Alan Ladd
Encyclopedia
Early life
Ladd was born in Hot Springs, ArkansasHot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
. He was the only child of Ina Raleigh Ladd and Alan Ladd, Sr. He was of English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
ancestry. His father died when he was four, and his mother relocated to Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
where she married Jim Beavers, a housepainter. The family then moved again to North Hollywood, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
where Ladd became a high-school swimming and diving champion and participated in high school dramatics at North Hollywood High School
North Hollywood High School
North Hollywood High School, originally called Lankershim High School when it opened in 1927, is a secondary school in North Hollywood in Los Angeles, California. The school mascot is the husky, and the school colors are blue, white and grey....
, graduating on February 1st, 1934. He opened his own hamburger and malt shop, which he called Tiny's Patio. He worked briefly as a studio carpenter (as did his stepfather) and for a short time was part of the Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
studio school for actors. But Universal decided he was too blond and too short and dropped him. Intent on acting, he found work in radio.
Career
Ladd began by appearing in dozens of films in small roles, including Citizen KaneCitizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
in which he played one of the "faceless" reporters who are always shown in silhouette. He first gained some recognition with a featured role in the wartime thriller Joan of Paris
Joan of Paris
Joan of Paris is a 1942 war film about five Royal Air Force pilots shot down over Nazi-occupied France during World War II and their attempt to escape to England...
, 1942. For his next role, his manager, Sue Carol, found a vehicle which made Ladd's career, Graham Greene
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
's This Gun for Hire
This Gun for Hire
This Gun for Hire is a 1942 film noir, directed by Frank Tuttle and based on the novel A Gun for Sale by Graham Greene. The film stars Veronica Lake, Robert Preston, Laird Cregar, and Alan Ladd.-Plot:...
in which he played "Raven," a hitman with a conscience. "Once Ladd had acquired an unsmiling hardness, he was transformed from an extra to a phenomenon. Ladd's calm slender ferocity make it clear that he was the first American actor to show the killer as a cold angel." - David Thomson (A Biographical Dictionary of Film, 1975) Both the film and Ladd's performance played an important role in the development of the "gangster" genre: "That the old fashioned motion picture gangster with his ugly face, gaudy cars, and flashy clothes was replaced by a smoother, better looking, and better dressed bad man was largely the work of Mr. Ladd." - New York Times obituary (January 30, 1964). Ladd was teamed with actress Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake
Veronica Lake was an American film actress and pin-up model. She received both popular and critical acclaim, most notably for her role in Sullivan's Travels and her femme fatale roles in film noir with Alan Ladd during the 1940s, and was well-known for her peek-a-boo hairstyle...
in this film, and despite the fact that it was Robert Preston
Robert Preston (actor)
-Early life:Preston was born Robert Preston Meservey in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth L. and Frank Wesley Meservey, a garment worker and billing clerk for American Express. After attending Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, California, he studied acting at the Pasadena Community...
who played the romantic lead, the Ladd-Lake pairing captured the public's imagination, and would continue in another three films. (They appeared in a total of seven films together, but three were only guest shots in all-star musical revues.)
Ladd went on to star in many Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
' films, with a brief timeout for military service in the United States Army Air Force's First Motion Picture Unit
First Motion Picture Unit
The First Motion Picture Unit was the first unit of the United States Military to be made up entirely of motion picture personnel. It was also the title of a 1943 documentary about the unit.-Organization:...
. He appeared in Dashiell Hammett
Dashiell Hammett
Samuel Dashiell Hammett was an American author of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories, and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade , Nick and Nora Charles , and the Continental Op .In addition to the significant influence his novels and stories had on...
's story The Glass Key
The Glass Key (1942 film)
The Glass Key is a 1942 film noir, directed by Stuart Heisler and based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. The story had previously been adapted for film in 1935.-Plot:...
, his second pairing with Lake, and Lucky Jordan
Lucky Jordan
Lucky Jordan is a 1942 film directed by Frank Tuttle, starring Alan Ladd in his first leading role, Helen Walker in her film debut, and Sheldon Leonard...
