The Glass Key (1942)

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The Glass Key (1942) -- S. Heisler
Dashiell Hammett's novels seemed readymade for the screen and helped to kickstart the film noir genre. In The Glass Key, Alan Ladd is the hard boiled but loyal friend/sidekick/henchman to the corrupt but frank and direct political boss Paul Madvig (played superbly by Brian Donlevy). Madvig makes a deal with the Reform Party for the upcoming election which angers his mob connections (run by Joseph Calleia). So, trouble ensues and Madvig's sister, and the son and daughter of the Reform Party candidate get ensnared. The latter is played by Veronica Lake, making this one of the classic Ladd-Lake pairings (but unlike Bogart and Bacall, they really didn't like each other). Ladd's character Ed Beaumont is the classic Hammett figure, smart, independent, able to play both sides off each other, willing to look bad/deceitful/disloyal (and take a beating) but for the right end - of course, he ties up everything with a bow.