
This Gun for Hire
1942, Crime/Drama, 1h 20m
16 Reviews 1,000+ RatingsYou might also like
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Movie Info
Cast & Crew
Philip Raven
Ellen Graham
Det. Lt. Michael Crane
Willard Gates
Alvin Brewster
Slukey
Critic Reviews for This Gun for Hire
All Critics (16) | Top Critics (1) | Fresh (15) | Rotten (1)
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The film's thrilling bullet-laden finale, fast pace and lovely black-and-white photography more than makes up for some of the overt misogyny that was common in this genre and era.
February 12, 2009 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review… -
A sparse, harsh noir...
March 2, 2021 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review… -
There's a lot to unpack...And perhaps this is the very reason why This Gun for Hire has endured for as long as it has. It's a complex noir where rooting for a 'hero' doesn't have a clear line of sight.
September 15, 2020 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review… -
Catapulted Alan Ladd to stardom, established Ladd and Veronica Lake as a screen team and is just plain as close to a perfect representation of film noir as you're likely to get.
October 29, 2013 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review… -
Well acted crime melodrama that catapulted Alan Ladd to major stardom.
January 20, 2013 | Rating: B+ | Full Review… -
A great vein of noir tropes, greatly mined
September 25, 2009 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for This Gun for Hire
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Sep 03, 2014The more of film noir that I see, the more I love it as a genre. This has to be one of the best, if not the best that I have seen so far. Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd are dynamite. I can see how Ladd used this to eventually gain stardom through Shane and other vehicles.John B Super Reviewer
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Sep 05, 2010A good forties film noir.Aj V Super Reviewer
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Jan 21, 2009Alan Ladd is a patriotic hit man with a soft spot for cats in this war era film noir classic. A layered storyline emphasizes different levels of good and evil by pitting a killer against a spineless opportunist who works for a Japanese sympathizer who is pursued by a senator who recruits a beautiful magician to gather information, not knowing that she's in love with a cop who is on the trail of the killer who has been framed for a robbery by the opportunist under orders of the sympathizer. (Whew!)Randy T Super Reviewer
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Apr 02, 2008alan ladd is terrific in this noir. i get the feeling this could have been better without having to stay within the boundaries of the code of the time. great set designs as well.chase _ Super Reviewer
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