This Gun for Hire Movie Review 1942

In his first major film role, Ladd plays a hired gun seeking retribution from a client who betrays him. Preston is the cop pursuing him and hostage Lake. Ladd's performance as the cold-blooded killer with a soft spot for cats is stunning; his train-yard scene is an emotional powerhouse. Based on Graham Greene's novel "A Gun for Sale." Remade as "Short Cut to Hell." The first of several films using the Ladd-Lake team, but the only one in which Ladd played a villain.

Distribution

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Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 81 minutes.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Screen Teams: Ladd & Lake, Film Noir, Hit Men/Women, Books to Film: Graham Greene, Revenge, Hostage!, Betrayal

Screenplay

Albert (John B. Sherry) Maltz, W.R. Burnett

Cast

Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Robert Preston, Laird Cregar, Tully Marshall, Marc Lawrence, Yvonne De Carlo

Cinematography

John Seitz

Director

Frank Tuttle

Music

David Buttolph

Producer

Richard M. Blumenthal, Paramount Pictures