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Other Laser Discs This Gun for Hire LaserDisc NEW Rare LD Ladd Lake Thriller

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This Gun for Hire LaserDisc NEW Rare LD Ladd Lake Thriller

Double-Crossing Thriller that made Alan Ladd a Star...

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This Gun for Hire LaserDisc NEW Rare LD Ladd Lake Thriller

Double-Crossing Thriller that made Alan Ladd a Star...

Rare Factory-Sealed LaserDisc Movie Near-Mint Condition Veronica Lake, Robert...

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Rare Factory-Sealed LaserDisc Movie

Near-Mint Condition

Veronica Lake, Robert Preston and Alan Ladd in...

This Gun for Hire

( Catalog Number ID5126 )
(1.33:1) (2 Sides) (CLV) (NTSC)

LaserDisc Special Features

Best Version on LaserDisc
Theatrical Trailer

This Gun for Hire
1942 - 81 min. - Black and White
Genre: Film Noir

LaserDisc Movie Storyline:
In this classic film noir, tough-guy thriller, Alan Ladd plays Philip Raven, a double-crossed gunman who is out for revenge, with Veronica Lake as Ellen Graham, his platinum blond bombshell companion. A hired gun, Raven is kind to everyone but his targets, and when he kills an extortionist and receives stolen money in compensation, he becomes the target of a Senate investigation that leads him to set his gunsight on Ellen.

LaserDisc Movie Review:
Though billed fourth in This Gun For Hire, Alan Ladd was catapulted to stardom in the role of Phillip Raven, a ruthless professional killer with a long-suppressed streak of decency. After successfully pulling off his latest murder, Raven reports to his boss, effeminate fifth columnist Willard Gates (Laird Cregar). He collects his $1000 fee, only to discover later that Gates has double-crossed him with marked bills. This was done at the behest of Gates' boss, crooked business executive Alvin Bewster (Tully Marshall), who wants no loose ends left around to connect him with a plot to sell poison gas to the Axis. As Raven ducks and dodges the police, detective Michael Crane (Robert Preston) is hot on the trail of Bewster and Gates. Crane talks his girlfriend, nightclub singer-musician Ellen Graham (Veronica Lake), into taking a job at Gates' nightclub. While on the train to the club, Ellen makes the acquaintance of the escaping Raven. Gates boards the train, spots Ellen innocently sitting next to Raven, and assumes that the two are in cahoots. Later, Gates kidnaps Ellen and spirits her away to his mansion, intending to do away with her the first chance he gets. Instead, Raven, still seeking revenge for being set up, bursts into the mansion in search of Gates. Having previously been impressed by Ellen's kindness, he rescues her, though he intends using her as hostage should the police catch up with him. As they hide out together in the rail yards, Ellen and Raven get to know each other. Learning of Raven's miserable, abusive childhood, Ellen tries to chip away his murderous veneer, hoping to reform him. But when the cops arrive, Raven reverts to his instincts, shooting his way out of his hiding place. As Crane escorts Ellen out of harm's way, Raven rushes towards a bloody showdown with Bewster and Gates. Based on Graham Greene's A Gun For Sale, This Gun For Hire was remade in 1958 as Short Cut to Hell, then again under the original title as a 1990 made-for-TV film. --- Hal Erickson

Adapted from the Graham Greene novel by W.R. Burnett and Albert Maltz, This Gun for Hire (1942) introduced the archetypal film noir coupling of Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake in an early noir story of murder and deception-with a little war-time patriotism added to soften the harshness. In his star-making performance, Ladd's cat-loving contract killer Raven is icily amoral in his work, utterly emotionless except when angered. Lake's alluring nightclub singer-turned-spy Ellen is his steely, impassive match, even when she manages to momentarily appeal to his well-hidden better nature in order to foil a plan to sell chemical secrets to the enemy. Robert Preston's good cop may wind up getting Ellen, but it is Ladd who proves Lake's coolly charismatic onscreen equal. Shot with shadowy style by John F. Seitz, enhancing the underlying threat of corruption and violence, This Gun for Hire became a box office success, helping to set the standard for noir along with The Maltese Falcon (1941); Ladd and Lake sustained their popularity as the ultimate hard-boiled noir duo in The Glass Key (1942) and The Blue Dahlia (1946). Remade twice, as the feature Short Cut to Hell in 1957 and for TV in 1991. --- Lucia Bozzola

