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Horror Movies & Sci-Fi Movies Database
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04.03.09
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The inventor 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.
Title: Night Key
Release Date: April 18, 1937
Runtime: 68 mins
Genre: Crime
All Genres: Crime, Sci-Fi
Languages: English
Country: USA
Colors: Black and White
Sound: Mono
IMDB Rating: 6.2
Buried.com Rating: 7.2 - (Rate This Horror Movie at Buried.com)
Category: Horror Movies Starting With N
Director(s):
Lloyd Corrigan
Cast:
Boris Karloff ...David Mallory
Warren Hull ...Jim Travers (as J. Warren Hull)
Jean Rogers ...Joan Mallory
Alan Baxter ...John Baron aka The Kid
Hobart Cavanaugh ...Petty Louie
Samuel S. Hinds ...Steven Ranger (as Samuel Hinds)
David Oliver ...Mike Callahan
Ward Bond ...Fingers
Frank Reicher ...Carl - gang engineer
Edwin Maxwell ...Lawyer Kruger
Roy Barcroft ...Alarm Technician
Nina Campana ...Mrs. Spinelli
Jack Cheatham ...Henchman
George Cleveland ...Sam Adams, company engineer
Hal Cooke ...Cafe Manager
Ralph Dunn ...ABC Delivery Garageman-Thug
Ruth Fallows ...Waitress
Antonio Filauri ...Alarm Technician
Michael Fitzmaurice ...Ranger's Male Secretary
Frank Hagney ...Henchman
Chuck Hamilton ...Policeman
Tom Hanlon ...Radio Newscaster
George Humbert ...Mr. Spinelli
Ethan Laidlaw ...Henchman
George Magrill ...Henchman
Monte Montague ...Henchman
Johnnie Morris ...Tailor
Henry Roquemore ...Man on Stoop with Dog
Charles Sherlock ...Lead Reporter
Charles Sullivan ...Joan's Cab Driver
» [more cast members]
Producer(s):
Robert Presnell Sr.
Writer(s):
Jack Moffitt
William A. Pierce
Tristram Tupper
Movie Trivia:
- The movie was made because although the new owners of Universal Studios in 1936 were convinced that the horror genre was commercially dead, they inherited a contract stipulating Boris Karloff’s participation in one more film. Carl Laemmle Jr. had signed him to this contract after the success of Frankenstein (1931), so, not knowing what other genre to put him in, they commissioned a story that would give him a suitable role but stipulated it would not be a horror film.
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The restaurant in which Jean Mallory (Jean Rogers) works is a recycled set from the 1934 version of "Imitation of Life." The cashier's booth where Rogers is seen was used in "Imitation of Life" as the spot in which Fredi Washington was working when her mother came to the restaurant and "outed" her as Black.
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Because of the presence of Boris Karloff, and the slight science fiction (for the time) angle of the story, this minor film was included in Univeral's "Shock Theater" package of films released to television. From the late 1950s into the 1970s, this film was widely shown on those television stations that were running the old Universal horror films.
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This B picture was shot in 27 days for $192,000. This was 6 days and $17,000 over the initial budget and due to director Lloyd Corrigan's inexperience and star Boris Karloff's insistence that union rules regarding an 8-hour day be obeyed.
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Character actor Lloyd Corrigan, an inexperienced director, had replaced Sidney Salkow, who had replaced Arthur Lubin, who had replaced Ralph Murphy.
IMDB Links:
» User Comments at imdb.com
» More information at imdb.com
Keywords:
Robbery, Burglar Alarm, Inventor, Father Daughter Relationship, Hostage ...[more]
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Rating: 7.2 out of 10.0 - 51 votes cast total
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