Grahame Greene's novel "A Gun For Sale" is brought to excellent life in this 1942 early film noir. This was Alan Ladd's breakthrough performance, and although he is billed under the title with introducing credits, he had made many films prior to this, often in small, unrewarding roles, sometimes uncredited. His Philip Raven is cold-blooded, ruthless, but vulnerable, his abusive past always foremost in his mind, although he shows a soft spot for cats, children, and Veronica Lake. In their first pairing, Ladd and Lake show the electric intensity that made them a great screen pair of the 1940s. Both were petite, blond, with cool acting styles that belied their sometimes sensitive natures, no matter what kind of a tough front they presented. Lake's character, Ellen Grahame, is a nightclub performer (her vocals were dubbed by Martha Mears), who finds herself drawn into spying on her rather suspicious boss. Laird Cregar is the almost sympathetic villain, Gates, who burned Raven and in doing so, has signed his own death warrant. Robert Preston portrays Ellen's fiancée, Lt. Michael Craven, who is determined to capture Raven. When Ellen unwittingly finds herself alongside Phillip on a train, she ends up in on his "job" and, later in the proceedings, as his 'hostage'. They soon form a rather tentative bond as Raven relates his horrendous childhood beatings at the hand of a nasty relative. She reaches out to him, and although he rejects her comfort (he thinks she's trying to make him "go soft"), he agrees to help her get Gates to reveal his dastardly plans for America involving bombs (this was during WW2, after all). There is an almost misty eyed longing in their faces, sensing that maybe, if in another time or another place, things might have been different. A touching moment when Raven rests his head on Lake's shoulder on the train, his telltale deformed wrist exposed.
There can be no good ending for this killer, for he is a bad guy. But after pulling off what he was so set on doing, he also has redeemed himself through his friendship with Ellen. "Did I do okay for you?" Phillip asks her with his dying breath, to which she responds with a compassionate smile and nod. A tiny grin briefly crosses his face before he closes his eyes. Ellen embraces Michael, uttering the somewhat inane phrase, "Oh, Michael, my darling, hold me." Fade out to final credits.
The other films Ladd and Lake made together are becoming increasingly hard to find; there really ought to be a DVD box set.
The DVD looks very good; however, there are no extras included, not even the original theatrical trailer. But even without the special features, it's worth having in your collection, especially if you are a fan of Alan and Veronica or film noir.
There can be no good ending for this killer, for he is a bad guy. But after pulling off what he was so set on doing, he also has redeemed himself through his friendship with Ellen. "Did I do okay for you?" Phillip asks her with his dying breath, to which she responds with a compassionate smile and nod. A tiny grin briefly crosses his face before he closes his eyes. Ellen embraces Michael, uttering the somewhat inane phrase, "Oh, Michael, my darling, hold me." Fade out to final credits.
The other films Ladd and Lake made together are becoming increasingly hard to find; there really ought to be a DVD box set.
The DVD looks very good; however, there are no extras included, not even the original theatrical trailer. But even without the special features, it's worth having in your collection, especially if you are a fan of Alan and Veronica or film noir.