The Key is a combination of two films: a war movie and a creepy romance. Neither one of them is very good, so the end result is an odd black-and-white war movie in the late 1950s with romantic scenes forced in every ten minutes. Amazingly enough, they managed to make Sophia Loren look homely, and the love scenes between her and William Holden are laughable at worst and awkward at best. If you're interested in naval wartime movies, there are hundreds of others you can rent.
William Holden joins a group of rescue ships under the command of Trevor Howard. Trevor has a salty, crusty character that's unlikable and unimaginative-and he also has a mistress who's slightly nuts. Sophia Loren lives in an apartment haunted by the memories of all her dead sailor boyfriends. Every time one of them dies, the key to her apartment gets handed off to another man, who then hands it off to another friend in the off-chance he dies. It doesn't sound like much fun for Sophia, does it? It's no wonder she's not convincing in her love scenes. Bill tries to make up for it by overexaggerating his sighs and moony eyes, but it feels pretty ridiculous at times.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie is not your friend. The boat scenes are filmed with a bobbing camera, and several shots are randomly tilted. It will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!" Seriously, you can skip this one. Chance are, if you're looking for a war movie, you'll fast-forward the love scenes, and if you're looking for a romance, you'll fast-forward the battle scenes. Why not pick something else for tonight?
William Holden joins a group of rescue ships under the command of Trevor Howard. Trevor has a salty, crusty character that's unlikable and unimaginative-and he also has a mistress who's slightly nuts. Sophia Loren lives in an apartment haunted by the memories of all her dead sailor boyfriends. Every time one of them dies, the key to her apartment gets handed off to another man, who then hands it off to another friend in the off-chance he dies. It doesn't sound like much fun for Sophia, does it? It's no wonder she's not convincing in her love scenes. Bill tries to make up for it by overexaggerating his sighs and moony eyes, but it feels pretty ridiculous at times.
DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie is not your friend. The boat scenes are filmed with a bobbing camera, and several shots are randomly tilted. It will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!" Seriously, you can skip this one. Chance are, if you're looking for a war movie, you'll fast-forward the love scenes, and if you're looking for a romance, you'll fast-forward the battle scenes. Why not pick something else for tonight?