Did I miss how the final sailor got the key ? I did notice how that sailor seemed to envy Ross. I suspected that that sailor would find a way to be with Stella and when Ross was assumed dead he eagerly and fairly acted on that desire. But whether he had a key and whether Ross had given it to him is not clear to me. I will look here for your answer and/or watch the film again and not budge from my chair.
shareWell, I've found some answers ( for the time being ), here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Key_(1958_film).
There I read that yes, Ross does give the key to that sailor, actor Kieron Moore, and the ending which separates Stella and David was contrived by the ethical powers at that time as a kind of punishment for their illicit physical relationship.
As he's setting out on the last mission, the one everyone thinks is doomed, David sees his ex-roommate Kane going by behind a stretcher carrying yet another victim of their ill-fated profession.
Feeling he probably won't survive, he tosses the key to Kane who seems in a daze; probably contemplating his own mortality. After David uses his damaged tug to ram to submarine, it's presumed he and his crew perished. Fortunately, they've only abandoned ship. They are soon rescued at sea.
Kane, not wasting any time uses his key to enter Stella's apartment. This is not surprising considering where he was living. David rushes back but finds Kane with Stella. Upset David has passed the key to yet another man she demands that he leave. He does.
Later Kane finds him and offers to share the apartment; Stella has moved out and is heading by train to London. She sent David the little box she'd given him for Christmas; the one that contained the note that says I love you. David rushes to catch her but her train has already pulled away. He confidently tells Kane he will find her when he returns to London.
I know that ending was used to satisfy the Hays code but I think it's a much better, far less contrived outcome for their story than the alternative 'happy' ending would have been.
In the happy ending he catches up to her train and they leave together. That just seems very unrealistic. While his tug may have been destroyed, he would still be a captain and would be unable to simply walk away. It's not like it was a job he was quitting. Even though it wasn't his country, he had signed up for military service and they were still at war.
Also, the reason Stella was upset and left him is because he put more weight on continuing the tradition of the key than he did on their relationship. He simply passed the apartment and her along to someone else. That must have been quite a blow especially when he said he loved her, gave her the spare key, and told her the apartment was hers. Giving Kane the key meant he did think she had brought him bad luck and, since death was inevitable, some other guy should get to enjoy the space and her during the time he had.
She loved him but to forgive all that so quickly wouldn't make sense. It would seem he just wanted to pick up where they left off because he survived. With this ending, if and when he finds her again, she'll know he's had time to think and has other options. Finding her again will show he does love her, wants to be with her, and is able to overlook all the previous relationships she had while living at number twelve. If she waits for him, he'll know and be assured of her feelings too.
Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]