Producer: Z. Wayne Griffin. Copyright 2 February 1950 (in notice: 1949) by Loew's Inc. An M-G-M picture. New York opening at Loew's State: 1 February 1950. U.S. release: 24 February 1950. U.K. release: 17 July 1950. Australian release: 14 July 1950. 8,999 feet. 99 minutes. SYNOPSIS: A romantic comedy in which a business-like woman from Maine (Loretta Young) and an ex-longshoreman (Clark Gable) meet as delegates to a mayor's convention in San Francisco. COMMENT: It's almost inevitable in a romantic comedy that a few dull patches will surface here and there as the clichés of cute meets and their subsequent romantic entanglements and misunderstandings are thoroughly thrashed out. But running parallel to all this in Key to the City are three or four more lively threads, including a couple of chucklesome sequences with James Gleason parlaying with a wonderfully cute lychee seller (uncredited), as well as running interference with a gaggle of newshounds led by a delightfully resurgent Marvin Kaplan. We also enjoyed the entrance and climactic comeuppance of our favorite heavy, Raymond Burr (even though obvious stuntmen were much in evidence in the actual fight); whilst it's always such a pleasure to encounter Marilyn Maxwell, we couldn't help feeling a bit sorry when her stuntperson suffered such a significant defeat at the hands of Loretta Young.As for Miss Young herself, she acquits her tailor-made role quite ably, but we felt she was outshone by her more pliant and-dare we say it?-more charismatic co-star, Clark Gable. Amongst the support players not commended as yet, I'd like to single out Frank Morgan and Clinton Sundberg as contributors of the most fun. Both are artists with an ability to transmute silvery dialogue into pure entertainment gold. Technically, the movie benefits from Sidney's sometimes lively direction and the always superb camerawork of Harold Rosson. Some real city hall-type locations are effectively utilized too.OTHER VIEWS: The comedy takes a distinct second place to romance, though it does incorporate a few fast action highlights of which the first, a slapstick brawl in a Chinese night club, is by far the funniest and most inventively far-fetched. As might be expected, the script's opportunities for political satire are crowded out by the main virile-male-meets-girl-of-his-dreams plot, but George Sidney's direction has its clever moments and Harold Rosson's photography is never less than skilfully atmospheric. A big budget helps too.

A talented cast here brings off a pretty good comedy. Clark Gable is playing a Honest Longshoreman who has been elected Mayor in a Corrupt California City. He is attending a Mayors Convention in San Francisco. He has 2 blonde lady friends including Marilyn Maxwell who are exotic dancers trying to show him a good time. Then he meets a Mayor from Maine (Loretta Young) and the fireworks begin to crackle. Meanwhile Gables city is starting to ram through a crooked building project headed by a seedy ringleader (Raymond Burr). This leads to a whole lot of comedy as Gable is torn between the blondes, Young, and then has to go back home to stop Burr. Meanwhile Gable and Young get caught by the San Francisco Police in a couple of raids. Fearing scandal Young is between a rock and a hard place trying to keep her reputation and court Gable all at once. Then there is the police Sargent played by James Gleason who keeps covering for the 2 of them after each arrest. This is one of James Gleasons better supporting roles. Frank Morgan plays a confidant of Gable though he speaks with the strangest Irish/Scottish type of accent I have ever heard throughout the movie. There is more to this, but if you want to enjoy a great cast giving you some laughs, this movie is very much worth your time.

Key to the City (1950) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Coming fifteen years after teaming up for THE CALL OF THE WILD, Clark Gable and Loretta Young finally made another film together even though both had remained at MGM over the course of time. Their love child from the making of that 1935 film might have had something to do with this but in this film they play Mayors who meet at a convention in San Francisco. At first, naturally, they can't stand one another but soon they begin to fall in love even though Gable is facing some heat in his political job. When you know the troubled history that Gable and Young went through it's somewhat amazing that MGM would force them into this film but what's even more amazing is that they turn in such fine performances and the charm that's on display here is the same that was seen in that 1935 film (which I highly recommend). That's certainly the sign of great actors but it's a shame that the studio, knowing the trouble, wouldn't deliver a better screenplay. This is certainly another example of great actors having to work their tails off to make material seem a lot better than it actually is. This certainly isn't a bad movie because it does have several good moments but with these two stars you'll be hoping there was more here. What does work is naturally Gable and Young, both extremely charming and making the film fun to watch. The two work perfectly well together as both make you believe their characters and makes you believe everything they do. The supporting cast is also quite good with Raymond Burr as Gable's political rival, Frank Morgan (in his final film; he died before this was released) sweet as the fire chief and Lewis Stone. The screenplay makes a few bad mistakes including the silly political stuff that ends with a pretty over the top sequence inside of Gable's office at the end. This political stuff also keeps Gable and Young away from one another, which is another mistake as it's them carrying the film. Fans of the two stars will certainly want to check this out but others will find much better films from the two.

Fifteen years earlier Clark Gable and Loretta Young did Call of the Wild for her studio which was then 20th Century Fox. They had a most discreet affair which resulted in the birth of Young's daughter Judy. Back in those days Young indulged in an elaborate charade and 'adopted' her own daughter as a single mother. Nothing quite as earth shattering as that happened on the set of Key to the City which was made for Gable's MGM. Still it's an interesting comedy drama about a pair of small city mayors who meet at a convention in San Francisco and fall in love.Young is a proper New England mayor from an old stock family in Wynona, Maine. Gable is mayor of the small city of Puget City on the Pacific coast and started out as a longshoreman. He ran on a reform ticket, but the special interests that he beat are still very much alive and represented here in the person of sinister Raymond Burr.It's a convention and people kind of let their hair down at conventions, Clark and Loretta are no different. And San Francisco is quite the romantic town.One of MGM's most beloved players, Frank Morgan, plays Gable's fire chief complete with brogue and all. It was one of his last films and Morgan kind of borrows a bit from Ed Wynn and his famous Texaco fire chief from radio. Also featured well is Lewis Stone as Young's uncle, a federal judge and a most proper and aristocratic gentlemen and Marilyn Maxwell who Gable rejects for Young and is determined to get a little payback. Highlight of the film is the chick fight going on between Young and Maxwell while Gable and Burr are slugging it out.Key to the City is not on the top ten or even top twenty of either Clark Gable or Loretta Young's film credits. But it is still quite amusing even after almost 60 years.