ridiculous rating

Better Late Then Never

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

Boris is David Mallory, a man who is going blind and an inventor of a top-of-the-line burglar alarm system. Mallory creates a new burglar alarm system that is even better than his last invention. Mallory's profits for his invention are stolen by Stephen Ranger and Mallory tries to get even. Mallory winds up kidnapped by a ruthless gang so they can commit a series of high-dollar robberies.This movie is much better than what I have briefly described above. If I go further into a description of the film it would ruin it for first time viewers. Let's just say it's a really good 1930s crime-thriller.Boris Karloff fans will appreciate this film - Boris takes the lead in a really good role as the very kindly David Mallory who just wants his fair share of the profits from his invention.8/10

NIGHT KEY (Universal, 1937), directed by Lloyd Corrigan, stars horror film icon Boris Karloff in a sort of change-of-pace project from his then current trend. Not exactly playing a night watchman with a skeleton key to get into every room in a warehouse where he works, but a kindly-old inventor with a device known as "The Night Key." Having recently played a scientist whose invention has him going on a murderous rampage in THE INVISIBLE RAY (1935), for NIGHT KEY, Karloff brings a new dimension to inventor/scientist, which, up to that time, typically one who becomes insane through the use of one of his own experiments. Here he's a middle-aged father figure, frail in appearance but strong in his actions which marked a new beginning for Karloff with similar roles to follow. Now back to NIGHT KEY.In an original story by William Pierce set in New York City, the plot introduces Stephen (or Steven) Ranger (Samuel S. Hinds), president of the Ranger Protective Agency, celebrating his twenty years of successful business serving alarm systems for banks and businesses. Dave Mallory (Boris Karloff), his former partner who actually invented these devises years ago, has never received credit nor royalties for his work. Now living in a tenement apartment with his adult daughter, Joan (Jean Rogers), a cashier for Coast to Coast Restaurant, Dave, having worked fifteen years on his latest security system, is slowly going blind. Fearing the new and improved invention might put him out of business, Ranger agrees to talk financial terms with Dave and market the product. Willing to forget Ranger's past misdeeds, Dave entrusts him with the invention in exchange with $500 advance royalty. Once the contracts are signed, Dave soon learns he's been tricked again, with Ranger having no intention of marketing the product after all. After Dave releases the soon to be arrested thief,"Petty Louie" (Hobart Cavanaugh), from Ranger's detention room with his night key, the two men team together through a series of break-ins to ruin Ranger's business, all leaving a note signed by "Night Key" that reads, "What I create, I can destroy." All goes well as planned until mobsters headed by The Kid (Alan Baxter) force Dave and Louie to join in their crime wave. As Dave's daughter awaits to hear from her father and his undisclosed whereabouts, she finds herself being trailed by Jimmy Travers (Warren Hull), one of Ranger's security guards who takes a special interest in this case.Often classified as a horror film due to the Karloff name and stock music lifted from Universal's own "Werewolf of London" (1935) on certain occasions, NIGHT KEY had formerly been linked along other Universal horror titles ("Dracula," "Frankenstein," "The Mummy," "The Wolf Man") whenever shown on broadcast television on Fright Night or Shock Theater festivals back in the sixties and seventies, and briefly on New York City's "Cinema 13 Horror" in 1981. Regardless, NIGHT KEY is actually a quaint little "from science fiction to crime thriller" stories that offers Karloff the opportunity of becoming more than a creepy character or man of evil tendencies as indicated in THE BLACK CAT (1934). In NIGHT KEY, Karloff's performance of the frail, white haired old man with bushy mustache, helpless without his glasses, is quite believable. Aside from the secondary performances by the blonde Jean Rogers (in a physical manner of fellow blonde actress, Mary Carlisle) and Warren Hull (billed as J. Warren Hull), honorable mention goes to the long forgotten Alan Baxter whose distinctive voice and mannerism best suited for gangster leader, the same type he enacted in his debut film, MARY BURNS, FUGITIVE (Paramount, 1935) starring Sylvia Sidney. Interestingly, in spite of Baxter's unique personality, he never ranked among Hollywood's legendary tough guy types of James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart or even Alan Ladd. While Hobart Cavanaugh often appeared in minor bits, NIGHT KEY is one of those rare cases next to I COVER THE WATERFRONT (United Artists, 1933) where he's gets the most out of his supporting stature. Others featured in the cast are: David Oliver (Mike); Ward Bond ("Fingers'); Frank Reicher (Carl); and Edwin Maxwell (Lawyer Kruger). Henry Armetta and Nina Campini as an Italian couple offer some amusing moments.Though some might find NIGHT KEY disappointing for lack of horror content, it's actually quite good for its standard, fast-paced second feature material. It's become available on DVD double featured along with Karloff's medieval feature, "Tower of London" (1939), though prints provided happen to be taken from 1940s reissue from Real-Art Pictures. Because of its science fiction theme, NIGHT KEY would be best suited as a double-bill with Karloff's THE INVISIBLE RAY (1935) on the flip side instead. (**1/2 keys)

