The Key (1958)

Directed by

Carol Reed

Genre

drama film, film noir, romance film

Country

United Kingdom

Runtime

2h 14m

Rated

NR

Rating

6.1 of 10 from 33 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

During the Battle of the Atlantic, a series of Royal Navy tug captains share a flat in wartime Britain. Each man takes over from his predecessor, who died on the dangerous rescue missions in U-boat Alley. The flat comes with a Swiss expatriate woman named Stella, and the latest captain must confront his own fears and growing feelings for her.

tensemelancholicromanticsuspensefulbleaknostalgicslow-burnwar-tinged

What happens

The Key is a 1958 British-American war film set in 1941 during the Battle of the Atlantic. It was based on the 1951 novel Stella by Jan de Hartog (later republished as The Distant Shore and The Key) and was directed by Carol Reed. William Holden, Sophia Loren and Trevor Howard starred in the production. The key to a flat in wartime Britain may augur bad luck for a succession of tug captains of the Royal Navy whose task is to rescue crippled ships in "U-boat Alley." As each takes possession from his unfortunate predecessor, the flat's other occupant, a Swiss expatriate named Stella, apparently comes with it. The latest captain struggles with his conflicting fears and affection for its apparent jinx. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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• Another Time, Another Place (1958)