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Alan Ladd — news, coverage & facts — IJR

This Gun for Hire and stardom

Paramount had owned the film rights to A Gun for Sale, a novel by Graham Greene, since 1936, but waited until 1941 before making a movie out of it, changing the title to This Gun for Hire. Director Frank Tuttle was struggling to find a new actor to play the role of Raven, a hit man with a conscience. Ladd auditioned successfully, and Paramount signed him to a long-term contract in September 1941 for $300 per week. The New York Times wrote that:

Tuttle and the studio are showing more than a passing enthusiasm for Ladd. He has been trying to get a foothold in pictures for eight years, but received no encouragement, although he tried every angle known to town—extra work, bit parts, stock contracts, dramatic schools, assault of the casting offices. Sue Carol, the former silent star who is now an agent, undertook to advance the youth's career two years ago, and only recently could she locate an attentive ear. Then, the breaks began.

According to author David Thomson in 1975, "Once Ladd had acquired an unsmiling hardness, he was transformed from an extra to a phenomenon. Ladd's calm, slender ferocity make it clear that he was the first American actor to show the killer as a cold angel." John Houseman later wrote that Ladd played "a professional killer with a poignant and desolate ferocity that made him unique, for a time, among the male heroes of his day."

Both the film and Ladd's performance played an important role in the development of the gangster genre: "That the old-fashioned motion picture gangster with his ugly face, gaudy cars, and flashy clothes was replaced by a smoother, better-looking, and better-dressed bad man was largely the work of Mr. Ladd." – The New York Times obituary (January 30, 1964).

Though the romantic lead went to established star Robert Preston, Ladd's teaming in support with female lead Veronica Lake captured the public's imagination. Their overnight-sensation pairing continued in three more films and included three more in guest spots in wartime all-star Hollywood musical revues.

The Glass Key

Even during the filming of This Gun for Hire, Paramount knew it had a potential star and announced Ladd's next film, an adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's story, The Glass Key (1942). This had been a successful vehicle for George Raft several years earlier, and Paramount wanted "a sure-fire narrative to carry him on his way." Talk had also arisen that Ladd would appear in Red Harvest, another story by Hammett, but this was never produced.

The movie was Ladd's second pairing with Lake, with Ladd offering confident support of Brian Donlevy—so confident he even ended up with Donlevy's girl. Ladd's cool, unsmiling, understated persona proved popular with wartime audiences, and he was voted by the Motion Picture Herald as one of the 10 "stars of tomorrow" for 1942. His salary was raised to $750 per week. According to critic David Shipman:

Paramount of course was delighted. The majority of stars were earmarked as such when they appeared on the horizon—from Broadway or from wherever they came; if it seemed unlikely that public acceptance would come with one film, they were trained and built up: The incubation period was usually between two and five years. As far as Ladd was concerned, he was a small-part actor given a fat part faute de mieux, and after his second film for them, he had not merely hit the leading-men category, but had gone beyond it to films which were constructed around his personality.

Ladd then appeared in Lucky Jordan (1943), a lighter vehicle with Helen Walker, playing a gangster who tries to get out of war service and tangles with Nazis. His new status was reflected by the fact he was the only actor billed above the title. He had a cameo spoofing his tough guy image in Star Spangled Rhythm, which featured most of Paramount's stars, and then starred in China (1943) with Loretta Young for director John Farrow, with whom Ladd made a number of movies. Young did not like working with Ladd:

I found him petulant... I don't remember hearing him laugh, or ever seeing him laugh. Everything that concerned him was very serious... He had a certain screen personality... but as an actor... I never made any contact with him. He wouldn't look at me. He'd say "I love you...", and he'd be looking out there some place. Finally, I said "Alan, I'm he-ere!!"... I think he was very conscious of his looks. Alan would not look beyond a certain point in the camera because he didn't think he looked good... Jimmy Cagney was not tall but somehow Jimmy was at terms with himself, always. I don't think Alan Ladd ever came to terms with himself.

Ladd's next film was meant to be Incendiary Blonde, opposite Betty Hutton, but he was inducted into the army on January 18, after reprising his performance in This Gun for Hire on radio for Lux Radio Theatre.

Return to filmmaking

When Ladd returned from the army, Paramount announced a series of vehicles for him, including And Now Tomorrow and Two Years Before the Mast. And Now Tomorrow was a melodrama, starring Loretta Young as a wealthy deaf woman who is treated (and loved) by her doctor, played by Ladd; Raymond Chandler co-wrote the screenplay, and it was filmed in late 1943 and early 1944. According to Shipman:

It was a pitch to sell Ladd to women filmgoers, though he had not changed one iota and he did not have a noticeable romantic aura. But Paramount hoped that women might feel that beneath the rock-like expression, there smouldered fires of passion, or something like. His black-lashed eyes, however, gave nothing away; it was 'take me as I am' or 'I'm the boss around here'. He never flirted nor even seemed interested (which is one of the reasons he and Lake were so effective together).

