Key to the City (film)

Key to the City
Directed by	George Sidney
Produced by	Z. Wayne Griffin
Screenplay by	Robert Riley Crutcher
Story by	Albert Beich
Starring	Clark Gable; Loretta Young
Music by	Bronislau Kaper
Cinematography	Harold Rosson
Edited by	James E. Newcom
Production; company	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date	February 2, 1950;
Running time	99-101 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1,514,000[1]
Box office	$2,973,000[1]

Key to the City is a 1950 American romantic comedy film starring Clark Gable and Loretta Young as mayors who meet in San Francisco and despite their contrasting personalities and views, fall in love. It marked the final film role of Frank Morgan and Clara Blandick.

Plot

Steve Fisk (Clark Gable) is the mayor of a municipality called Puget City. At a convention in San Francisco, he mistakes Clarissa Standish (Loretta Young), the mayor of Wenonah, Maine, for a "balloon dancer" he was expecting.

A former longshoreman, Steve feels that Clarissa might be too refined a woman for him, but he is definitely attracted. He needs to be careful, however, because a crooked city councilman Les Taggart (Raymond Burr) would love to have any hint of scandal to use against Steve politically back home.

Steve proceeds to inadvertently get Clarissa arrested twice - first after a brawl in a Chinatown restaurant, then on their way to a costume party. A photographer clicks a picture of Clarissa making it appear she is at the police station for public drunkenness. She does not think it funny, but her uncle, Judge Silas Standish (Lewis Stone), is privately delighted that the prim Clarissa seems to finally be loosening up.

The balloon dancer, Sheila (Marilyn Maxwell), shows up, causing Clarissa to conclude incorrectly that Steve is going to see her. And she is irate when Steve disappears, unaware that he had to hurry home for a hastily called council vote. The truth is, Steve wants to marry Clarissa, and cannot wait to present her with the key to his city.

Cast

Clark Gable as Steve Fisk
Loretta Young as Clarissa Standish
Frank Morgan as Fire Chief Duggan
Marilyn Maxwell as Sheila
Raymond Burr as Les Taggart
James Gleason as Sergeant Hogan
Lewis Stone as Judge Silas Standish
Raymond Walburn as Mayor Billy Butler
Pamela Britton as Miss Unconscious
Zamah Cunningham as Mrs. Butler
Clinton Sundberg as Clerk
Marion Martin as Emmy
Bert Freed as Emmy's Husband
Emory Parnell as Council Chairman
Clara Blandick as Liza

Reception

According to MGM records, the film earned $2,296,000 in the US and Canada, and $677,000 elsewhere, resulting in a profit of $298,000.[1]

References

The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.

External links

Key to the City at IMDb
Key to the City at the TCM Movie Database
Key to the City at AllMovie
Key to the City at the American Film Institute Catalog

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[Mannix-1] The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.