This Gun For Hire (1942)

Alan Ladd stars as Philip Raven, the hired gun of the title. He gets in some hot water when his latest employer, via a cowardly middle man (Laird Cregar), pays him his fee in bills that have been reported as stolen. Out for revenge, Raven soon finds himself dragging the beautiful Ellen Graham (Veronica Lake) into his plan. Unfortunately, Graham has a boyfriend who is in the LAPD (Michael Crane, played by Robert Preston), and it's not long until the net starts to close in around them.

Based on a novel by Graham Greene, this is an enjoyable film noir, but it's the least of the Ladd-Lake pairings in this style. Lake, especially, isn't treated well in the first half of the movie, being given a couple of minor musical numbers that feel out of place.

The script by Albert Maltz and W. R. Burnett isn't too bad, those musical moments aside. It keeps the character of Raven interesting, even if he's not very likeable, and lines everything up in time for a satisfying finale that ensures viewers are rooting for the right character by that point.

Director Frank Tuttle does well enough, but I can't help thinking that he could have done better with the cast he has.

Ladd is as good as he usually is in this type of role, Lake is luminous once again, and Crane is solid, but it's the supporting cast members who raise this above average. Cregar is a fantastic, conniving, coward, a man easy to dislike while remembering that he would always have someone else giving him orders, and Pamela Blake makes a great impression, despite only having a couple of scenes. She plays a young woman who dislikes Raven, with good reason, and her performance is a spirited mix of anger and fear.

Having only recently discovered both Ladd and Lake on film, I must say that they have yet to disappoint me. While This Gun For Hire may be the weakest of their film noirs, it's still a good film, and I don't think fans will regret giving this, or any of their other collaborations, a watch.

7/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Film-Noir-Collection-Kirk-Douglas/dp/B000UWXM1C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384884960&sr=8-1&keywords=film+noir+boxset

The Blue Dahlia (1946)

While it's no classic, and certainly a rung or two below The Glass Key (a film sharing many of the cast members), there's some easy fun to be had with The Blue Dahlia, a film written by Raymond Chandler and directed by George Marshall.

Alan Ladd plays Johnny Morrison, a man who gets home from military service to find that his wife (Doris Dowling) hasn't exactly been sitting at the window with a lamp on, awaiting his return. She's been living it up, particularly enjoying the company of Eddie Harwood (Howard Da Silva). The husband and wife argue, the husband storms out, and later that night there's a murder. It looks like Johnny is the man the police desperately want to get a hold of, but his friends, played by William Bendix and Hugh Beaumont, don't want to see him imprisoned. Even if they suspect that he may have done it. Johnny also finds an ally in the shape of a woman (Veronica Lake) he doesn't realise is actually Mrs. Harwood.

The Blue Dahlia may not have the best script or the most thrills, but it's an enjoyable enough watch, thanks mainly to the characters populating the onscreen world. Ladd has always been more of a stoic than charismatic lead, but that suits just fine in a film such as this. Lake is always captivating, Da Silva is enjoyably slippery and nobody does the big lug quite like Bendix. Will Wright, Tom Powers and others all help to keep boredom at bay.

There aren't any surprises here, no twists and turns beyond those that fans of crime flicks will see coming a mile away, but everything moves along well enough. There's a final scene that ties up any loose ends, without spending more time than necessary on each detail, and every element onscreen is at least competent and satisfying, despite being unspectacular and a bit lacking in excitement. Still worth a watch though, especially for anyone who enjoys the movie stars of this era.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Film-Noir-Collection-Kirk-Douglas/dp/B000UWXM1C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384710199&sr=8-1&keywords=film+noir+collection

The Glass Key (1942)

Brian Donlevy plays the central character in this enjoyable film noir, but the movie really belongs to Alan Ladd, playing his smart, loyal, right hand man. And the fact that Veronica Lake is also in the cast means that she steals many scenes simply by being as beautiful as she is.

The story, by Dashiell Hammett, is all about a smooth criminal named Paul Madvig (Donlevy) who wants to straighten up his act and move forwards in life. This is due, in no small part, to his falling for Janet Henry (Lake). As Paul starts to ruffle some feathers, particularly those of a crook named Nick Varna (Joseph Calleia), he finds himself being set up for a big fall. A murder rap could be pinned on him, and it could be hard to beat. Thankfully, his friend, and star employee, Ed Beaumont (Ladd) is also hard to beat, and he keeps digging around to find out who the real murderer was and how everything is being laid at Paul's feet.

Directed by Stuart Heisler, this is an unspectacular film that eventually blossoms into a thing of subtle beauty. Early scenes make viewers prepare themselves for another standard crime flick, but as Ed starts to use his intelligence while so many other people use fists and/or bullets it goes from strength to strength.

Ladd may not be the most charismatic actor to have graced the silver screen, but in the latter half of the film he does perfectly fine as someone who won't give up, no matter how much others try to deter him with threats and beatings. Donlevy is wonderfully smooth, and often a step or two behind Ladd's character, in the role of Paul, making him a reformed criminal that's easy to root for when compared to the other bad guy. And Calleia is good enough as that other bad guy, he's suitably ruthless and brutal. William Bendix, as a big man who administers beatings when ordered, is also pretty brutal, and there's a middle section that's surprisingly gruelling to watch thanks to his involvement. Lake is lovely, it's all too easy to see why a man would change his ways to try to be with her.

The script, by Jonathan Latimer, is very good, even if it falls just short of the greatness of the truly classic noirs. Ladd gets most of the best lines, but any exchange of dialogue between himself and Donlevy or Bendix ends up being quite enjoyable.

I'm not sure if this is a generally well-liked film, but I certainly liked it, a lot, and I hope that others will at least give it a watch, to see whether or not they agree.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Film-Noir-Collection-Kirk-Douglas/dp/B000UWXM1C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384370873&sr=8-1&keywords=film+noir