, with Helen Walker
Helen Walker
Not to be confused with the singer-actress Helen Roberts WalkerHelen Walker was an American movie actress of the 1940s and 1950s....
. His cool, unsmiling persona proved popular with wartime audiences, and he was quickly established as one of the top box office stars of the decade.
In 1946, he starred in a trio of silver screen classics: the big screen adaptation of Richard Henry Dana
Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
Richard Henry Dana Jr. was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts, a descendant of an eminent colonial family who gained renown as the author of the American classic, the memoir Two Years Before the Mast...
's maritime classic, Two Years Before the Mast
Two Years Before the Mast
Two Years Before the Mast is a book by the American author Richard Henry Dana, Jr., published in 1840, having been written after a two-year sea voyage starting in 1834. A film adaptation under the same name was released in 1946.- Background :...
(for which he also received critical acclaim), the Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
original mystery The Blue Dahlia
The Blue Dahlia
The Blue Dahlia is a 1946 film noir, directed by George Marshall and written by Raymond Chandler. The film marks the third pairing of stars Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake.-Plot:...
(his third pairing with Lake), and the World War II espionage thriller, O.S.S.
O.S.S. (film)
O.S.S. is a 1946 war film starring Alan Ladd, Colton Winters and Geraldine Fitzgerald about the Office of Strategic Services....
.
He formed his own production companies for film and radio and then starred in his own syndicated series Box 13
Box 13
Box 13 was a syndicated radio series about the escapades of newspaperman-turned-mystery novelist Dan Holliday, played by film star Alan Ladd. Created by Ladd's company, Mayfair Productions, Box 13 premiered in 1947...
, which ran from 1948-49. Ladd and Robert Preston
Robert Preston (actor)
-Early life:Preston was born Robert Preston Meservey in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth L. and Frank Wesley Meservey, a garment worker and billing clerk for American Express. After attending Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, California, he studied acting at the Pasadena Community...
starred in the 1948 western film, Whispering Smith
Whispering Smith
Whispering Smith is a 1948 western film starring Alan Ladd as a railroad detective assigned to stop a gang of train robbers.It is based on a novel by Frank H. Spearman and a previous 1926 film adaptation starring H.B...
, which in 1961 would become a short-lived NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television series, starring Audie Murphy
Audie Murphy
Audie Leon Murphy was a highly decorated and famous soldier. Through LIFE magazine's July 16, 1945 issue , he became one the most famous soldiers of World War II and widely regarded as the most decorated American soldier of the war...
.
In 1949's version of The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922....
, Ladd had the featured role of Jay Gatsby.
Ladd made the Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll
Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll
The Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll has been published every year, from a poll of movie exhibitors, every year since 1932 by Quigley Publishing Company. The list is based on a poll of movie theater owners, who are asked to name the previous year's top 10 moneymaking stars...
three times: in 1947, 1953 and 1954.
When former agent Albert R. Broccoli
Albert R. Broccoli
Albert Romolo Broccoli, CBE , nicknamed "Cubby", was an American film producer, who made more than 40 motion pictures throughout his career, most of them in the United Kingdom, and often filmed at Pinewood Studios. Co-founder of Danjaq, LLC and EON Productions, Broccoli is most notable as the...
formed Warwick Films
Warwick Films
Warwick Films was the name of a film company founded by film producers Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli in London in 1951. The name was taken from the Warwick Hotel in London...
with his partner Irving Allen
Irving Allen
Irving Allen was a theatrical and cinematic producer and director. He won an Academy Award in 1948 for producing the short movie Climbing the Matterhorn. In the early 1950s he formed Warwick Films with partner Albert "Cubby" Broccoli and relocated to England to leverage film making against a...
, they heard Ladd was unhappy with Paramount and was leaving the studio. With his wife and agent Sue Carol, they negotiated for Ladd to appear in the first three of their films made in England and released through Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
The Red Beret
The Red Beret
The Red Beret is a 1953 British made Technicolor war film starring Alan Ladd, Leo Genn and Susan Stephen. It deals with the Parachute Regiment during the Second World War. It is notable as the first film made by Warwick Films with many of the crew working on various Warwick Films and Albert R....