Horror movies had slumped in popularity after the mid 1930s and Boris Karloff had a few lean years but "Night Key" was a quirky little thriller that was helped enormously by the casting of Karloff. He plays an elderly, half blind eccentric inventor who has finally perfected an invisible ray alarm after being "conned" out of his burglar alarm invention twenty years previously.Twenty years later things haven't changed - Steve Ranger (Samuel S. Hinds) and his crooked lawyer (Edwin Maxwell, who else??) have bilked him again. But this time there is no more Mr. Nice Guy for David Mallory (Karloff) and he is now out for revenge!! He makes the acquaintance of bumbling crook "Petty Louie" (Hobart Cavanaugh) and together they give Ranger a huge headache. Leaving a cryptic message signed "Night Key" they break into all the stores that are controlled by Mallory's old alarm invention, but now with his night key he can paralyze Ranger's alarm system. Joe (Warren Hull) has been looking into the history between Ranger and Mallory and comes to realise that Mallory has cause for anger. He convinces Joan (Mallory's daughter) to go to Ranger with demands that he should install her father's new system and give him full credit but in the meantime Mallory has fallen in with a vicious, baby faced killer called "The Kid" (Alan Baxter) who is forcing him to actually steal from the stores he breaks into.This is a terrific little movie with some great science fiction effects. Boris Karloff's make up is amazing, I noticed the make up artist was Jack Pierce who also worked on "Dracula's Daughter" and "The Invisible Ray". Jean Rogers, fresh from a stint as Dale Arden in "Flash Gordon" made a very charming love interest. Alan Baxter proved to me, once again, that he was a one dimensional, wooden actor who didn't stand out even in a role that was tailor made for him!!!

Despite the casting of Boris Karloff in the lead, "Night Key" isn't a horror flick or chiller even though the studios which produced the film is Universal. "Night Key" is essentially a crime noir with a little science fiction added to the mix to give it flavor. Even the science fiction of the film is minor—Karloff is a poor and victimized genius inventor whose "protection system" was basically swindled by an underhanded businessman, Steven Ranger (Samuel S Hinds), who "stole the patent" through chicanery (however, "legal" in terms of a tricky contract). David Mallory (Karloff) has invented a new protection system, but this time wants 50% of the profits and his name on the invention. When the contract has a flaw that Mallory signs (his lawyer is crooked and allows Ranger to get away with a loophole which doesn't have a time period for installing the new system if he doesn't want to, just using the contract as a weapon against Mallory), the scorned inventor will use a "night key", a device which sets off the alarms of Ranger's protection system. It's the perfect revenge really: Mallory invented the first protection system, knows every nook and cranny, and can exploit its flaws. But when a kingpin, "The Kid" (Alan Baxter, icy cold, in delivery and demeanor), reads of Mallory's activity in the papers, having used his device to break into places (without stealing anything) to prove a point about the flaws in Ranger's protection system, he will use whatever methods to secure the night key so he can rob areas for loot. One of Mallory's problems is a petty thief (and not a very good one at that) he looses from prison with his night key, Petty Louie (Hobart Cavanaugh, used for comedy relief, as well as, a foil for The Kid to use against Mallory and others) and helps him with entering places throughout the city—the two also play around in the stores they enter such as setting up ticking clocks to chime in unison and leaving opened umbrellas. Louie, though, is known by all the criminals in the city, especially The Kid, so Mallory's association with him causes unneeded complications. Jean Rogers is Karloff's daughter, Joan, and Warren Hull is a member of the Ranger protection service, Jim Travers, who takes a shine to her while tailing her, hoping Mallory will turn up. Karloff, wearing makeup and costumed as a much older man, is the perfect sympathetic figure for an audience because he is the victim of corrupt business practices and forced into a nefarious association with The Kid against his will. The screenplay even includes worsening eye sight for Mallory to further add suffering to the character. The Kid takes advantage of this weakness as does Ranger (the contract signing, the fine writing which would perhaps escape the bad eyesight of Mallory) so the film builds up the Mallory character as constantly abused. Mallory is kind, soft-spoken, and principled, so when he is mistreated by the treacherous Ranger, and kidnapped by The Kid, he's a genuine tragic hero you can get behind. Ward Bond, of all people, has an early part as a member of the Kid's gang of hoods. Predictable—even the blossoming romance between Jim and Joan is telegraphed in the usual fashion we are accustomed to seeing in films like "Night Key"—and rather average noirish crime feature benefits from Karloff's presence and lovable character. Hinds, in an atypical change-of-pace role, is crafty and sneaky, that is until his protection system's weaknesses are exploited and he must address the conniving ways he tricked Mallory, perhaps having to make amends for his actions. Karloff, I imagine, probably thought this was a relief from the usual horror roles he normally would (and later) portray.