Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

This Gun for Hire Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson December 23, 2019

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.

In sixteen out of eighteen original critical reviews I perused, high plaudits were heaped on This Gun for Hire (the other two were mixed but not overly negative). I don't share in their exuberance. First, the gun-toting of Ladd's character in the first reel is too routine and simplistic for the genre. When the local authorities and corporate bad guys go after Raven, it's a sneaky cat-and-mouse game played out in limited spaces. The movie improves after Raven kidnaps Graham and chase sequences subsequently ensue over a bridge and railroads track. As good as Ladd is as the calculated killer (he later earns sympathy from the audience after describing his troubled childhood), the acting by the rest of the cast following Lake and Preston (who are fine but not outstanding) is merely mediocre. They aren't helped by a script that incorporates artificial contrivances. For example, a loud clasp of lightning is heard when Gates and his top henchman discuss something with ominous overtones. The atmospheric effect is beaten over the audience's head. This Gun for Hire has some prophetic things to say about wartime issues but I prefer The Glass Key, another noir also starring Ladd and Lake and released the same year, over it.

This Gun for Hire Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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.

This Gun for Hire Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

This Gun for Hire Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• NEW Audio Commentary with Film Historians Alan K. Rode and Steve Mitchell - Mitchell (front left) and Rode (front right) are recorded together in this feature-length track. The two historians spend a bulk of their time discussing Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake's careers and critiquing their performances in This Gun for Hire. They also devote some time on director Frank Tuttle, cinematographer John Seitz, Laird Cregar, and a few other actors in subordinate roles. Speaking time is probably 60 percent for Rode and 40 percent for Mitchell. Rode sometimes recites a production fact and/or observation and Mitchell replies with a "mm-hmm" or "uh-huh," indicating he agrees with him but not explaining why it's a subjective opinion also shared by him. In English, not subtitled.

• Theatrical Trailer (2:11, 1080p) - Paramount's official trailer for This Gun for Hire. Though the picture hasn't been restored, sound is very good and audible.

• Still Gallery (6:51, 1080p) - This slide show tallies ninety-three images. The first sixty are high-res glossy photos (in black and white) of stars Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Robert Preston, Laird Cregar, and some snapshots of the supporting players. They contain publicity stills and pictures used fro advertising purposes. They're in remarkably good condition and were part of Paramount's press packet. The last thirty-three comprise posters, lobby cards, and newspaper ads (nearly all in color except for one). Many are from the US marketing campaign but several posters and cards were placed in foreign markets.

This Gun for Hire Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.