/Paratrooper (1953), Hell Below Zero
Hell Below Zero
Hell Below Zero is a 1954 murder mystery film, starring Alan Ladd in the second of his films for Warwick Films.The film was directed by Mark Robson, and was written by Alec Coppel and Max Trell...
(based on Hammond Innes's book The White South) (1954) and The Black Knight with each co-written by Ladd's regular screenwriter Richard Maibaum
Richard Maibaum
Richard Maibaum was an American film producer, playwright and screenwriter best known for his adaptations of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels....
. (1954) In 1954 Ladd formed a new production company, Jaguar Productions, originally releasing his films through Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
and then with All the Young Men
All the Young Men
All the Young Men is a 1960 Korean War feature film starring Alan Ladd and Sidney Poitier dealing with desegregation in the United States Marine Corps.-Plot:...
through Columbia.
In November 1962, he was found lying unconscious in a pool of blood with a bullet wound near his heart, an unsuccessful suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
attempt. In 1963 Ladd filmed a supporting role in The Carpetbaggers
The Carpetbaggers (film)
The Carpetbaggers is a 1964 American film based upon the best selling novel The Carpetbaggers by Harold Robbins.The film stars George Peppard as Jonas Cord, a character based largely on Howard Hughes, and Alan Ladd as a former western gunslinger turned actor with the pseudonym Nevada Smith, played...
. He would not live to see its release. On January 29, 1964 he was found dead in Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
, of an acute overdose of "alcohol and three other drugs", at the age of 50; his death was ruled accidental. He was entombed in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
. Not until June 28, 1964 did Carpetbaggers producer Joseph E. Levine
Joseph E. Levine
Joseph E. Levine was an American film producer.He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His Embassy Pictures Corporation was an independent studio and distributor responsible for such films as Hercules , The Carpetbaggers, Harlow, The Graduate, A Bridge Too Far and The Lion in Winter.Levine is famous...
hold an elaborate premiere screening in New York City with an afterparty
Afterparty
The term afterparty, after-party, or after party refers to a phenomenon in modern culture often seen in the hospitality or entertainment industries and among college and high-school circles in society, which involves a planned celebration following a significant event attended by guests associated...
staged by his wife at The Four Seasons Restaurant
The Four Seasons Restaurant
The Four Seasons is a restaurant in New York City located at 99 East 52nd Street , in the Seagram Building.Opened in 1959, the Four Seasons is associated with a number of milestone firsts in the hospitality industry. The Four Seasons is credited with introducing the idea of seasonally-changing...
.
Alan Ladd has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 1601 Vine Street
Vine Street
Vine is a street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California that runs north-south from Melrose Avenue up past Hollywood Boulevard. The intersection of Hollywood and Vine was once a symbol of Hollywood itself...
. His handprint appears in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theater, in Hollywood.
Personal life
He had married a high-school acquaintance, Midge Harrold. Their only child, a son named Alan Ladd, Jr.Alan Ladd, Jr.
Alan Ladd, Jr. is an American film industry executive and producer. He is famous for giving George Lucas the go-ahead to make Star Wars and remained as Lucas' only support at times when the Board of Directors wished to shut down production...
, was born in 1937. Ladd's stepfather died suddenly. Then his mother, who suffered from depression, committed suicide by poison.
In 1942, Ladd married his agent/manager, former movie actress Sue Carol
Sue Carol
Sue Carol was an American actress and talent agent.While at a social function in Los Angeles in 1927, a director offered her a part in a film. She took it and began playing minor parts...
.
Ladd owned properties in Beverly Hills and, in Palm Springs, Alan Ladd Hardware. His son by his first wife Midge Harrold, Alan Ladd, Jr.
Alan Ladd, Jr.
Alan Ladd, Jr. is an American film industry executive and producer. He is famous for giving George Lucas the go-ahead to make Star Wars and remained as Lucas' only support at times when the Board of Directors wished to shut down production...