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Cast for This Gun for Hire

Veronica Lake - Ellen Graham
Robert Preston - Michael Crane
Laird Cregar - Willard Gates
Alan Ladd - Philip Raven
Tully Marshall - Alvin Brewster
Mikhail Rasumny - Sluky
Marc Lawrence - Tommy
Pamela Blake - Annie
Harry Shannon - Steve Finnerty
Frank Ferguson - Albert Baker
Bernadene Hayes - Baker's Secretary
James Farley - Night Watchman
Sarah Padden - Mrs. Mason
Dickie Moore - Young Raven in Cut Dream Sequence
Charles Moore - Dining Car Waiter
Richard Webb - Young Man
Charles Wilson - Police Captain
Pat O'Malley - Conductor
Frances Morris - Receptionist
Emmett Vogan - Charlie
Hermine Sterler - Raven's Aunt
Edwin Stanley - Police Captain
Elliott Sullivan - Officer Glennon
Phil Tead - Machinist
Fred Walburn - Walt
Cyril Ring - Waiter
John Sheehan - Keever
Dick Rush - Lt. Clark
Tim Ryan - Guard
Robert Winkler - Jimmie
Eddy Chandler - Foreman
William Cabanne - Laundry Truck Driver
Chester Clute - Mr. Stewart
Mary Davenport - Salesgirl
Yvonne de Carlo - Show Girl
Charles Arnt - Will Gates
Karin [Katharine] Booth - Waitress
Don Barclay - Piano Player
Clem Bevans - Old Timer
Louise LaPlanche - Dancer
Roger Imhof - Senator Burnett
Olin Howland - Blair Fletcher
Victor Kilian - Brewster's Secretary
Victor Laplace - Dancer
Pedro de Cordoba - Steve Finnerty
Virginia Farmer - Woman in Shop
Earle Dewey - Mr. Collins
Harry Hayden - Restaurant Manager
Patricia Farr - Ruby
Lynda Grey - Gates' Secretary

Crew for This Gun for Hire

Frank Tuttle - Director
Richard Blumenthal - Producer
W.R. Burnett - Screenwriter
Graham Greene - Book Author
Albert Maltz - Screenwriter
John F. Seitz - Cinematographer
David Buttolph - Composer (Music Score)
Frank Loesser - Songwriter
Jacques Press - Songwriter
Archie Marshek - Editor
Hans Dreier - Art Director

Feature Details

Title: This Gun for Hire
Feature Release Date: 1942
Genre: Film Noir
Color: Black and White
Runtime: 81 Minutes
Chapters: 1
Picture: Academy Ratio
Ratio: 1.33:1
Playback Format: CLV

IMDB Info...

Technical Details

Catalog Number: ID5126
UPC: 014381512663
Manufacturer: Pioneer USA
Publisher: MCA/Universal Home Video

Diameter: 12"
Sides: 2
Cover: Jacket
Spoken Language: English
Country: USA
Video Format: NTSC

Model: ID5126-N
Shipping Weight: 1 lbs
0 in Stock

Rare Factory-Sealed LaserDisc Movie

Near-Mint Condition

Veronica Lake, Robert Preston and Alan Ladd in...

This Gun for Hire

( Catalog Number ID5126 )
(1.33:1) (2 Sides) (CLV) (NTSC)

LaserDisc Special Features

Best Version on LaserDisc
Theatrical Trailer

This Gun for Hire
1942 - 81 min. - Black and White
Genre: Film Noir

LaserDisc Movie Storyline:
In this classic film noir, tough-guy thriller, Alan Ladd plays Philip Raven, a double-crossed gunman who is out for revenge, with Veronica Lake as Ellen Graham, his platinum blond bombshell companion. A hired gun, Raven is kind to everyone but his targets, and when he kills an extortionist and receives stolen money in compensation, he becomes the target of a Senate investigation that leads him to set his gunsight on Ellen.

LaserDisc Movie Review:
Though billed fourth in This Gun For Hire, Alan Ladd was catapulted to stardom in the role of Phillip Raven, a ruthless professional killer with a long-suppressed streak of decency. After successfully pulling off his latest murder, Raven reports to his boss, effeminate fifth columnist Willard Gates (Laird Cregar). He collects his $1000 fee, only to discover later that Gates has double-crossed him with marked bills. This was done at the behest of Gates' boss, crooked business executive Alvin Bewster (Tully Marshall), who wants no loose ends left around to connect him with a plot to sell poison gas to the Axis. As Raven ducks and dodges the police, detective Michael Crane (Robert Preston) is hot on the trail of Bewster and Gates. Crane talks his girlfriend, nightclub singer-musician Ellen Graham (Veronica Lake), into taking a job at Gates' nightclub. While on the train to the club, Ellen makes the acquaintance of the escaping Raven. Gates boards the train, spots Ellen innocently sitting next to Raven, and assumes that the two are in cahoots. Later, Gates kidnaps Ellen and spirits her away to his mansion, intending to do away with her the first chance he gets. Instead, Raven, still seeking revenge for being set up, bursts into the mansion in search of Gates. Having previously been impressed by Ellen's kindness, he rescues her, though he intends using her as hostage should the police catch up with him. As they hide out together in the rail yards, Ellen and Raven get to know each other. Learning of Raven's miserable, abusive childhood, Ellen tries to chip away his murderous veneer, hoping to reform him. But when the cops arrive, Raven reverts to his instincts, shooting his way out of his hiding place. As Crane escorts Ellen out of harm's way, Raven rushes towards a bloody showdown with Bewster and Gates. Based on Graham Greene's A Gun For Sale, This Gun For Hire was remade in 1958 as Short Cut to Hell, then again under the original title as a 1990 made-for-TV film. --- Hal Erickson

