How did Key Largo use the setting of a Florida Keys hotel to create suspense?

In the 1948 film noir Key Largo, director John Huston utilizes the isolated setting of a hotel in the Florida Keys to create a claustrophobic environment where the characters are held captive by a group of gangsters led by Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson).12

The suspense is primarily generated through the tense interactions between the trapped residents and the criminals, who have taken over the hotel while waiting to escape to Cuba. This atmosphere of confinement and danger is further heightened by the external threat of a violent hurricane that batters the island, effectively sealing the characters inside and preventing escape.12