, is a motion picture executive and producer and founder of The Ladd Company
The Ladd Company
The Ladd Company is a film production and distribution company founded by Alan Ladd, Jr. in 1979, after ending his job as President of 20th Century Fox. Under Warner Bros...
. His daughter actress Alana, who co-starred with her father in Guns of the Timberland
Guns of the Timberland
Guns of the Timberland is a 1960 feature film starring Alan Ladd and Jeanne Crain. It was made by Ladd's Jaguar Productions and released through Warner Bros..-Plot:...
and Duel of the Champions, is married to the veteran talk radio broadcaster Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson (radio commentator)
Michael Jackson is an American talk radio host based in the Los Angeles, California area. Jackson is best known for his radio show which covered arts, politics, and human interest subjects, particularly in the Los Angeles and greater Southern California area in the era before "shock jocks." His...
. Another son, actor David Ladd
David Ladd
David Ladd is an American producer and former actor.-Personal life:Ladd was born in Los Angeles, California, and is the son of Alan Ladd and Sue Carol and brother of Alana Ladd...
, who co-starred with Ladd as a child in The Proud Rebel
The Proud Rebel
The Proud Rebel is a 1958 American film directed by Michael Curtiz with a screenplay by Lillie Hayward that is based on a story by James Edward Grant. The movie is about a former confederate soldier who is falsely accused of starting a brawl in a small town. A local woman comes to his aid, but she...
, married Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels is a television series about three women who work for a private investigation agency, and is one of the first shows to showcase women in roles traditionally reserved for men...
star Cheryl Ladd
Cheryl Ladd
Cheryl Ladd is an American actress, singer and author. Ladd is best known for her role as Kris Munroe in the television series Charlie's Angels, hired amid a swirl of publicity prior to its second season in 1977 to replace the departing Farrah Fawcett-Majors...
, 1973-1980. Actress Jordan Ladd
Jordan Ladd
Jordan Elizabeth Ladd is an American actress. She began taking small film roles before landing her first high-profile role in Never Been Kissed . Since then, Ladd has portrayed supporting as well as lead roles in films, including Cabin Fever , Club Dread , and Death Proof...
is his granddaughter.
Despite Alan Ladd's fathering three children, he regularly socialized with members of Hollywood's gay subculture in the luxurious home of George Cukor
George Cukor
George Dewey Cukor was an American film director. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed What Price Hollywood? , A Bill of Divorcement , Dinner at Eight , Little Women , David Copperfield , Romeo and Juliet and...
. It was the site of weekly Sunday afternoon parties attended by closeted
Closeted
Closeted and in the closet are metaphors used to describe lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior.-Background:In late 20th...
celebrities and the attractive young men they met in bars and gyms and brought with them. Whether Ladd was sexually involved with any of them is not recorded for posterity. At least one gay historian has speculated Ladd may have questioned his sexuality and this contributed to his emotional state on the night of his death.
Reports of his height vary from 5'5" to 5'9" (from his military records) (1.65 to 1.75 m), with 5'6" (1.68 m) being the most generally accepted today.
Features
- Tom Brown of Culver (19321932 in film-Events:*Cary Grant's film career begins*Katharine Hepburn's film career begins*Shirley Temple's film career begins*Disney released Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor film.*Santa, first sound film made in Mexico released....
) - Once in a Lifetime (1932)
- Island of Lost SoulsIsland of Lost Souls (1933 film)Island of Lost Souls is an American science fiction horror film starring Charles Laughton, Richard Arlen, Leila Hyams, Bela Lugosi and Kathleen Burke as The Panther Woman. Produced by Paramount Pictures in 1933 from a script co-written by science fiction legend Philip Wylie, the movie was the...
(19331933 in film-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....
) - Saturday's Millions (1933)
- Pigskin ParadePigskin Parade (film)Pigskin Parade is a 1936 musical comedy film which tells the story of husband and wife college football coaches who convince a backwoods player to play for their team so they can go to the big Bowl Game. It was written by William M...
