7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A hired killer dodges police while tracking down the enemy agents who tried to frame him.
Starring: Veronica Lake, Robert Preston, Laird Cregar, Alan Ladd, Tully MarshallFilm-Noir | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.37:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.37:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Alan Ladd is best known as the star of George Stevens's Western masterpiece Shane (1953) but many film fans may not know that his first breakout role came in Frank Tuttle's noir This Gun for Hire (1942). Contemporary press accounts predicted that this first lead role would turn Ladd into a star and also recounted how he first started in the industry. For two years he worked as a laborer at Universal Studios. Most of his work involved rigging up scaffolds in the rafters for the electricians. He also had a job as a grip. Ladd then got his first opportunity to act when a Los Angeles radio station hired him as its only stock actor. He played a variety of bit parts and his talent caught the attention of Sue Carol, who'd become his agent and wife. Ladd appeared in a small but notable role as an aviator in Joan of Paris (1942). The Oakland (CA) Tribune reported that Tuttle "came across this bit player, this youngster named Ladd, and he gave him one of the most elaborate screen tests [for This Gun for Hire's lead role) on record. It was a tough part and Tuttle was taking no chances. When he showed the test to the front office, Paramount knew it had a new Bogart. Ladd got the part—as juicy a role as any so-called newcomer could hope for." The movie was tested in local theaters and on the preview cards, young ladies suggested that they had a "collective crush" on Ladd. This convinced Paramount that it had a tough guy with good looks and sex appeal.
Philip Raven (Alan Ladd) is a stone-faced hit man contracted by Willard Gates (Laird Cregar), a corpulent executive of a major chemicals company, to commit a double murder, which includes bumping off a blackmailer. Raven wipes both his targets out matter-of-factly and goes to Gates for his payment. But Gates gives him marked dollar bills ("hot money") and double-crosses him, implicating him on a payroll scheme that's a sting operation for the LAPD. Gates employs Ellen Graham, a sultry blonde and singing magician, at the nightclub he manages but is unaware that she's informing for the FBI to nab him and other "fifth columnists" as part of a senatorial investigating committee. Gates works for Alvin Brewster (Tully Marshall), an elderly paraplegic and munitions tycoon. Brewster wants to locate the chemical formulas for a poisonous gas that he'll supply to the Japanese and other US foes during the war. Raven gets wind that he's been set up and uses Gates's leading performer as hostage bait. It gets more complicated because Graham is the fiancée of Police Lieut. Michael Crane (Robert Preston) and Raven becomes public enemy number one. It turns into a race of who will end up with the chemical formulas and expose the the other for who s/he truly is.
For the inaugural release of This Gun for Hire on Blu-ray, Shout Select has commissioned a new 4K scan of the original film elements. Appearing in its original aspect ratio of approx. 1.33:1, the movie looks clean with a layer of grain that's noticeable enough to the discerning eye. Grayscale is excellent. There are no boosted contrast levels. I did notice some light blotches and thin vertical tramlines during reel changes. I thought it interesting that Paramount's title designer(s) used a big bold embossed font with shadow for the main credits (see Screenshot #20). Shout has utilized the MPEG-4 AVC encode, which carries an average video bitrate of 36000 kbps.
The 81-minute feature comes with twelve chapters.
Shout supplies a DTS-HD Master Audio Dual Mono (1562 kbps, 24-bit). Hiss is minimized and there are no distracting sounds on the source recording. Pitch levels for the dialogue are relatively stable except for lines delivered by actor Tully Marshall. His voice is somewhat muffled and muted. The film's two sound recordists didn't pick up his voice as well as the others. Gunshots and other f/x are crisp. Composer David Buttolph's score is sufficient for what was required. I learned from Edgar Price, who covered films for The Brooklyn (NY) Citizen during the Forties, that the performers at the Neptune Club (which apparently was photographed on Paramount's stage) in the film included Woody Herman and his orchestra, the Four Ink Spots, Wally Brown (comedian), and Bobby Lane and Edna Ward (acrobatic dancers). My audio score is 3.75.
Shout unfortunately has designed those gaudy yellow English SDH (see #19) which can be switched on in the menu or via remote control.
I don't understand the critical fervor for This Gun for Hire (1942) then or now. Karl Krug of the Pittsburgh (PA) Sun Telegraph wrote that it's "probably the most crackling thriller since 'The Maltese Falcon,' a grisly and fascinating piece of business, a spine-tingler to hold you to the edge of your chair." Film historian Steve Mitchell declared that it's one of the best pictures of the 1940s on this disc's audio commentary. For me it's middle-brow noir that switches into high gear in the second half after a clunky start. I DO RECOMMEND the film and this Shout Select disc, though. Fans of Ladd, Lake, and Preston may want to consider adding it to their collections.
4K Restoration
1948
Warner Archive Collection
1946
Warner Archive Collection
1944
Down 3 Dark Streets
1954
1946
Warner Archive Collection
1953
Indicator Series | Limited Edition
1949
1996
Warner Archive Collection
1947
1949
Fox Studio Classics
1944
1944
1957
1953
1996
1948
Arrow Academy
1946
1962
Limited Edition of 2000
1963
Limited Edition to 3000
1968