Adapted from the Graham Greene novel by W.R. Burnett and Albert Maltz, This Gun for Hire (1942) introduced the archetypal film noir coupling of Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake in an early noir story of murder and deception-with a little war-time patriotism added to soften the harshness. In his star-making performance, Ladd's cat-loving contract killer Raven is icily amoral in his work, utterly emotionless except when angered. Lake's alluring nightclub singer-turned-spy Ellen is his steely, impassive match, even when she manages to momentarily appeal to his well-hidden better nature in order to foil a plan to sell chemical secrets to the enemy. Robert Preston's good cop may wind up getting Ellen, but it is Ladd who proves Lake's coolly charismatic onscreen equal. Shot with shadowy style by John F. Seitz, enhancing the underlying threat of corruption and violence, This Gun for Hire became a box office success, helping to set the standard for noir along with The Maltese Falcon (1941); Ladd and Lake sustained their popularity as the ultimate hard-boiled noir duo in The Glass Key (1942) and The Blue Dahlia (1946). Remade twice, as the feature Short Cut to Hell in 1957 and for TV in 1991. --- Lucia Bozzola

Thanks for Visiting DaDon's !

Reviews, Articles, Newsletter and Information for Movies on LaserDisc LD Laser Disc, LazerDisc.

Cast for This Gun for Hire

Veronica Lake - Ellen Graham
Robert Preston - Michael Crane
Laird Cregar - Willard Gates
Alan Ladd - Philip Raven
Tully Marshall - Alvin Brewster
Mikhail Rasumny - Sluky
Marc Lawrence - Tommy
Pamela Blake - Annie
Harry Shannon - Steve Finnerty
Frank Ferguson - Albert Baker
Bernadene Hayes - Baker's Secretary
James Farley - Night Watchman
Sarah Padden - Mrs. Mason
Dickie Moore - Young Raven in Cut Dream Sequence
Charles Moore - Dining Car Waiter
Richard Webb - Young Man
Charles Wilson - Police Captain
Pat O'Malley - Conductor
Frances Morris - Receptionist
Emmett Vogan - Charlie
Hermine Sterler - Raven's Aunt
Edwin Stanley - Police Captain
Elliott Sullivan - Officer Glennon
Phil Tead - Machinist
Fred Walburn - Walt
Cyril Ring - Waiter
John Sheehan - Keever
Dick Rush - Lt. Clark
Tim Ryan - Guard
Robert Winkler - Jimmie
Eddy Chandler - Foreman
William Cabanne - Laundry Truck Driver
Chester Clute - Mr. Stewart
Mary Davenport - Salesgirl
Yvonne de Carlo - Show Girl
Charles Arnt - Will Gates
Karin [Katharine] Booth - Waitress
Don Barclay - Piano Player
Clem Bevans - Old Timer
Louise LaPlanche - Dancer
Roger Imhof - Senator Burnett
Olin Howland - Blair Fletcher
Victor Kilian - Brewster's Secretary
Victor Laplace - Dancer
Pedro de Cordoba - Steve Finnerty
Virginia Farmer - Woman in Shop
Earle Dewey - Mr. Collins
Harry Hayden - Restaurant Manager
Patricia Farr - Ruby
Lynda Grey - Gates' Secretary

Crew for This Gun for Hire

Frank Tuttle - Director
Richard Blumenthal - Producer
W.R. Burnett - Screenwriter
Graham Greene - Book Author
Albert Maltz - Screenwriter
John F. Seitz - Cinematographer
David Buttolph - Composer (Music Score)
Frank Loesser - Songwriter
Jacques Press - Songwriter
Archie Marshek - Editor
Hans Dreier - Art Director

Feature Details

Technical Details

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