The viewing suffered because I've heard such great things about this movie, so expectations were through the roof. Also, since it stars Veronica Lake, my brain automatically shifted to Sullivan's Travels mode. Ah... anyway, this noir is merely above average, with the initial plot setup feeling very draggy. Movie finally picks up when Alan Ladd was paired up with Lake and both were on the run from the police. Ladd's character was lauded as one infamous psychotic killer, but it just didn't cut it for me. Adding to the problem, his character explained how he had become who he was. Meh. Still, the chase through the streets and a factory was very nicely done. Not nearly enough to make this a great film noir, however.
Jun 8, 2009
#212: This Gun for Hire (1941)
The viewing suffered because I've heard such great things about this movie, so expectations were through the roof. Also, since it stars Veronica Lake, my brain automatically shifted to Sullivan's Travels mode. Ah... anyway, this noir is merely above average, with the initial plot setup feeling very draggy. Movie finally picks up when Alan Ladd was paired up with Lake and both were on the run from the police. Ladd's character was lauded as one infamous psychotic killer, but it just didn't cut it for me. Adding to the problem, his character explained how he had become who he was. Meh. Still, the chase through the streets and a factory was very nicely done. Not nearly enough to make this a great film noir, however.