(19361936 in filmThe year 1936 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 29 - Fritz Lang's first Hollywood film Fury, starring Spencer Tracy and Bruce Cabot, is released.*November 6 - first Porky Pig animated cartoon...
) - The Last Train from Madrid (19371937 in filmThe year 1937 in film involved some significant events, including the Walt Disney production of the first full-length animated film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.- Events :*April 16 - Way Out West premieres in the US....
) - Souls at SeaSouls at SeaSouls at Sea is a 1937 seafaring film starring Gary Cooper and George Raft. The movie features Frances Dee, Harry Carey, Robert Cummings, George Zucco, Joseph Schildkraut, Paul Fix, and Tully Marshall, and was directed by Henry Hathaway. The title of this film was spoofed in the Laurel and Hardy...
(1937) - All Over Town (1937)
- Hold 'Em Navy (1937)
- The Goldwyn FolliesThe Goldwyn FolliesThe Goldwyn Follies is a 1938 Technicolor film written by Ben Hecht, Sid Kuller, Sam Perrin and Arthur Phillips, with music by George Gershwin, Vernon Duke, and Ray Golden, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. Some sources credit Kurt Weill as one of the composers, but this is apparently incorrect...
(19381938 in filmThe year 1938 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*January — MGM announces that Judy Garland would be cast in the role of "Dorothy" in the upcoming Wizard of Oz motion picture. Ray Bolger is cast as the "Tinman" and Buddy Ebsen is cast as the "Scarecrow". At Bolger's insistence,...
) - Come On, Leathernecks! (1938)
- Freshman Year (1938)
- The Mysterious Miss X (19391939 in filmThe year 1939 in motion pictures can be justified as being called the most outstanding one ever, when it comes to the high quality and high attendance at the large set of the best films that premiered in the year .- Events :Motion picture historians and film often rate...
) - Hitler, Beast of BerlinHitler, Beast of BerlinHitler, Beast of Berlin was one of the most popular "hiss and boo" films of the World War II era, based on the novel Goose Step by Shepard Traube. The film was the first production of Producers Releasing Corporation. It was recut and released as Beasts of Berlin the same year, having been banned...
(1939) - Rulers of the Sea (1939)
- The Green HornetThe Green Hornet (serial)The Green Hornet is a Universal movie serial based on The Green Hornet radio series by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker.-Synopsis:...
(19401940 in filmThe year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney classics Pinocchio and Fantasia.-Events:*February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released....
) - Brother Rat and a Baby (1940)
- The Light of Western Stars (1940)
- In Old Missouri (1940)
- Gangs of Chicago (1940)
- Cross-Country Romance (1940)
- Those Were the Days! (1940)
- Captain CautionCaptain CautionCaptain Caution is a 1940 American adventure film directed by Richard Wallace. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Sound Recording .-Cast:* Victor Mature as Daniel 'Dan' Marvin* Louise Platt as Corunna Dorman...
(1940) - The Howards of VirginiaThe Howards of VirginiaThe Howards of Virginia is a 1940 film released by Columbia Pictures and based on the book The Tree of Liberty written by Elizabeth Page...
(1940) - Meet the Missus (1940)
- Victory (1940)
- Her First RomanceHer First RomanceHer First Romance is a 1940 American musical comedy film directed by Edward Dmytryk.-Cast:* Edith Fellows as Linda Strong* Wilbur Evans as Philip Niles* Julie Bishop as Eileen Strong * Alan Ladd as John Gilman...
(1940) - Petticoat Politics (19411941 in filmThe year 1941 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released in 1941.-Top grossing films :-Academy Awards:...
) - Citizen KaneCitizen KaneCitizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
(1941) - The Black CatThe Black Cat (1941 film)The Black Cat is a 1941 film based on the short story by Edgar Allan Poe. Actor Bela Lugosi also appeared in the 1934 adaptation of the story. The comedy/horror film was directed by Albert S. Rogell, and starred Basil Rathbone.-Main cast:...
