Discovering A Hollywood Star As An Extra

[mrsl]

Well here it is, nearly 10:00 on Alan Ladd day, and we still have barely heard his voice. I'm thrilled that they chose him as a star of the day, but should have waited until they could get his starring roles. He was the epitome of Film noir, yet they don't have any of them playing. Chicago Deadline, Blue Dahlia, Luck Jordan - all would have been so great to see. And Now Tomorrow although a hokey plot, is a really good love story, and though I've never seen China, it sounds like a good action film.

Using all these movies where he is a bit player, or small supporting part is actually insulting to him, I think. Granted, at one time, actors had to pay their dues, but TCM is making it look like he never got anywhere above second string.

I'm afraid they'll pull the same kind of stuff on Broderick Crawford day. True he was never a romantic hero, but I certainly hope they show some of the movies he made where his name is at least on the first credit page.

Actually that is the reason I like when they play the credits before the movie starts, I look at the mid to end to see any familiar names, then watch for them in the movie - it's a game I play while watching, or like catching BoB Mitchum as the un-named soldier in Cry Havoc, simply by hearing his voice.

Anne

[Mr. Arkadin]

I was pretty disappointed with today's showing as well. Some of the late night films look kind of interesting, but you would think they could do better than this. My guess is they wanted to show Shane for Funday Night at the Movies and had to fill out the rest of the schedule for the SUTS theme.

[sugarpuss]

I AGREE! I agree so much with you Anne, I felt I had to use all caps.

I get a kick out of TCM including Citizen Kane though. I'm sure there's a lot of confusions, since you don't think Alan Ladd = Citizen Kane.

I do feel it's a bit insulting that they couldn't even include one movie with Veronica Lake! It's kind of a diservice. That would be like having Myrna Loy day without William Powell! I would have loved to see The Blue Dahlia, since quite a few people have recommended it to me since I've seen This Gun's For Hire (that would have been great to show today). I don't know where to find it, since it's not on dvd.

I would have also loved to see Chicago Deadline and Red Mountain as well as the movie where he and June Allyson fell in love in real life, The McConnell Story (although I think the programming people at TCM got a kick out of following Alan's day with June's).

Anyway, that's my venting for the day. I'm looking forward to Whispering Smith tonight, since I've never seen it and even the other late night movies. But the daytime was kind of a bust for me. Eh, what are you gonna do?

[feaito]

I have been very lucky regarding Alan Ladd, because Cinecanal Classics has been airing quite enjoyable films of his like "Two Years Before The Mast", "The Blue Dahlia", "The Glass Key", "Thunder in the East", "The Great Gatsby" et al.

[vallo]

I watched the first 3 films since 6am and didn't see Ladd for more than 3 minutes. TCM is really stretching their SUT's this August.

vallo

[pktrekgirl]

I just didn't see the day as a 'real' Alan Ladd day. It was just an excuse to show SHANE and CITIZEN KANE - both for about the billionth time....and neither of which I particularly like.

I recorded a couple of the overnight films...but none of the selections during the day or evening yesterday were anything new and interesting. IMO, a rather lame attempt at a 'tribute' to this star.

When I first saw his name on the schedule some months ago, I thought it would be great - a chance for me to see other Alan Ladd films besides SHANE. But in the end, all we got was supporting roles, with SHANE as the centerpiece of the entire day.

[MissGoddess]

All I can say is "Me too!" I have seen Citizen Kane three times and have yet to even spot Alan Ladd, much less consider it "an Alan Ladd movie". And my favorites by him, aside from Shane, are his Veronica Lake noirs!!!!!

Sugarpuss---the good news is that This Gun For Hire is on R1 dvd, I just bought it myself at deepdiscount.com. However, I am still awaiting the marvelous The Blue Dahlia and The Glass Key on R1. I may end up going for dvd-r's.

[MissGoddess]

Anne---And Now Tomorrow is one of my favorites with Ladd and I haven't seen it (or The Blue Dahlia & The Glass Key) since old AMC used to air them.

