This Gun for Hire
This Gun for Hire is a 1942 American film noir crime thriller directed by Frank Tuttle, adapted from Graham Greene's 1936 novel A Gun for Sale.[1][2] The film stars Alan Ladd in his breakthrough role as Philip Raven, a ruthless assassin who is double-crossed with marked bills after murdering a blackmailer on behalf of a traitor, prompting him to evade police while pursuing his betrayers, and Veronica Lake as Ellen Graham, a nightclub singer unwittingly drawn into the espionage plot involving chemical weapons and national security.[3][4][1] Produced by Paramount Pictures amid World War II, the adaptation shifts Greene's British setting to the United States, emphasizing wartime themes of treason and sabotage, with production overlapping the Pearl Harbor attack.[2][5] Supporting performances include Robert Preston as a detective and Laird Cregar as the villainous industrialist, contributing to the film's tense atmosphere of moral ambiguity and shadowy intrigue characteristic of early film noir.[3][1] Critically acclaimed upon release, the film holds a 94% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on contemporary reviews, praised for its efficient pacing and Ladd's chilling portrayal of a killer with rare vulnerabilities, such as kindness toward children and animals.[4] It propelled Ladd to stardom, leading to multiple pairings with Lake in subsequent Paramount productions like The Glass Key (1942), and remains noted for pioneering elements of the noir genre, including fatalistic protagonists and urban grit.[1][3]Source Material and Adaptation
Original Novel by Graham Greene
A Gun for Sale, published in the United Kingdom in 1936 by William Heinemann, is the seventh novel by Graham Greene; the American edition, issued the same year by Doubleday, adopted the title This Gun for Hire.[6][7] Greene subtitled it "An Entertainment," a designation he applied to his more genre-oriented works emphasizing suspense over profound moral inquiry, distinguishing them from his explicitly Catholic "novels" like Brighton Rock.[8] The story unfolds in interwar Britain amid economic hardship and geopolitical tension, centering on themes of betrayal, isolation, and the dehumanizing effects of violence.[9] The narrative follows Arthur Raven, a solitary assassin scarred by a harelip and childhood abandonment, who executes a political killing of a government minister in an industrial city, an act intended to sabotage peace negotiations and precipitate war.[10] Paid with traceable stolen banknotes, Raven discovers the double-cross and embarks on a vengeful pursuit across England, kidnapping a young woman named Anne, whose unexpected compassion begins to erode his emotional barriers.[11] Supporting characters include the bumbling detective Jimmy Mather, Anne's fiancé, and the scheming industrialist Sir Marcus, whose munitions interests drive the conspiracy. The plot builds through Raven's flight, interrogations, and revelations, culminating in a confrontation that exposes the fragility of loyalty and the allure of redemption amid moral ambiguity.[9] Critics have noted the novel's taut pacing and psychological depth, with Raven embodying Greene's interest in damaged outsiders capable of fleeting humanity, though it lacks the theological weight of his later works.[12] Initial reception praised its thriller elements, with reviewers highlighting Greene's skill in blending crime fiction with social commentary on class divides and pre-war anxieties, yet some viewed it as a lesser effort compared to his subsequent output.[11] The book's enduring appeal lies in its unflinching portrayal of causality in human actions, where personal vendettas intersect with larger political machinations without romanticizing the protagonists' flaws.[9]Key Differences from Novel to Film
The 1942 film adaptation significantly alters the setting of Graham Greene's 1936 novel A Gun for Sale, relocating the action from industrial England during the Great Depression to Los Angeles, California, amid World War II-era espionage, to align with American audiences and wartime propaganda needs.[13][14] This shift transforms the novel's focus on a political assassination of a foreign minister—intended to ignite European conflict for industrial profit—into a plot centered on the murder of a chemist blackmailing an American industrialist over sabotage plans involving poison gas sales to Japan, emphasizing threats to U.S. national security.[13][14] Character modifications include changing the protagonist Raven's disfigurement from a harelip, symbolizing innate moral corruption in the novel, to a mangled wrist in the film, deemed more acceptable under Hollywood's Production Code standards of the era.[14] Raven's backstory also evolves, replacing parental neglect with an abusive aunt figure, while the female lead Anne— a shabby chorus girl in the novel—becomes Ellen Graham, a nightclub magician and undercover operative with ties to military intelligence, heightening her agency and romantic tension with Raven.