(1941) - Paper Bullets (1941)
- The Reluctant DragonThe Reluctant Dragon (film)The Reluctant Dragon is a 1941 American combined live action and animated film produced by Walt Disney, directed by Alfred Werker, and released by RKO Radio Pictures on June 20, 1941...
(1941) - They Met in BombayThey Met in BombayThey Met in Bombay is a 1941 American drama film adventure directed by Clarence Brown. The film stars Clark Gable, Rosalind Russell and Peter Lorre.-Plot:...
(1941) - Great GunsGreat GunsGreat Guns is a 1941 film directed by Monty Banks, and produced by Sol M. Wurtzel for 20th Century Fox starring Laurel and Hardy.- Plot :...
(1941) - Cadet Girl (1941)
- Joan of ParisJoan of ParisJoan of Paris is a 1942 war film about five Royal Air Force pilots shot down over Nazi-occupied France during World War II and their attempt to escape to England...
(19421942 in filmThe year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the greatest of all time, Casablanca.-Events:...
) - This Gun for HireThis Gun for HireThis Gun for Hire is a 1942 film noir, directed by Frank Tuttle and based on the novel A Gun for Sale by Graham Greene. The film stars Veronica Lake, Robert Preston, Laird Cregar, and Alan Ladd.-Plot:...
(1942) - The Glass KeyThe Glass Key (1942 film)The Glass Key is a 1942 film noir, directed by Stuart Heisler and based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. The story had previously been adapted for film in 1935.-Plot:...
(1942) - Lucky Jordan (1942)
- Star Spangled RhythmStar Spangled RhythmStar Spangled Rhythm is a 1943 all-star cast musical film made by Paramount Pictures during World War II as a morale booster. Many of the Hollywood studios produced such films during the war, generally musicals, frequently with flimsy storylines, and with the specific intent of entertaining the...
(1942) - China (19431943 in filmThe year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
) - And Now TomorrowAnd Now TomorrowAnd Now Tomorrow is a 1944 film based on the bestselling novel, published in 1942 by Rachel Field, directed by Irving Pichel and written by Raymond Chandler. Both center around one doctor's attempt for curing deafness. The film stars Alan Ladd and Susan Hayward. Its tagline was Who are you that a...
(19441944 in filmThe year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released....
) - Salty O'Rourke (19451945 in filmThe year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....
)
- Duffy's TavernDuffy's TavernDuffy's Tavern was a popular American radio situation comedy which ran for a decade on several networks , concluding with the December 28, 1951 broadcast....
(1945) - Two Years Before the MastTwo Years Before the Mast (film)Two Years Before the Mast is a 1946 adventure film based on Richard Henry Dana, Jr.'s travel book of the same name. It starred Alan Ladd, Brian Donlevy, William Bendix, Howard Da Silva and Esther Fernández.-Plot summary:...
(19461946 in filmThe year 1946 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*November 21 - William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.*December 20 - Frank Capra's It's a...
) - The Blue DahliaThe Blue DahliaThe Blue Dahlia is a 1946 film noir, directed by George Marshall and written by Raymond Chandler. The film marks the third pairing of stars Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake.-Plot:...
(1946) - O.S.S.O.S.S. (film)O.S.S. is a 1946 war film starring Alan Ladd, Colton Winters and Geraldine Fitzgerald about the Office of Strategic Services....
(1946) - My Favorite BrunetteMy Favorite BrunetteMy Favorite Brunette is a 1947 movie spoofing movie detectives and the film noir style. Starring Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour, it also features Lon Chaney, Jr...
(19471947 in filmThe year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25...
) - CalcuttaCalcutta (1947 film)Calcutta is an American crime film noir directed by John Farrow, and written and produced by Seton I. Miller. The drama features Alan Ladd, Gail Russell and William Bendix.-Cast:* Alan Ladd as Neale Gordon* Gail Russell as Virginia Moore...
(1947) - Variety GirlVariety GirlVariety Girl is an all-star movie musical produced by Paramount Pictures. Numerous Paramount contract players and directors make cameos or perform songs, with particularly large amounts of screen time featuring Bing Crosby...
