Night Key (1937)

 Night Key (1937)

When people think of Boris Karloff, the images that immediately come to mind undoubtedly are famous monsters such as Frankenstein's monster, or The Mummy, or maybe images of a mad scientist, however Karloff's acting skill goes beyond traditional horror faire.   In 1937 Karloff was cast as a brilliant inventor who invented a security system, in Night Key.  Karloff is not a villain in this film, but instead an old man with a kind heart, whose invention was stolen from him from his "friend", and when presented with the opportunity to work with his friend, and sell him a new security system, his friend again steals the invention from him through a legal loophole in the contract, and again Karloff is left with nothing, and won't even see his greatest invention yet, be put into use.   However Karloff has a trick up his trick, as he has created an invention a "key" that overrides the original security system.  He vows that "what I created, I can destroy", and with the assistance of petty criminal he uses the "Night Key" to enter into businesses that use the security system that he invented, and basically rearranges things in the store and leaves behind the calling card saying "What I created, I can destroy".   However word of this amazing "Night Key" gets to a mob boss called "The Kid", and soon Karloff's character, and his petty thief friend find themselves captives of the mob boss and his henchmen, and when he refuses to work for them, his daughter is kidnapped by them.  But can her new friend who works for the security company save them in time before they "end up at the bottom of the East River"?

Night Key was directed by Lloyd Carrington, with a screenplay by Tristram Tupper, and John C. Moffitt.  The film is a science-fiction crime thriller, produced and distributed by Universal Pictures in 1937.  The film isn't in the horror genre that Karloff is famous for doing, but is a great film, with great characters, story, and has an exciting pace and plot.   This film shows that Karloff's skill as an actor can extend beyond horror films. 

Night Key stars Boris Karloff as David Mallory, Jean Rogers plays his daughter Joan Mallory, J. Warren Hull plays Jimmy Travis, Alan Baxter plays "The Kid", Hobart Cavanaugh plays "Petty Louie", Samuel Hinds plays Stephen Ranger, David Oliver plays "Mike", Ward Bond plays "Fingers", Frank Reicher plays Carl, and Edwin Maxwell plays Kruger.  The film features a great cast, Karloff is amazing as the elderly inventor who is starting to go blind, he has this kindness and charm to him, and it is hard not to root for such a great character.  I absolutely loved Jean Rogers as his daughter Joan, it is impossible not to fall in love with such a sweet and beautiful character, her love for her father is so endearing, and her beauty really lights up the screen.  Overall this film really does have a great cast of characters, and they are all acted really well.

Night Key, might be a lesser known Boris Karloff film, but it is definitely worth checking out.  I really enjoyed this film, and thought it was a lot of fun, and to see Karloff as such a kind character, I feel gave a glimpse more into who he is as a person, because from every story that I've read, Karloff was far from the monster that he was famous for on screen, but rather a very kind man, that people loved to be around.  I feel like this film shows that, and I think it is beautiful.  If you haven't seen Night Key, I definitely recommend checking it out, it might not be a must-see film like some of his classic films, but it definitely one that is worth watching, and one that I highly recommend.   If you find a copy of this film I do highly recommend picking it up.