[sugarpuss]

MissGoddess, I bought This Gun For Hire awhile ago and I LOVED it and afterwards, I wanted to see more of the Ladd/Lake pairing but that's their only movie on dvd. What a shame! Universal really should think about releasing a Ladd/Lake box set since they own all the pre-50 Paramount library now. They've released quite a few good, reasonably priced sets lately--the Jimmy Stewart and Rock Hudson ones were nicely done and I'm waiting for the Gary Cooper one to arrive in my mail any day now.

I like Shane, but it's not a movie I'd watch over and over again. I actually thought Whispering Smith was pretty good, but I think that was due to Robert Preston rather than Alan Ladd.

[markbeckuaf]

I more or less agree with all the posts, re: Alan Ladd's day. A good half of the day was pretty much just Ladd in a very small supporting role, if that. But I did look forward to seeing: THE CARPETBAGGERS, THE BADLANDERS, WHISPERING SMITH, THE BLACK KNIGHT, and 13 WEST STREET, all of which I'd not seen. I watch smidgens of THE CARPETBAGGERS, THE BADLANDERS and WHISPERING SMITH, and they all looked very interesting, particularly the latter two, so looking forward to seeing them all the way through.

I've seen SHANE (thumbs to the side, the little kid blows it for me), and MAN IN THE NET (not bad) before, but the remainder I only watched for other reasons, such as JOAN OF PARIS, which I like, but not really a Ladd film, per se.

[MissGoddess]

Oh, good, Sugarpuss---I wan't sure if you had This Gun For Hire. I also think a Ladd/Lake box set is a most obvious choice for them to do---I'd buy it without a second's hesitation. When I used to have The Blue Dahlia on vhs, I watched it repeatedly until it practically wore out. I love Raymond Chandler and I think they really captured a "mood" with the SoCal settings....

[moira finnie]

Lucky Jordan (1942), a rarely seen but pleasantly diverting wartime propaganda movie with the underrated Alan Ladd is scheduled for Wed., Jan. 26th at 8pm ET on TCM. It is also Helen Walker's film debut with a good supporting cast that included John Wengraf, who does a stylish turn as a Nazi agent. Frank Tuttle, the man who directed Ladd so well in his breakthrough role in the adaptation of Graham Greene's This Gun For Hire (1942) just before this movie was made keeps a pretty good balance between the humor and the tough guy stuff as Ladd's hoodlum discovers his latent patriotism. Ladd's range may have been narrow, but he did have talent and certainly had a memorable style. You can see a montage of excerpts from this movie here.

(Hey! You don't think that the screenwriters for the following year's Mr. Lucky saw this movie, do you?)

One reliable actor to look for in this movie was Sheldon Leonard who wrote in his autobiography, And the Show Goes On (Hal Leonard Corp., 1995)

I remember working with Alan Ladd on Lucky Jordan. Alan was a courteous, considerate, kind and gentle man who made a career out of playing gangsters and gunslingers. So much for type casting. He was short, perhaps five-feet-four, but he wasn't self-concious about his height. His wife, Sue Carol, was. [Sue Carol was a former child actress and ingenue in early talkies who became an agent, and, through her contacts and business savvy molded her husband into a marketable commodity]. She sat in on all casting sessions that concerned Alan and made sure that the people selected to play scenes with him were not taller than five-six or five-seven. When, as in my case, she was stuck with a tall actor, she stipulated that Alan was to play his scenes with me while standing on six-inch risers. Alan tolerated this sort of thing with wry amusement.

Above: Sheldon Leonard (left) and Alan Ladd (seated) in Lucky Jordan (1942) share the screen with no problems.
'

[JackFavell]

She sat in on all casting sessions that concerned Alan and made sure that the people selected to play scenes with him were not taller than five-six or five-seven. When, as in my case, she was stuck with a tall actor, she stipulated that Alan was to play his scenes with me while standing on six-inch risers. Alan tolerated this sort of thing with wry amusement.

