The Key

Extraordinary, unwieldy World War II naval epic which fails to deliver as much as it promises, but promises so much as to be worth while none the less. Swiss waif Loren shelters and succours a succession of war-weary tugboat captains who are never quite sure whether she's a goddess or a whore, an island of love in the cold, cruel sea or a siren leading them on to their doom. Loren is excellent, and the film plays interestingly with the idea of a woman's mystery being the product of male prejudice and fear. But the dictates of the international box-office - lots of naval manoeuvres and a turgidly wooden American hero - result in a fascinatingly enigmatic melodrama being buried within a stolidly conventional war film.