In March 1944, Ladd took another physical and was reclassified 1A. He would have to be reinducted into the army, but a deferment was given to enable Ladd to make Two Years Before the Mast (the release of which was postponed two years). He was meant to be reinducted on September 4, 1944, but Paramount succeeded in getting this pushed back again to make Salty O'Rourke. He also found time to make a cameo in a big-screen version of Duffy's Tavern.

Ladd's reinduction was then set for May 1945. Paramount commissioned Raymond Chandler to write an original screenplay for him titled The Blue Dahlia, made relatively quickly in case the studio lost Ladd to the military once again. In May 1945, though, the U.S. Army released all men 30 or over from induction, and Ladd was finally free from the draft. Along with several other film stars likewise spared, Ladd promptly enlisted with the Hollywood Victory Committee for the entertainment industry's overseas arm, volunteering to tour for USO shows.

Ladd next made Calcutta (1947), which reteamed him with John Farrow and William Bendix. Release for this film was delayed.

Suspension

Ladd was meant to make California with Betty Hutton, but he refused to report for work in August 1945. "It wasn't on account of the picture", said Ladd. "There were other issues." Ladd wanted more money, and Paramount responded by suspending him. The two parties reconciled in November with Ladd's getting a salary increase to $75,000 per film, but without story approval or the right to do outside films, which he had wanted. Exhibitors voted him the 15th-most popular star in the country.

"When a star's off the screen, he's 'dead'", Ladd later reflected. "I like my home and my security, and I don't intend to jeopardize them by being difficult at work."

Ladd's next film was O.S.S, a wartime thriller, produced by Richard Maibaum. He then convinced Ladd that he should play the title role in an adaptation of The Great Gatsby, to which Paramount held the film rights; Ladd became enthusiastic at the chance to change his image, but the project was delayed by a combination of censorship wrangles and studio reluctance.

Eventually, The Blue Dahlia was released to great acclaim (Raymond Chandler was nominated for an Oscar for the screenplay), quickly followed by O.S.S., and finally, Two Years Before the Mast. The first two films were solid hits, each earning over $2 million in rentals in the U.S. and Canada; Two Years Before the Mast was a blockbuster, earning over $4 million and ranking among the top-10 most popular films of the year. Ladd's roles in This Gun for Hire, The Glass Key, and The Blue Dahlia, firmly established him as a no-nonsense tough guy in a popular genre of crime films later to become known as film noir.

Ladd earned a reported $88,909 for the 12 months up to June 1946. (The following year, he earned $107,000.) In 1947, he was ranked among the top-10 popular stars in the U.S. That year finally had the release of Calcutta, along with Wild Harvest, where he reteamed with Robert Preston.

Ladd made a cameo appearance as a detective in the Bob Hope comedy, My Favorite Brunette (1947), and he made another cameo in an all-star Paramount film, titled, Variety Girl, singing Frank Loesser's "Tallahassee" with Dorothy Lamour. He was reteamed with Lake for the final time in Saigon (1948), then made Whispering Smith (1948), his first Western since he became a star (and his first movie in color). He followed this with Beyond Glory (1948), a melodrama with Farrow, which featured Audie Murphy in his film debut (and was released before Whispering Smith).

Jaguar Productions

When Ladd returned to Hollywood in 1954, he formed Jaguar Productions, a new production company that released movies through Warner Bros. This was in addition to the films he made with Warner, solely as an actor.

His first film for Jaguar was Drum Beat (1954), a Western directed by Delmer Daves, which was reasonably successful at the box office. For Warner Bros., he then made The McConnell Story (1955), co-starring June Allyson, which also proved popular. He signed to appear in some episodes of General Electric Theater on TV. The first of these, "Committed", was based on an old episode of Box 13, which Ladd was considering turning into a TV series. However, despite Ladd's presence, a series did not result.

Ladd next made Hell on Frisco Bay (1955), a film for Jaguar also starring second-billed Edward G. Robinson and Joanne Dru, co-written by Martin Rackin and directed by Frank Tuttle, his old This Gun for Hire associate. Rackin wrote and produced Ladd's subsequent film, titled Santiago, which he made for Warner Bros. For Jaguar, Ladd produced, but did not appear in, A Cry in the Night.

Ladd's instinct for choosing material was proving increasingly poor: George Stevens offered him the role of Jett Rink in Giant (1956), which he turned down because it was not the lead; James Dean took the part, and the film became one of the big hits of the decade. He was meant to return to Paramount to make The Sons of Katie Elder, but he bought himself out of his Paramount contract for $135,000; the film was made a decade later, with John Wayne and Dean Martin, and was a big hit.

