''Night Key'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

crime film starring

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), better known by his stage name Boris Karloff (), was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film '' Frankenstein'' (1931) (his 82nd film) established ...

and released by

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

in 1937.

Plot

The inventor of a burglar alarm (Karloff) attempts to get back at the man who stole the profits to his invention (Hinds) before he goes blind. The device is then subverted by gangsters (Baxter, et al.) who apply pressure to the inventor and use his device to facilitate burglaries.

Cast

- David Mallory (billed as Boris Karloff) *

Warren Hull John Warren Hull (January 17, 1903 – September 14, 1974), known professionally as Warren Hull, was an American actor, singer and television personality active from the 1930s through the 1960s. He was one of the most popular serial actors in t ...

- Jimmy Travis (billed as J. Warren Hull) *

Jean Rogers Jean Rogers (born Eleanor Dorothy Lovegren, March 25, 1916 – February 24, 1991) was an American actress who starred in serial films in the 1930s and low–budget feature films in the 1940s as a leading lady. She is best remembered for ...

- Joan Mallory * Alan Baxter - "The Kid" * Samuel S. Hinds - Stephen Ranger (billed as Samuel Hinds) *

Hobart Cavanaugh Hobart Cavanaugh (September 22, 1886 – April 26, 1950 ) was an American character actor in films and on stage. Biography He was born in Virginia City, Nevada on September 22, 1886. Cavanaugh attended the University of California. He worked in ...

- "Petty Louie" * David Oliver - "Mike" * Ward Bond - "Fingers" *

Frank Reicher Frank Reicher (born Franz Reicher; December 2, 1875 – January 19, 1965) was a German-born American actor, director and producer. He is best known for playing Captain Englehorn in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Early life Reicher was born in Mu ...

- Carl * Edwin Maxwell - Kruger

Production

Filming began on January 18, 1937 with a budget of $175,000. Filming ended on either February 16 or February 20, 6 days over schedule and $17,000 over budget. This was the last film in which Boris Karloff was billed by only his last name, a policy that Universal had begun with '' The Old Dark House'' in 1932 and had continued for eight films across six years during the height of Karloff's career.

Home video release

This film, along with '' ''Tower of London'''', ''

The Climax The Climax may refer to: * The Climax (1944 film), a horror film * The Climax (1930 film), a thriller film * The Climax (illustration), a work of art by Aubrey Beardsley See also * Climax (disambiguation) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Climax, The ...

'', '' The Strange Door'' and '' The Black Castle'', was released on DVD in 2006 by Universal Studios as part of ''The Boris Karloff Collection''. This DVD set contains the rerelease version of this film from Realart Pictures, Inc. It also contains the rerelease version of the theatrical trailer The packaging for this DVD set erroneously indicates that this film has a running time of 78 minutes.

References

External links

* * *{{tcmdb title, 84880 1937 films 1930s crime films 1930s science fiction films Universal Pictures films American black-and-white films Films directed by Lloyd Corrigan American crime films American science fiction films Burglary in film 1930s English-language films 1930s American films