History of crime fiction quite complicated, forcing him to embark on an odyssey through the urban landscape. He is involved with organized crime and other lowlifes on the "mean streets" of, preferably, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, or Chicago. A hard-boiled private eye has an ambivalent attitude towards the police. It is his ambition to save America and rid it of its mean elements all by himself. As Raymond Chandler's protagonist Philip Marlowe—immortalized by actor Humphrey Bogart in the movie adaptation (1946) of the novel "The Big Sleep" (1939)—admits to his client, General Sternwood, he finds it rather tiresome, as an individualist, to
The Glass Key (1942 film) November 26, 1946. Gene Kelly played Ned Beaumont in the adaptation. The Glass Key (1942 film) The Glass Key is a 1942 American crime drama film and 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. Crooked political boss Paul Madvig is determined to back reform candidate, Ralph Henry, for governor after falling in love with Ralph's daughter, Janet. Paul's right-hand man, Ed Beaumont, believes the move is a big mistake and rightly distrusts Janet's motives. She is only playing along at