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''The Key'' is a 1958 British war film set in 1941 during the Battle of the Atlantic. It was based on the 1951 novel ''The Distant Shore'' by Jan de Hartog, published in the UK under the title ''Stella'', and was directed by Carol Reed. William Holden, Sophia Loren and Trevor Howard starred in the production. The key to a flat in wartime England may auger bad luck for a series of tugboat captains of the Royal Navy whose task is to rescue crippled ships in "U-boat Alley." As each takes possession from his unfortunate predecessor, the flat's other occupant, a Swiss expatriate named Stella, apparently goes with it. The latest captain struggles with his conflicting fears and affection for its apparent jinx. ==Plot== American David Ross (William Holden), a former tugboat captain now in the Canadian army, is hastily commissioned in the Royal Navy and assigned to rotating command of ''W88'', a double-crewed rescue tug then in dry dock due to battle damage. His predecessor was a suicide. The slow, poorly armed tugboats bring in "lame ducks," freighters crippled near England by German attacks. The main danger is from U-boats and aircraft. David is reunited with an old friend, Captain Chris Ford (Trevor Howard), who commands another tug about to go on a mission. Chris takes David with him and they are attacked twice. That night Chris brings him home to his flat to meet his lover, Stella (Sophia Loren), who wears a wedding ring. She had been engaged to Philip Westerby, another tugboat captain, but he was killed the day before their wedding. A friend of Chris's, Van Barger, took possession of the hard-to-find flat and Stella stayed with him. Knowing the extreme danger of his job, Van Barger then gave a copy of his key to the flat to Chris, so that Stella would be taken care of no matter what. When Chris chooses David to be the next in line, he tries to refuse, but his friend is insistent. David's tug comes out of dry dock and he goes aboard to take his turn of command from the tug's other captain, Van Dam (Oskar Homolka), who gives him tips for survival in combat but warns him that his real enemy is the one within himself, fear. Shaken by his recent close call, Chris proposes marriage to Stella, who accepts. However, she has a premonition that he will not be coming back from his next mission. She is proved correct. At first, David refuses to move in. When he eventually does, he is surprised that Stella does not share his bed, but as time goes by, she falls in love with him, unlike the others. She puts away her photograph of Philip, gets rid of the uniforms of David's predecessors, and takes off the wedding ring. She also leaves her flat for the first time since Philip was killed. Finally, she asks David to marry her, and he gladly accepts. With the U.S. entry into the war, an American freighter becomes David's next assignment, even though it's Van Dam's turn. Its inexperienced crew sends out a continuous S.O.S., contrary to sealed orders, revealing the ship's position to the enemy. When David finds out the situation, he tries unsuccessfully to refuse what amounts to a suicide mission. Knowing his chances, he gives his key to the new captain of another tugboat, Chris's former Mate, Kane (Kieron Moore). David's tug is attacked by a U-boat and hit numerous times. He orders the crew to abandon ship, then rams the submarine. After being rescued, David hurries back to the flat, but Kane is already there, having told Stella that David was killed. When she sees him alive, she screams at him to get out, hurt to the core by his betrayal in passing on the key. Later, Kane finds David drinking his sorrows away, and informs him that Stella is leaving for London on the train. David does not arrive at the station in time to board the train, but vows to Kane that somehow he will find her. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Key (1958 film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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