Veronica Lake in This Gun for Hire Movie Poster
18 in. x 24 in.
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This Gun for Hire – 1942
Starring: Veronica Lake, Alan Ladd, Robert Preston, Laird Cregar
Directed by: Frank Tuttle
This Gun for Hire is a 1942 American crime drama film noir, directed by Frank Tuttle and based on the novel A Gun for Sale by Graham Greene. The drama features Veronica Lake, Robert Preston, Laird Cregar, and Alan Ladd.
In San Francisco, blackmailer Albert Baker (Frank Ferguson) and his unlucky girlfriend are killed by a remorseless hit man called Raven (Ladd). Raven is double-crossed by his anonymous employer, Willard Gates (Cregar), who pays him with marked bills. During the exchange, an acquaintance of Gates greets him, revealing his identity to Raven. Gates later reports to Los Angeles Police Detective Michael Crane (Preston) that the money was stolen from the company where he works, Nitro Chemical. Raven learns he has been set up and decides to get revenge.
Meanwhile, Gates, who also owns a Los Angeles nightclub, hires Ellen Graham (Lake), a singer who incorporates magic in her act, unaware that she is Crane’s girlfriend. Afterwards, her agent takes her to a clandestine meeting with Senator Burnett (Roger Imhof). Burnett informs her that Gates and Alvin Brewster (Tully Marshall), the president of Nitro Chemical, are under secret investigation as suspected traitors. Ellen agrees to spy on Gates.
Gates and Ellen board a train for Los Angeles, as does Raven. By chance, the only empty seat Raven can find is beside Ellen. The next morning, Gates is alarmed to find them sleeping side by side. He wires ahead. Raven spots the waiting police and forces Ellen at gunpoint to help him escape. He is about to kill her in an abandoned building when they are interrupted by some workmen, allowing Ellen to flee. She tries to contact her boyfriend, but he is traveling back to Los Angeles.
