George Raft

George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, today Raft is mostly known for his gangster roles in the original Scarface (1932), Each Dawn I Die (1939), and Billy Wilder's 1959 comedy Some Like it Hot, as a dancer in Bolero (1934), and a truck driver in They Drive by Night (1940).

Early life

George Ranft was born in Hell's Kitchen, New York City to a Catholic family of German descent, the son of Eva (née Glockner) and Conrad Ranft. His father was born in Massachusetts to German immigrant parents, and his mother was a German immigrant. His parents were married on November 17, 1895, in Manhattan. His elder sister, Eva, known as "Katie", was born on April 18, 1896.

Although Raft's birth year in obituaries has been reported as 1895, he is recorded in the New York City Birth Index as having been born on September 26, 1901 in Manhattan as "George Rauft" (although "Rauft" is likely a mistranscription of "Ranft"); the 1900 Census for New York City lists his elder sister, Katie, as his parents' only child, with two children born and only one living. On the 1910 Census, he is listed as being eight years old, and his birth record can be found in the New York City birth index as being 1901. A boyhood friend of gangsters Owney Madden and Bugsy Siegel (and later a "wheel man" for the mob), Raft acknowledged having narrowly avoided a life of crime.

The Glass Key (disambiguation)

The Glass Key is a suspense novel by Dashiell Hammett.

The Glass Key may also refer to:

See also

Glass Key award

The Glass Key award (Swedish: Glasnyckeln) is a literature award given annually to a crime novel by an author from the Nordic countries.

The award, named after the novel The Glass Key by American crime writer Dashiell Hammett, is a real glass key given every year by the members of the Crime Writers of Scandinavia (Skandinaviska Kriminalsällskapet) to a crime novel written by a Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian or Swedish author. Each country's members put forth a candidate novel, making up the shortlist.

Winners

References

External links

The Glass Key

The Glass Key is a novel by Dashiell Hammett, said to be his favorite among his works. It was first published as a serial in Black Mask in 1930, then was collected in 1931 (in London; the American edition followed 3 months later), and tells the story of gambler and racketeer Ned Beaumont, whose devotion to crooked political boss Paul Madvig leads him to investigate the murder of a local senator's son as a potential gang war brews. Hammett dedicated the novel to onetime lover Nell Martin.

There have been two US film adaptations (1935 and 1942) of the novel (plus one in USSR/Estonia in 1985). A radio adaptation starring Orson Welles aired on March 10, 1939 as part of his Campbell Playhouse program. The book was also a major influence on the Coen brothers 1990 film Miller's Crossing, a film about a gambler who is a right hand man to a corrupt political boss and their involvement in a brewing gang war.

The "Glass Key award" (Swedish: Glasnyckeln) is named after the novel and has been presented annually since 1992 for the best crime novel by a Scandinavian author.

The Glass Key (1942 film)

The Glass Key is a 1942 film noir, directed by Stuart Heisler and based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. An earlier film version had been released in 1935.

Plot

Crooked political boss Paul Madvig (Brian Donlevy) is determined to back reform candidate Ralph Henry (Moroni Olsen) for governor after falling in love with Henry's daughter, Janet (Veronica Lake). Madvig's right-hand man, Ed Beaumont (Alan Ladd), believes the move is a big mistake and rightly distrusts Janet's motives. She is only playing along at her father's request; she is put off by Madvig's crudity and becomes very attracted to the more eclectic Beaumont. He fends off her advances out of strong loyalty to his friend. The deluded Madvig boasts that Henry has practically given him the key to his house; Beaumont warns him that it is liable to be a glass key, one that can break at any moment.

When Madvig tells gangster Nick Varna (Joseph Calleia) that he is cleaning up the city and that Varna will no longer receive protection from the police, Beaumont grows even more concerned. Complicating matters further, Henry's ne'er-do-well son, Taylor (Richard Denning), owes Varna for gambling debts, while Madvig's young sister, Opal (Bonita Granville), is in love with Taylor. When Madvig finds out, Opal fears what he will do to her boyfriend.

The Glass Key (1935 film)

The Glass Key is the first of two film adaptations of the classic suspense novel The Glass Key by Dashiell Hammett. The film was released in 1935 starring George Raft, featuring Edward Arnold and Claire Dodd, and directed by Frank Tuttle.

The film was remade in 1942, with Alan Ladd in Raft's role, and Brian Donlevy and Veronica Lake in the roles previously played by Arnold and Dodd.

Plot

Paul Madvig (Edward Arnold) controls crime and politics in the city, helped by the brains and brawn of Ed Beaumont (George Raft). As he throws his support behind Janet (Claire Dodd) Henry's father in a political campaign, Paul also plans to marry her.

Janet's brother Taylor (Ray Milland) is a gambler heavily in debt to O'Rory (Robert Gleckler), a gangster whose club Paul intends to put out of business. Taylor, who has been romancing Paul's younger sister Opal (Rosalind Keith), is found dead. The temperamental Paul falls under suspicion.

Ed pretends to betray Paul while offering to work for O'Rory's organization. He is beaten by Jeff (Guinn Williams), a brutal thug who works for O'Rory, and has to flee for his life.