|
Adapted from Graeme Greene's 1936 novel, A Gun For Sale, by Albert Maltz and W.R.Burnett, and directed by Frank Tuttle, noir classic This Gun For Hire premieres in New York. Alan Ladd makes a stunning debut as a ruthlessly efficient hit man who goes looking for some payback after a shady corporate client, played by the imposing Laird Gregar, betrays him to the police. Veronica Lake co-stars as the slinky femme fatale who finds a kink in the killer's cold heart. Following the film's huge box-office success, the studio is quick to reteam Ladd and Lake the following year in The Glass Key, a noir remake of the 1935 original, based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett.