Ha! Like in Shane with 6' 2" Ben Johnson! I actually find that fight scene even more impressive since I found this out.

I can't wait to see Lucky Jordan! So far, nothing can top This Gun for Hire for me.

[moira finnie]

I can't wait to see Lucky Jordan! So far, nothing can top This Gun for Hire for me.

I haven't seen Lucky Jordan in decades and it has not been issued on DVD commercially as far as I know. I don't think I've ever seen anyone make the kind of splash on screen as Ladd did in This Gun for Hire either. He was so different from the run-of-the-mill "hero" in American movies up until then.

Btw, have you seen the version of The Great Gatsby (1949) that starred Alan Ladd?

In many ways it was a disaster due in part to Elliot Nugent's flaccid direction (though it wasn't as agonizing to try to watch as the later version with Robert Redford). The casting of this '49 version included the all wrong Betty Field as Daisy. It's funny, but I think that wispy Mia Farrow's mother, Maureen O'Sullivan or Gail Russell might have pulled this part off...and the '40s version would have been better with John Farrow behind the lens as director.

Other bad casting choices included MacDonald Carey as Nick, Barry Sullivan as Tom Buchanan and poor Ruth Hussey on the sidelines (as usual) as Jordan. The only ones who seem well-cast were Howard da Silva as Wilson and Myrtle was played by Shelley Winters (though I was, of course, in my heartless way, glad to see her get run over).

The best thing about the movie is Alan Ladd as Jay Gatsby, a part he understood in his bones. He was so touching at certain points in the story, imbuing his lines and actions with a naive yearning and loneliness that seems closer to Fitzgerald than most of the rest of the script, which I'm sure had lots of cuts thanks to the production code. From the posters I've seen of this, Paramount thought it should market this as just another film noir about a gangster. Well, sort of, I guess...

[JackFavell]

Why is it so impossible to make a decent version of Gatsby? Fitzgerald is one of my favorite writers, and it seems like it wouldn't be so difficult to make this book into a movie. And yet...

I had no idea there even WAS a 40's version of the book. The only casting that seems right in that movie in Ruth Hussey as Jordan, who just happens to be my favorite character after Nick, so Hussey is fitting. Shelley Winters sounds about the same awfulness as Karen Black, who I can't get out of my mind, and wish I could. Barry Sullivan as Tom sounds like they got the cruelty of him, but no one ever gets him in the right class. I think Gail Russell as Daisy might have been perfect, magical even. I have to admit, I can't see Maureen as that character at all. She might have gotten the untouchable quality that Daisy had, but her performance would be crueler than Russell's. Perhaps the character of Daisy is the real reason no one can make this movie?

Or perhaps it's because no one who has made the movie has in the least understood what it was about, at least the seventies version anyway. They were swayed by the glamour of it without understanding the social overtones of the time and the class strictures that gave birth to the book. Perhaps the structure of the book, at one remove from Gatsby, is at fault for there never being a good version on film. I've seen parts of the 2000 version with Toby Stephens and Mira Sorvino, and it seems like a weak copy of the 1974 version, if that's possible. Maybe the Brits could do a better job of it. After seeing Guy Pearce as the Prince of Wales in The King's Speech, I think he'd make an incredible Tom Buchanan. During the forties, maybe Kirk Douglas could play Tom, if someone sat on him and kept him from going overboard.

One minute I can picture Ladd as Gatsby, and the next I can't. Thinking of him as the hunted sensitive in This Gun for Hire, I swear he could capture the longing and outsider status, plus the slightly shady side of Gatsby. Then I think of Ladd in some of his later films, and am not so sure. I do think he could get the unknowable quality of Jay Gatsby, just as Gail Russell could make your heart melt and then rip it out with her callowness. Ava Gardner could have made a great Jordan.

One thing is for sure, you have made me LONG to see this attempt at the novel.