[13] The film's traitor, originally a British minister with anti-Semitic undertones in Greene's work, is recast as a pro-Japanese American businessman, excising ethnic biases to suit U.S. censorship and patriotic imperatives post-Pearl Harbor, as production spanned December 1941.[13] Thematically, the adaptation infuses Greene's Catholic undertones of personal redemption with explicit wartime patriotism, portraying Raven's final act not merely as individual atonement but as sacrificial defense of America against foreign betrayal, contrasting the novel's bleak fatalism and moral ambiguity.[13][14] In both, Raven and his companion thwart the conspiracy before he sacrifices himself to authorities, but the film elevates this to heroic national duty, reflecting Hollywood's Office of War Information guidelines that prioritized anti-Axis messaging over the source material's apolitical cynicism.[13] These changes, driven by screenwriter W.R. Burnett and director Frank Tuttle, streamlined the narrative for a 81-minute runtime while amplifying film noir isolation through visual motifs, though they dilute Greene's emphasis on socioeconomic despair.[14]Production
Development and Scripting
Paramount Pictures acquired the film rights to Graham Greene's 1936 novel A Gun for Sale (published in the United States as This Gun for Hire) in 1936, but the project remained dormant for several years amid uncertain market conditions for adaptations of British crime fiction.[15] Development accelerated in early 1941, influenced by the commercial success of Warner Bros.' 1941 remake of The Maltese Falcon, which revived interest in hard-boiled detective and thriller properties at major studios.[16] Screenwriter Albert Maltz, in his Hollywood debut, produced an initial treatment and first draft shooting script by late 1941, incorporating photographs and sketches to visualize key sequences.[17] Maltz collaborated with W.R. Burnett, a veteran crime novelist known for works like Little Caesar, on the final screenplay, adapting Greene's story under the supervision of director Frank Tuttle.[18] The script relocated the narrative from Greene's prewar England to a contemporary American West Coast setting, emphasizing wartime espionage to align with U.S. entry into World War II following Pearl Harbor in December 1941.[19] Key adaptations included transforming the antagonist's motive from personal blackmail to industrial sabotage and treasonous collaboration with Japanese agents, a change that secured approval from the Motion Picture Production Code despite the story's violent content and moral ambiguity.[14] This patriotic reframing—absent in Greene's original, which critiqued British industrialists without explicit foreign espionage—served to mitigate censorship concerns while capitalizing on public sentiment against Axis powers.[13] Maltz later reflected that Tuttle's input focused on streamlining the plot for visual pacing, reducing Greene's psychological introspection in favor of action-oriented sequences.[20] The completed script retained the novel's core premise of a double-crossed assassin seeking revenge but amplified themes of betrayal to fit Hollywood's narrative conventions.[21]Casting Decisions
The role of the contract killer Philip Raven was cast with Alan Ladd, an actor who had previously been limited to uncredited bit parts in films such as Citizen Kane (1941). Ladd secured the part after undergoing 13 auditions and screen tests, with director Frank Tuttle advocating for him following a recommendation to audition for the anti-heroic lead.[14][1] Despite being billed last in the opening credits as "Introducing Alan Ladd," his intense, understated performance as the traumatized assassin overshadowed the higher-billed stars and established him as a leading man in film noir.[4] Veronica Lake, already a Paramount Pictures contract player with recent successes in I Wanted Wings (1941) and I Married a Witch (1941), was selected for the female lead of Ellen Graham, a patriotic magician's assistant who forms an unlikely bond with Raven.[1] Her casting initiated a marquee pairing with Ladd, which the studio capitalized on in later productions like The Glass Key (1942), leveraging her signature peekaboo hairstyle and ethereal screen presence to contrast Raven's hardness.[4] Lake and Robert Preston, another studio contract actor, received top billing above the title for their roles as Graham and detective Michael Crane, respectively, reflecting Paramount's initial emphasis on established players over the newcomer Ladd.[3] Laird Cregar portrayed the suave, duplicitous industrialist Willard Gates, a role suited to his imposing 300-pound frame and talent for urbane villains, as demonstrated in prior films like Charley's Aunt (1941).[22] Supporting actors such as Tully Marshall as the elderly tycoon Alvin Brewster and Marc Lawrence as the henchman Tommy rounded out the ensemble, with choices prioritizing character actors capable of conveying wartime intrigue and moral ambiguity without overshadowing the principals.[19]Filming Process
