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Surprisingly incoherent and boring

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

The inventor (Boris Karloff) 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.Although Boris Karloff may be best known for his horror roles, he makes a great character in this crime story, too. A man who has been wronged, he tries to right that wrong, but things go badly for him. He just cannot catch a break, even when he is the mysterious Night Key.Great plot, decent direction and crisp cinematography really help this one out. Some have noted that it has elements of science fiction. While nothing in the film is impossible, the security system was actually a bit advanced for 1937. It sort of anticipates the laser, which was not invented until 1960.

Boris Karloff plays an inventor of high-tech burglar alarm systems. Twenty years before he was ripped off by crooked Samuel S. Hinds, who took full credit for his invention and built a thriving security business out of it. Now Boris has invented a system to top his old one. He makes the boneheaded decision to trust Hinds again and is again ripped off. So he teams with small-time thief Petty Louie to break into places and make Hinds look bad, leaving behind notes signed Night Key. But then a gang of crooks kidnaps Karloff and forces him to help them commit real robberies.It's a mix of science fiction and crime picture. Karloff is excellent as always. I don't think I've ever seen a bad Boris Karloff picture. Petty Louie, played by Hobart Cavanaugh, is lots of fun. Samuel S. Hinds plays a villainous role very far removed from Peter Bailey. Alan Baxter and Ward Bond are the two most noteworthy gang members. Only drawback is the insipid romantic subplot between Karloff's daughter Jean Rogers and security guard Warren Hull, but it doesn't intrude on things too much. It's a fun movie Karloff fans will love.

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.

While not a major role for Boris Karloff, this film shows that he could have played nicer guys in his career, if he had never been shown the road to cinematic fame. He plays David Mallory, a kindly, hard working inventor who has perfected one of the first complete security systems of modern times (the 1930s version of those systems that are used in films like MISSION IMPOSSIBLE). Mallory lives with his daughter Joan (Jean Rogers) and hopes that it's marketing will give them the financial security that they have always deserved. But he has been cheated by his partner, Steven Ranger (Samuel S. Hinds) with the assistance of his lawyer Kreuger (Edwin Maxwell). Mallory is torn between seeking legal redress and getting vengeance (a typical Karloff situation, but usually his ego pushes it towards vengeance). Instead, he is befriended by a small time thief (Hobart Cavanaugh) whom he helps by defusing his alarm system in a robbery. Unfortunately this comes to the attention of a major criminal (Alan Baxter) who forces Karloff to do this to all the businesses that are using his system (the "Night Key" of the title). The story is unique in that Karloff is not a villain at all in this (his actions in aiding criminals are forced on him, except when he helps the fairly decent Cavanaugh). But it's not the only switch in the casting. The real villain in here (except for Baxter) is Samuel S. Hinds.Hinds normally was cast as a decent man - the father or grandfather of the hero or heroine. He is Katherine Hepburn's father in STAGEDOOR, who arranges her being hired by Adolphe Menjou so she can be "cured" of her acting bug. He is best recalled as the unfortunate father of Jimmy Stewart in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, who founds the savings and loan, battles Potter, but drops dead from a heart attack before Stewart can leave Bedford Falls. Occasionally he played rogues - he is the crooked judge in the film DESTRY RIDES AGAIN. But he goes really full blown here. Also, in the Bing Crosby film DOUBLE, OR NOTHING! Hinds is the sneaky father of a family of would-be heirs, out to sabotage the opposition by any underhanded trick they can come up with. In NIGHT KEY when the system is tested on the night it is installed it catches a small time crook. Hinds is upset by that: "Why can't you be a big time crook?", he shouts at the poor thief. It is an odd switch of the two actor's position from their normal roles. Karloff was such a good actor (as was Hinds) that their switch in characterizations is carried off well. Not a great film, NIGHT KEY is a very well made minor product: a filler for the movie house program besides the grade "A" productions, the short subjects, cartoons, travelogues, etc. As such it is worth viewing in order to see what Karloff might have ended up doing more of had he had less luck.