The Key

In World War II England, a tugboat Captain (William Holden) inherits a fellow captain’s (Trevor Howard) key to an apartment and its attractive young resident (Sophia Loren).

The Key is a very well produced and well-acted film that never really lives up to its potential. Veering between wartime action and domestic drama, the film fails to excel at either.

William Holden looks a little soft in the lead, but that minor detail doesn’t distract for long. His performance opposite Howard and Loren carries the film, although at times even he seems unsure of just what the film wants to be.

This uncertainty is even more pronounced in Loren, who, for the most part, does a great job of not overplaying her part, but falters whenever the dreaded “eerie” music cuts in. These scenes in particular don’t work, and only serve to reiterate a point director Carol Reed could have made much more subtly.

The wartime action sequences are much better. These well produced interludes help break up the more mundane domestic scenes, but unfortunately never last long enough to really take on a life of their own.

Still, The Key earns points for eschewing a typical Hollywood ending, and for its excellent black and white cinematography.

A lot of wasted potential here that another rewrite and a little editing could have avoided.