Just saw this the other day and it is one of the best, if not the best of its kind.
To make a cold-blooded killer symphatic is a heavy feat, but it was pulled off.
The real vilian (the real gun for hire) was an American chemical company that will sell poision gas to the Japanese during wartime for a profit.
Agreed-- one of the best films noir. And Le Samourai and Ghost Dog are excellent tributes.
shareWell, the film is unquestionably highly influential on later American film noir and Alan Ladd's character was influential in inspiring future action films. This Gun for Hire is a solid example of what film noir is supposed to be like: terse dialogue and atmospheric dark shots in the freight yards and the snappy presentation. It formed a lot of the main ideas in film noir and in later action films and lays down the blueprint for the ‘existential lone hitman’ strand of thrillers we’ve been seeing on screens for years. What's most striking for me about this film is that we completely become complicit with this contract killer. We empathise with Ladd and that’s hugely groundbreaking. You know Martin Scorsese saw the film a lot. The cat/milk scene reappears in Taxi Driver and the scene on the train in This Gun where Ladd says "you talkin’ to me?" is a real pre-homage.
shareIn the beginning, Ladd shoots a man to death, then immediately shoots a young woman to death then he reaches for his pistol to blast a little girl who he thinks is a wittness to the murders. But doesn't because she is blind. The audience must have had a heart attack since he was ready to kill a little girl.
That we are made "to empathise with Ladd " despite his cold-blooded nature is amazing.
His reaction to the little girl.
Don't you think he felt sorry for the girl when he first saw her on the steps? I do think his decision then made him sympathetic. That and his treatment of cats.
"Two more swords and I'll be Queen of the Monkey People." Roseanne
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...then he reaches for his pistol to blast a little girl who he thinks is a wittness to the murders. But doesn't because she is blind.
by - ae7641 on Fri Mar 23 2007 16:23:55
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No, her eyes are just fine. She has polio.
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Martin is a real icon to me & Taxi Driver is a fave of mine, to learn about this is soo neat. This movie is beautiful, that is all I can say.
shareThe cat/milk scene reappears in Taxi Driver and the scene on the train in This Gun where Ladd says "you talkin’ to me?" is a real pre-homage.
by Thrift_Store_Junkie05
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What the hell is a "pre-homage?"
Actually, this is not at all a good example of pure film noir. Sort of the opposite, if you think about it. In classic film noir a basically good guy is brought down by a femme fatale. (Think "Double Indemnity," "Out of the Past," "The Postman Always Rings Twice," "Detour," etc.) Whereas here a basically bad guy is redeemed (somewhat) by a good woman.
It is better to be kind than to be clever or good looking. -- Derek
Agreed. What a star-making performance Alan Ladd gives here!!
"Watch me run a 50-yard dash with my legs cut off!"
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I liked it a lot, added it to my favorites, it just had that something about it.
Much better than The Glass Key imo.
"Wailing your sorrow is only my way to comfort you.."
Just saw this the other day and it is one of the best, if not the best of its kind.
To make a cold-blooded killer symphatic is a heavy feat, but it was pulled off.
The real vilian (the real gun for hire) was an American chemical company that will sell poision gas to the Japanese during wartime for a profit.
by ae7641
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It was "pulled off" in the cheapest, most cliched way possible, by adding a ridiculous, unlikely patriotic sub-plot to the novel. The film-makers wanted to explore an anti-social killer as their protag, but knew they couldn't have gotten away with it without that weak revision. This is weak, weak writing.
His patriotism is a half-hearted joke. It's the worst part of the movie.
I don't think the film ever makes the argument that Ladd's character becomes patriotic. Veronica Lake is the patriot. She is the one who is working as a government agent. She is the one with the patriotic rhetoric. Ladd's motivations at the end aren't based on patriotism as much as a loyalty he has developed for Lake due to the fact that she is the one person in his life to have treated him squarely. The ending is perfectly in keeping with the nature of the characters.
shareSorry, can't agree it's a great film, although there are some fine performances. There is virtually no tension and little enough excitement generally.
Well worth seeing for me, but I love the genre. However, I doubt it would make any converts among those used to more modern pictures.
Ladd certainly makes for a charismatic lead but I just couldn't buy this movie's pretensions.
shareCouple of weeks ago i saw I married a witch and a couple of days ago i found this one. Gotta look more of Veronica Lake. I just love the dame!
shareU must watch her final film so U can truly know what others know too well: no talent, just looks, but only in the early years.
A hydrocephalic takes pleasure in milking his cranial harp.
This is an excellent film that captures the amorality of the hitman. Alan Ladd is marvelous in the film.