for a relatively minor movie in Karloff's career. Enjoyable in it's simplicity and with a comic get-away when a almost blind Karloff and his shot friend tries to make their way through the warehouse in snail speed crashing into boxes. -
A neat sleeper about an inventor (Karloff) taking revenge on the corrupt businessman (Samuel S. Hinds) who once cheated him out of a fortune – and now is doing it again. Second time around, Karloff is better prepared, rebranding himself as ‘The Night Key’, a playful vigilante using a neat gadget to circumvent the burglar alarms he once devised, and so destroy his rival’s reputation. The catch: Alan Baxter’s fresh-faced thug thinks his gang of hoodlums could probably use that key.
This one segues effectively from melodrama to caper-comedy to thriller, and while there’s some hack plotting and sappy romance, there’s also superior dialogue, nice POV photography, and the prospect of another nifty development around each corner (the climactic wall of lights is ingenious). Karloff, aged 49, is completely convincing as a frail but steely septuagenarian, though Baxter arguably steals the film in his early showcase as a psychopath with good manners.
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A decent sci-fi crime thriller Karloff simply made to fulfil his contract at Universal — regardless, it’s well made and Karloff delivers a stellar performance. An interesting somewhat hidden gem from the Universal vault.
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Underrated gem! This is a fun film noir with a wonderful performance from Karloff. I really sympathized with his character & I was rooting for his success. It's one of his best performances. I liked the story. There were some brilliant moments of tension & I liked how it ended. This a fun film that I really enjoyed. I'd highly recommend it.
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