Principal photography for This Gun for Hire commenced on October 27, 1941, and concluded on December 16, 1941, under the direction of Frank Tuttle at Paramount Pictures studios in Hollywood.[15] Cinematographer John Seitz and art director Hans Dreier employed innovative techniques, such as artificial rain, fog effects, and strategic shadows, to achieve the film's noir aesthetic amid wartime material shortages that limited set construction and props.[14] The production relocated the story's setting from England to California to align with contemporary geopolitical tensions and facilitate domestic filming.[14] Filming faced logistical hurdles, including a $63,423 budget overrun, culminating in a total cost of $512,423.[15] Lead actor Alan Ladd collapsed from pneumonia on December 5, 1941, requiring hospitalization that extended into the week of the Pearl Harbor attack on December 7, yet principal scenes wrapped shortly thereafter without major delays.[15][23] Wartime conservation measures precluded retakes, leading to the excision of a planned dream sequence, while Production Code Administration revisions had earlier mandated toning down violence and suggestive elements during scripting.[14] Select exterior shots utilized Los Angeles landmarks, including the Richfield Tower at 555 South Flower Street, and Northern California proxies like Big Bear Lake to represent remote areas.[3] The rushed post-production schedule aimed to leverage Veronica Lake's rising stardom, enabling a swift April 1942 release.[15]Narrative Elements
Plot Summary
In This Gun for Hire, professional assassin Philip Raven executes a chemist and his secretary in San Francisco, stealing a chemical formula in the process, before delivering it to Willard Gates, a corrupt executive at Nitro Chemical Corporation who pays him with marked bills as part of a setup to frame him for the murders.[24] [4] Raven, evading police pursuit, boards a train to Los Angeles to confront Gates, where he encounters Ellen Graham, a magician and undercover operative working for Senator Burnett to probe Nitro Chemical's suspicious activities.[24] Gates, who owns the Neptune nightclub where Ellen auditions, alerts authorities about Raven, prompting the hitman to briefly take Ellen hostage during a scuffle, though she later aids his escape from both Gates's men and pursuing detective Michael Crane, her fiancé.[24] [4] As Raven and the reluctant Ellen navigate Los Angeles, evading capture near the nightclub and railroad yards, she gradually humanizes the isolated killer, who reveals a scarred psyche from childhood abuse.[24] Infiltrating Nitro Chemical's plant, Raven uncovers that Gates and his superior, Alvin Brewster, intend to sell the formula for a deadly poison gas to Japanese agents amid wartime tensions, confirming the treasonous double-cross.[24] Brewster suffers a fatal heart attack during the confrontation, allowing Raven to execute Gates in revenge; in the ensuing chaos, Raven spares Michael's life at Ellen's plea despite having him at gunpoint on a scaffold, only to be mortally wounded by police gunfire.[24] Dying in Ellen's arms, Raven seeks validation for his redemptive act against the traitors, which she affirms as he expires, leaving her to reunite with Michael.[24]Principal Characters and Casting
Alan Ladd stars as Philip Raven, a ruthless professional assassin who double-crosses his employer after discovering he was paid with counterfeit money, embarking on a path of vengeance while grappling with a rare moment of vulnerability toward a sympathetic woman.[1][15] This marked Ladd's first leading role, propelling him to stardom as a stoic anti-hero in film noir.[4] Veronica Lake portrays Ellen Graham, a patriotic nightclub performer and magician's assistant who stumbles into Raven's orbit, uncovering a conspiracy involving industrial sabotage and treason; her character evolves from unwitting pawn to active resistor against foreign agents.[1][25] Lake's casting paired her signature peekaboo hairstyle and cool demeanor with Ladd, initiating a series of four collaborations that defined their on-screen chemistry.[26] Robert Preston plays Michael Crane (also credited as Detective Lt. Michael Crane), a determined police detective and Ellen's romantic interest, who pursues Raven amid suspicions of his involvement in a poisoning and theft.[1][15] Laird Cregar embodies Willard Gates, the duplicitous chemical industrialist and Raven's initial client, whose betrayal stems from pro-Axis sympathies and a plot to undermine U.S. defenses.[1][25] Cregar's performance highlights the character's oily menace, drawing on his established typecasting as heavies before his early death in 1944.[19] Supporting roles include Tully Marshall as Alvin Brewster, the corrupt senator linked to Gates' scheme, providing political intrigue.[1][26]| Actor | Character | Role Description |
|---|---|---|
| Alan Ladd | Philip Raven | Assassin protagonist seeking justice after betrayal.[1] |
| Veronica Lake | Ellen Graham | Performer who aids in exposing treason.[1] |
| Robert Preston | Michael Crane | Detective investigating the crimes.[1] |
| Laird Cregar | Willard Gates | Traitorous industrialist antagonist.[1] |
| Tully Marshall | Alvin Brewster | Corrupt political figure.[1] |