Producer: Z. Wayne Griffin. Copyright 2 February 1950 (in notice: 1949) by Loew's Inc. An M-G-M picture. New York opening at Loew's State: 1 February 1950. U.S. release: 24 February 1950. U.K. release: 17 July 1950. Australian release: 14 July 1950. 8,999 feet. 99 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: A romantic comedy in which a business-like woman from Maine (Loretta Young) and an ex-longshoreman (Clark Gable) meet as delegates to a mayor's convention in San Francisco.
COMMENT: It's almost inevitable in a romantic comedy that a few dull patches will surface here and there as the clichés of cute meets and their subsequent romantic entanglements and misunderstandings are thoroughly thrashed out. But running parallel to all this in Key to the City are three or four more lively threads, including a couple of chucklesome sequences with James Gleason parlaying with a wonderfully cute lychee seller (uncredited), as well as running interference with a gaggle of newshounds led by a delightfully resurgent Marvin Kaplan. We also enjoyed the entrance and climactic comeuppance of our favorite heavy, Raymond Burr (even though obvious stuntmen were much in evidence in the actual fight); whilst it's always such a pleasure to encounter Marilyn Maxwell, we couldn't help feeling a bit sorry when her stuntperson suffered such a significant defeat at the hands of Loretta Young.
As for Miss Young herself, she acquits her tailor-made role quite ably, but we felt she was outshone by her more pliant and-dare we say it?-more charismatic co-star, Clark Gable. Amongst the support players not commended as yet, I'd like to single out Frank Morgan and Clinton Sundberg as contributors of the most fun. Both are artists with an ability to transmute silvery dialogue into pure entertainment gold. Technically, the movie benefits from Sidney's sometimes lively direction and the always superb camerawork of Harold Rosson. Some real city hall-type locations are effectively utilized too.
OTHER VIEWS: The comedy takes a distinct second place to romance, though it does incorporate a few fast action highlights of which the first, a slapstick brawl in a Chinese night club, is by far the funniest and most inventively far-fetched. As might be expected, the script's opportunities for political satire are crowded out by the main virile-male-meets-girl-of-his-dreams plot, but George Sidney's direction has its clever moments and Harold Rosson's photography is never less than skilfully atmospheric. A big budget helps too.
SYNOPSIS: A romantic comedy in which a business-like woman from Maine (Loretta Young) and an ex-longshoreman (Clark Gable) meet as delegates to a mayor's convention in San Francisco.
COMMENT: It's almost inevitable in a romantic comedy that a few dull patches will surface here and there as the clichés of cute meets and their subsequent romantic entanglements and misunderstandings are thoroughly thrashed out. But running parallel to all this in Key to the City are three or four more lively threads, including a couple of chucklesome sequences with James Gleason parlaying with a wonderfully cute lychee seller (uncredited), as well as running interference with a gaggle of newshounds led by a delightfully resurgent Marvin Kaplan. We also enjoyed the entrance and climactic comeuppance of our favorite heavy, Raymond Burr (even though obvious stuntmen were much in evidence in the actual fight); whilst it's always such a pleasure to encounter Marilyn Maxwell, we couldn't help feeling a bit sorry when her stuntperson suffered such a significant defeat at the hands of Loretta Young.
As for Miss Young herself, she acquits her tailor-made role quite ably, but we felt she was outshone by her more pliant and-dare we say it?-more charismatic co-star, Clark Gable. Amongst the support players not commended as yet, I'd like to single out Frank Morgan and Clinton Sundberg as contributors of the most fun. Both are artists with an ability to transmute silvery dialogue into pure entertainment gold. Technically, the movie benefits from Sidney's sometimes lively direction and the always superb camerawork of Harold Rosson. Some real city hall-type locations are effectively utilized too.
OTHER VIEWS: The comedy takes a distinct second place to romance, though it does incorporate a few fast action highlights of which the first, a slapstick brawl in a Chinese night club, is by far the funniest and most inventively far-fetched. As might be expected, the script's opportunities for political satire are crowded out by the main virile-male-meets-girl-of-his-dreams plot, but George Sidney's direction has its clever moments and Harold Rosson's photography is never less than skilfully atmospheric. A big budget helps too.