by Moe Zilla

Created on: August 03, 2008   Last Updated: August 04, 2008

Night Key is a good old-fashioned melodrama starring Boris Karloff. The 50-year-old actor plays a kindly old inventor who's double-crossed by a ruthless businessman after 15 years of work. It was just six years after Karloff's breakthrough performance as Frankenstein's monster, and he brings a warm humanity to the offbeat part. It's a script that throws him into tricky situations - but there's also some clever twists.

Going blind, and hoping to make a better life for his daughter, Karloff's character had designed a sophisticated new burglar alarm system. But unfortunately for the double-crossing businessman, Karloff also invented a way to bypass the old ones. The businessman owns Ranger Protection Services, and has assembled the press to watch the 10,000th crook that's been thwarted by their system. But instead, all the reporters find is an empty cell and a message. "What I create I can destroy. Night Key."

Ranger Protection Services had intended to eliminate Karloff's competing security system - but soon discover the inventor has other plans. He'd also designed their original security system, and now wields a mechanical box which emits a security-bypassing hum. For his second crime, he re-arranges all the clocks in a jewelry store, and leaves an equally cryptic message. "We are running out of time. Night Key."

Karloff's character soon teams up with "Petty Louie," a small-time crook who's in awe of his machine. ("Night Key Baffles Police" the newspaper headline reads.) But after 12 robberies, they've also attracted the interest of a sinister criminal gang (complete with B-movie names like "Fingers" and "The Kid".) They call him "Pop" and make vague threats about "the East River" unless he delivers his security-bypassing secrets to them. The deep-voiced inventor is at the mercy of the crooks. But 66 minutes into the film, they'll be on the receiving end of some surprising special effects.

As hokey as it sounds, the movie lives up to its potential, delivering a story of a good man resisting both crooks and capitalists. Ironically, it was released on a two-movie DVD with "Tower of London," in which Karloff plays a ruthless henchman who murders prisoners during Richard the III's bloody reign. The two characters are complete opposites - even though the gentle inventor character could be on the brink of desperation. ("Eccentric cracksman paralyzes Ranger's protective system," the newspaper headlines blare...) With his deep quavering voice, Karloff hints at darker motivation. The chief appeal of "Night Key" is watching his troubled character grappling for redemption instead.

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