Night Key

Boris Karloff plays an inventor of high-tech burglar alarm systems. Twenty years before he was ripped off by crooked Samuel S. Hinds, who took full credit for his invention and built a thriving security business out of it. Now Boris has invented a system to top his old one. He makes the boneheaded decision to trust Hinds again and is again ripped off. So he teams with small-time thief Petty Louie to break into places and make Hinds look bad, leaving behind notes signed Night Key. But then a gang of crooks kidnaps Karloff and forces him to help them commit real robberies.

It's a mix of science fiction and crime picture. Karloff is excellent as always. I don't think I've ever seen a bad Boris Karloff picture. Petty Louie, played by Hobart Cavanaugh, is lots of fun. Samuel S. Hinds plays a villainous role very far removed from Peter Bailey. Alan Baxter and Ward Bond are the two most noteworthy gang members. Only drawback is the insipid romantic subplot between Karloff's daughter Jean Rogers and security guard Warren Hull, but it doesn't intrude on things too much. It's a fun movie Karloff fans will love.