This Gun for Hire 1942

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This Gun for Hire ★★★½ 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 trainyard 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. 81m/B VHS, DVD . Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Robert Preston, Laird Cregar, Tully Marshall, Marc Lawrence, Yvonne De Carlo; D: Frank Tuttle; W: Albert (John B. Sherry) Maltz, W.R. Burnett; C: John Seitz; M: David Buttolph.