Runtime: 78 minutes
Directed by: Frank Tuttle
Starring: Veronica Lake, Robert Preston, Laird Cregar, Alan Ladd, Tully Marshall
From: Paramount
On what would have been Veronica Lake’s 100th birthday, I had to see one of her movies last night. Before then, the only one I’d experienced was another famous noir, The Glass Key. As This Gun for Hire is on the Criterion Channel and the plot description intrigued, that was the selection I made. Now, I better understand why for a few years she was popular.
It was a movie that not only proved why Lake was so alluring to so many, it made Alan Ladd a big star after he had been in the business for years w/ little prior success. He played Raven (that’s his surname), a hired killer who is double-crossed after a hit by a rather portly gentleman. Lake, meanwhile, is a nightclub singer-yes, we do get to se her belt out a pair of tunes-who is hired to work at portly’s club… then is asked by the government to snoop on him as he may be doing some really bad things during World War II. Meanwhile, Lake’s boyfriend is a copper who of course gets involved himself… it’s not as confusing as it may sound. The relationship between Ladd and Lake is rather complicated but she tries to crack away at his tough exterior; yes, he does have a backstory which explains his anti-social behavior.
Overall, this was a pretty good early noir which has what you’d expect: tough guys, gunplay, people on the run, appealing dames, dark dingy locations, cracking dialogue and no shortage of shifty characters. Ladd and Lake are the standouts as they both excel at playing those stereotypes. There is some attempts at giving these people quirks, from one person's affinity for peppermints to Raven’s love of cats… note that off-screen a kitty is accidentally killed.
Just from two movies I know it’s a shame that Ms. Veronica starring in plenty of bad movies at Paramount then after she left the studio is a real shame as she deserved better. Her real life after the 40’s was full of booze and heartache which is of course a much bigger shame, as was her passing away at a relatively young age. At least I picked a good movie as a way to tip my cap to her on what would have been her turning a century old.
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