Instead, Ladd signed a new four-year contract between Jaguar and Warner Bros., with his company having a budget of $6.5 million. The first film made under it was The Big Land (1957), a Western. He made Farewell to Kennedy, another TV film for General Electric Theater; he hoped this would lead to a series, but that did not happen.

Ladd then received an offer to star in Boy on a Dolphin (1957), a film being made in Greece for 20th Century Fox. In March 1957, Warner Bros. and Jaguar announced they had renegotiated their agreement and that Jaguar would now make 10 films for the studio, of which Ladd was to appear in at least six, starting with The Deep Six (1958). Warner Bros. provided all the financing and split profits with Jaguar 50/50. The second film under the contract was Island of Lost Women, which Ladd produced, but in which he did not appear.

Ladd's next film as an actor had him co-star with his son David in The Proud Rebel, made independently for Samuel Goldwyn Jr. According to Shipman, Ladd's "performance is his best work, sincere and likable (due perhaps to an odd resemblance in long shot to Buster Keaton), but the film did not have the success it deserved; Ladd's own fans missed the bang-bang and [co-star] Olivia de Havilland's fans were not persuaded that any film she did with Ladd could be that good." He announced a six-picture deal with Warwick Productions but ultimately did not work for Warwick again. MGM hired Ladd to make The Badlanders, a Western remake of The Asphalt Jungle, but like many of Ladd's films around this time, it was a box-office disappointment.

Ladd was considered to play the lead in The Angry Hills, but Robert Mitchum eventually was cast. Mitchum later told a journalist that the producers met Ladd at his home after "he'd just crawled out of his swimming pool and was all shrunken up like a dishwasher's hand. They decided he wouldn't do for the big war correspondent."

Select radio credits

Lux Radio Theatre – Ep 206 "The Return of Peter Grimm" (February 13, 1939)

Lux Radio Theatre – Ep 221 "Only Angels Have Wings" (May 29, 1939)

Lux Radio Theatre – Ep 280 "White Banners" (June 12, 1939)

Lincoln Highway (May 1942)

Guest on Kate Smith's radio show – 1942

Lux Radio Theatre – Ep 380 "This Gun for Hire" (January 25, 1943) – with Joan Blondell and Laird Cregar

Wings to Victory (March 25, 1943)

"Musically Inclined" for Silver Theater (December 12, 1943) – with Judy Garland

Lux Radio Theatre – Ep 415 China (November 22, 1943)

Suspense – "One Way Ride to Nowhere" (January 6, 1944)

Suspense – "The Defence Rests" (March 9, 1944)

Cavalcade of America – "Ambulance Driver Middle East" (April 3, 1944)

Lux Radio Theatre – Ep 435 Coney Island (April 17, 1944)

Burns and Allen – special guest star (January 15, 1945)

Lux Radio Theatre – Ep 473 "Disputed Passage" (March 5, 1945)

Jack Benny Program – "Murder Mystery" (March 25, 1945)

Lux Radio Theatre – Ep 484 "And Now Tomorrow" (May 21, 1945)

The Dinah Shore Show – Guest star (May 31, 1945)

Command Performance – guest star with Bob Hope, Ann Rutherford (June 14, 1945)

Lux Radio Theatre – Ep 503 "Salty O'Rourke" (November 26, 1945)

Duffy's Tavern – guest star (January 4, 1946)

Lux Radio Theatre – Ep 523 "Whistle Stop" (April 15, 1946)

Hollywood Star Time – "Double Indemnity" (June 22, 1946)

Lux Radio Theatre – Ep 546 "OSS" (November 18, 1946)

Lux Radio Theatre – Ep 582 "Two Years Before the Mast" (September 22, 1947)

The Screen Guild Theater – "The Blue Dahlia" (April 21, 1949)

Screen Directors Playhouse – "Saigon" (July 29, 1949)

Screen Directors Playhouse – "Whispering Smith" (September 16, 1949)

Suspense – "Motive for Murder" (March 16, 1950)

Screen Directors Playhouse – "Chicago Deadline" (March 24, 1950)

Suspense – "A Killing in Abilene" (December 14, 1950)

Screen Directors Playhouse – "Lucky Jordan" (February 8, 1951)

Lux Radio Theatre – Ep 911 "Shane" (February 22, 1955)

Alan Ladd

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Alan Ladd

🎬 Filmography

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Alan Ladd across IJR

Article

Article

Biography

Early career

Earning an agent

This Gun for Hire and stardom

The Glass Key

Army service

Return to filmmaking

Suspension

Radio and comic books

The Great Gatsby

Shane

Freelance star: Warner Bros., Universal, Warwick

Jaguar Productions

Later films

Personal life

Family and relationships

Height

Death

Select radio credits

Regular series

Awards

Box-office ranking

Theatre

🎬 Filmography

Alan Ladd across IJR