(1947) - Wild Harvest (1947)
- SaigonSaigon (film)Saigon is a 1948 film starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake in their fourth and final film together. It was distributed by Paramount Pictures and was one of the last films Veronica Lake made under her contract with the studio.-Plot:...
(19481948 in filmThe year 1948 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Laurence Olivier's Hamlet becomes the first British film to win the American Academy Award for Best Picture.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :...
) - Beyond Glory (1948)
- Whispering SmithWhispering SmithWhispering Smith is a 1948 western film starring Alan Ladd as a railroad detective assigned to stop a gang of train robbers.It is based on a novel by Frank H. Spearman and a previous 1926 film adaptation starring H.B...
(1948) - The Great GatsbyThe Great Gatsby (1949 film)The Great Gatsby is a 1949 film made by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Elliott Nugent and produced by Richard Maibaum, from a screenplay by Richard Maibaum and Cyril Hume based on the novel of the same title by F. Scott Fitzgerald and the play by Owen Davis. The music score was by Robert...
(19491949 in filmThe year 1949 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello...
) - Chicago Deadline (1949)
- Captain Carey, U.S.A.Captain Carey, U.S.A.Captain Carey, U.S.A. is a 1950 drama film starring Alan Ladd, Wanda Hendrix, and Francis Lederer. An American returns to post-World War II Italy to bring a traitor to justice.The film was based on the novel No Surrender by Martha Albrand...
(19501950 in filmThe year 1950 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 15 - Walt Disney Studios' animated film Cinderella debuts.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:*Ambush...
) - BrandedBranded (film)Branded is a 1950 western film starring Alan Ladd, Mona Freeman, Charles Bickford, and Robert Keith. It was adapted from the novel Montana Rides Again by Max Brand. A gunfighter on the run from the law is talked into posing as the long-lost son of a wealthy rancher.-Plot:Choya, a gunfighter on the...
(1950) - Appointment with DangerAppointment with DangerAppointment with Danger is an American crime film noir directed by Lewis Allen and written by Richard L. Breen and Warren Duff. The drama features Alan Ladd, Phyllis Calvert, Paul Stewart, among others.-Plot:...
(19511951 in filmThe year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) - Red Mountain (1951)
- The Iron Mistress (19521952 in filmThe year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
) - Thunder in the East (1952)
- Botany BayBotany Bay (film)Botany Bay is a 1953 American drama film directed by John Farrow and starring Alan Ladd, James Mason and Patricia Medina. It was based on a novel of the same name by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall.-Plot:...
(19531953 in filmThe year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A...
) - Desert Legion (1953)
- Shane (1953)
- The Red BeretThe Red BeretThe Red Beret is a 1953 British made Technicolor war film starring Alan Ladd, Leo Genn and Susan Stephen. It deals with the Parachute Regiment during the Second World War. It is notable as the first film made by Warwick Films with many of the crew working on various Warwick Films and Albert R....
(1953) - Hell Below ZeroHell Below ZeroHell Below Zero is a 1954 murder mystery film, starring Alan Ladd in the second of his films for Warwick Films.The film was directed by Mark Robson, and was written by Alec Coppel and Max Trell...
(19541954 in filmThe year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda...
) - SaskatchewanSaskatchewan (film)Saskatchewan is a 1954 fictional American Northern/ western Technicolor film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Alan Ladd and Shelley Winters. The film was shot in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada, not far from the headwaters of the Saskatchewan River...
(1954) - The Black KnightThe Black Knight (1954 film)The Black Knight is a 1954 film starring Alan Ladd as the title character and Peter Cushing and Patrick Troughton as two conspirators attempting to overthrow King Arthur...
(1954) - Drum Beat (1954)
- The McConnell StoryThe McConnell StoryThe McConnell Story is a dramatization of the life and career of U.S. Air Force pilot Joseph C. McConnell , who served as a navigator in World War II before becoming the top American ace during the Korean War. He was killed while serving as a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave...
