This Gun for Hire

Entertaining at times, primarily thanks to Alan Ladd in his breakthrough role. But mostly somewhat silly because of some ludicrous plot points (Singer/magician gets hired by the police to spy on a suspected traitor??).

Has most of the key noir ingredients, but is let down by a weak screenplay. It's too reliant on coincidences by far - Lake's boyfriend just happens to be the investigating cop... Lake and Ladd just happen to meet on the train... Lake just happens to be hired as a double-agent to spy on the chemical company... It's just too contrived and takes away from an otherwise good film. It also feels a bit light and fluffy compared to other noirs of the time - the musical sequences made me wince.

The story is good: a double-crossed hit man looking for revenge falls in with a young woman innocently mixed up with the guys who did him wrong. If they had cast someone a bit more solid as an actress, this could have been a real winner. Unfortunately, they went with Veronica Lake, who wasn't tough enough for the role she was in. Alan Ladd is great as the assassin, and Tully Marshall as the timid double-crosser.

It could be a masterpiece but ending sucks. silly politics. it reminded me of Leon (little girl at the stairs, gas mask, fat man) and Bond franchise (Casino Royale, especially) with the opening sequence.

That last line ruins it a bit, but overall a good noir.

A fun Noir film. I like how the main characters didn't fall in love and at least partially stayed in character until the end. The war angle was kind of dumb and I thought Alan Ladd was a little too pretty boy to be the scary tough guy. Alan and the rest of the cast did well and kept me entertained.

Wow! What a great little film noir to find. Well done!

Some odd shifts in mood and tone here, but Ladd and Lake together are wonderful.

This movie is a lot more "out there" than you expect of a movie this age. Alan Ladd is very convincing and kinda scary

Gritty, suspenseful and action packed early film noir that has a star turning peformance from Alan Ladd as a hit man who gets in too deep. Clearly an influence on later film noir and gangster movies, and was surprisingly popular during WWII. I would like to thank TCM for airing this great gem.

Wow--Ladd and Lake together. You can see why that charisma became proverbial.

Fantastic concept and performances. Strong noir cinematography. It helped ignite the noir movement. The film does an excellent job of humanizing a killer. It could have gone further by explaining why he become a gun for hire, but that isn't necessary. It loses much of its steam by the 3rd act and has to restart and never gets back to the highpoint of the beginning. It's a must-watch for noir fans.

This feels like it been a major influence on Le samouraï. It's a very decent noir with Alan Ladd in a rightfully careermaking role. If only the plot didn't hang together on too much coincidences this would have been better.

certain parts of it are like "the third man" lite. good early noir, the script and direction are just decent but Ladd does a very good job

Good noir with a strong performance by Ladd in an interesting role.

kötü adam kötü adama karsi, aldatilan kiralik katil, çalinan formül, illüzyonist kadin, polis, tren yolculugu (kadin ve kiralik katil), ikinci dünya savasinin etkiledigi film, ( Kiralik katil formülü çalar paralar isaretlidir polis tarafindan yakalanamasina ramak kalir. isi aldigi adamin pesine düser. Bir senatörde ayni adamin pesine bir kizi takar. Kiz ve kiralik katil birbirlerinden habersiz trende yolculuk yaparlar. Adam kizi görür ve süphelenir.

Contrived but neatly plotted and photographed. The colorful cast of characters are fun, and it features a few tense scenarios (the phone booth, the train, the thunderstorm). It all unravels just a bit toward the end, when war effort patriotism is briefly shoehorned, and Ladd's stone cold killer is rendered facile with pop psychology and a metaphorical soft spot for stray cats.

Reminded me a lot of Hardy Boys stories, where there are only really five characters in a gigantic world yet they all seem to interact repeatedly with each other. Lake was sultry enough being encamped with both the "good guys" and "bad guys"; I wish there had been a little more with her magical powers. It felt a little different (in a good way), even though I can't really think of anything that distinguishes it from most other early noirs.

Kind of a "noir lite". The elements are there, but everything is toned down a notch. The mood is a bit too lighthearted... and occasionally just plain goofy. Lake is alluring but she never really digs into the role. Ladd is okay as the hitman anti-hero. The cinematography is at times evocative, but mostly too flat or too sunny. The story feels oddly paced. And yet, it kinda sorta satisfies. It's fun while still maintaining some level of darkness, and it'll scratch a noir itch in a pinch.

Solid performances by the whole cast coupled with a interesting plot and a nice action packed ending made this a enjoyable watch.

One of the cheesiest, most laughable noirs I have ever seen.

A beautifully crafted suspense thriller where the extra-ordinary set-up is only a minor flaw due to the overall execution

Stylish film noir.

the shadow of the moving microphone

Veronica Lake plays a charming magician and singer. Alan Ladd is a hit man who has been cheated by his employer. I guarantee you won't be able to stop watching either of them. One of my fave 40's films.

I'm not often all that fond of Ladd, but he's a magnificent, unusually (for the 1940's) feral and amoral lead in this cracking little thriller. You can draw a straight line from Ladd through Alain Delon to Chow Yun-Fat. Ladd and Lake have really great chemistry and Cregar is a wonderfully insouciant villain. Marc Lawrence has an amusing turn as Cregar's heavy.

This is so 1940s. A textbook film noir with Veronica Lake doing musical numbers (and magic tricks!). Granted, it's really contrived, in fact the text is bad, but I've seen worse and the classic "feel" almost makes up for it. Alan Ladd is cute acting like a brick wall, and it's rather well paced and watchable.

Solid enough but relatively insubstantial little noir with a good performance from Ladd. Fairly predictable and nothing really stands out. There are also quite a few plot holes and contrivances and characters acting dumb. Some of the methods for showing Ladd's soft side (caring for a stray kitten, etc) were a bit ham handed, but he had an interesting ambiguity. The chemistry with Ladd and Lake is great. It's all pretty inoffensive, though, and is a solid enough way to spent 75 or so minutes.

Alan Ladd's breakthrough role with a gun. A gun which turns on Veronica Lake, but scares the pants off Laird Cregar. They clearly had a lot of fun coming up with ideas for this thriller. Unconventional in many way, but oh so effective with a lot of little things to love!

This ridiculous, proselytizing, noir-in-name-only is held grounded by the vivacious Veronica Lake. Her dance numbers, while obviously shoehorned studio showcases, are a real treat.