(19551955 in filmThe year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
) - Hell on Frisco BayHell on Frisco BayHell on Frisco Bay is a 1955 film starring Alan Ladd and Edward G. Robinson. Directed by Frank Tuttle, The supporting cast includes Joanne Dru, William Demarest, and Fay Wray. It was made for Ladd's own production company, Jaguar....
(1955) - Santiago (19561956 in filmThe year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
) - A Cry in the Night (1956) (narrator)
- The Big Land (19571957 in filmThe year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:...
) - Boy on a DolphinBoy on a DolphinBoy on a Dolphin is a 1957 20th Century Fox romantic film set in Greece and made in CinemaScope. It was directed by Jean Negulesco and produced by Samuel G. Engel from a screenplay by Ivan Moffat and Dwight Taylor, based on the novel by David Divine....
(1957) - The Deep SixThe Deep SixThe Deep Six is a 1958 Warnercolor World War II drama film directed by Rudolph Maté, was based on a novel with the same name by Martin Dibner...
(19581958 in filmThe year 1958 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 16- "In the Money" by William Beaudine is released on this date. It would be the last installment of The Bowery Boys series which began back in 1946....
) - The Proud Rebel (1958)
- The BadlandersThe BadlandersThe Badlanders is a western film directed by Delmer Daves and starring Alan Ladd and Ernest Borgnine. It was written by Richard Collins, based upon the novel The Asphalt Jungle by W.R. Burnett.-Plot:...
(1958) - The Man in the NetThe Man in the NetThe Man in the Net is an American film noir starring Alan Ladd and Carolyn Jones. The taut drama was directed by Michael Curtiz.-Plot:...
(19591959 in filmThe year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
) - Guns of the TimberlandGuns of the TimberlandGuns of the Timberland is a 1960 feature film starring Alan Ladd and Jeanne Crain. It was made by Ladd's Jaguar Productions and released through Warner Bros..-Plot:...
(19601960 in filmThe year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
) - All the Young MenAll the Young MenAll the Young Men is a 1960 Korean War feature film starring Alan Ladd and Sidney Poitier dealing with desegregation in the United States Marine Corps.-Plot:...
(1960) - One Foot in Hell (1960)
- Duel of Champions (19611961 in filmThe year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
) - 13 West Street (19621962 in filmThe year 1962 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May - The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards are officially founded by the Taiwanese government....
) - The CarpetbaggersThe Carpetbaggers (film)The Carpetbaggers is a 1964 American film based upon the best selling novel The Carpetbaggers by Harold Robbins.The film stars George Peppard as Jonas Cord, a character based largely on Howard Hughes, and Alan Ladd as a former western gunslinger turned actor with the pseudonym Nevada Smith, played...
(19641964 in filmThe year 1964 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 29 - The film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is released....
)
Short subjects
- Unfinished Rainbows (19401940 in filmThe year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney classics Pinocchio and Fantasia.-Events:*February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released....
) - Meat and Romance (1940)
- Blame It on Love (1940)
- American Portrait (1940)
- I Look at You (19411941 in filmThe year 1941 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Citizen Kane, consistently rated as one of the greatest films of all time, was released in 1941.-Top grossing films :-Academy Awards:...
) - Training Film No. A-3: Military Training (1941)
- Letter from a Friend (19431943 in filmThe year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
) - Screen Snapshots: Hollywood in Uniform (1943)
- Skirmish on the Home Front (19441944 in filmThe year 1944 in film involved some significant events, including the wholesome, award-winning Going My Way plus popular murder mysteries such as Double Indemnity, Gaslight and Laura.-Events:*July 20 - Since You Went Away is released....
) - Hollywood Victory Caravan (19451945 in filmThe year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....
) - Screen Snapshots: The Skolsky Party (19461946 in filmThe year 1946 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*November 21 - William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives premieres in New York featuring an ensemble cast including Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Teresa Wright, and Harold Russell.*December 20 - Frank Capra's It's a...
) - Eyes of Hollywood (19491949 in filmThe year 1949 in film involved some significant events.-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:*Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello...
) - Grantland Rice Sportlight No. R11-10: A Sporting Oasis (19521952 in filmThe year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
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