Alan Ladd

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Good Job
The greatest
best purchase
Clichesville
A Western Classic

Shane
Starring: Alan Ladd , and Jean Arthur
Director: George Steven
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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High Noon (Collector's Edition)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Searchers (Two-Disc Anniversary Edition)
The Magnificent Seven (Special Edition)
Red River

ASIN: 0792163710
Release Date: 2000-08-15

Amazon.com essential video

Consciously crafted by director George Stevens as a piece of American mythmaking, Shane is on nearly everyone's shortlist of great movie Westerns. A buckskin knight, Shane (Alan Ladd) rides into the middle of a range war between farmers and cattlemen, quickly siding with the "sod-busters." While helping a kindly farmer (Van Heflin), Shane falls platonically in love with the man's wife (Jean Arthur, in the last screen performance of a marvelous career). Though the showdowns are exciting, and the story simple but involving, what most people will remember about this movie is the friendship between the stoical Shane and the young son of the farmers. The kid is played by Brandon De Wilde, who gives one of the most amazing child performances in the movies; his parting scene with Shane is guaranteed to draw tears from even the most stonyhearted moviegoer. And speaking of stony hearts, Jack Palance made a sensational impression as the evil gunslinger sent to clean house--he has fewer lines of dialogue than he has lines in his magnificently craggy face, but he makes them count. The photography, highlighting the landscape near Jackson Hole, Wyoming, won an Oscar. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

Good Job.......2007-05-29

I ordered this for my dad. I'm from Sri Lanka. Amazon informed me that it will take 2-3 weeks for the package to be shipped but I got it within a week.

Very impressed.

The greatest.......2007-05-14

One of the greatest westerns of all time. Why this is so is hard to define. Maybe it's Alan Ladds performance or the fact that the characters (other than Ladds) are truer to life than they are in most westerns. I don't know, but it's a movie that can be enjoyed over and over again. The fight scenes, although exagerated, actually result in bloody noses and split lips which is never the case in modern movies ( modern movies suggest a man can be hit over the head with a sledge hammer without any serious effect )
The DVD is very good. The frames have been enhanced so there are no film scratches or blips; the quality is probably better than the original.

best purchase.......2007-05-07

This person I made this purchase for mere words can not show his happines
Thank you so much for letting me make that purchase

Clichesville.......2007-02-23

George Stevens uses just about every cliche in western film. Sodbusters versus cattlemen. The lone stranger riding in from parts unknown. Ultimate good (Alan Ladd as Shane) versus ultimate bad (Walter Jack Palance as Jack Wilson). One hero against a bunch of baddies. Yet it works. And how. The scenery, the Tetons, is magnificent.
Nearly everyone now recognizes this as a classic. Yet, the bigwigs at Paramount thought so little of it, they shelved it for two years before releasing it during a lull in production (according to TCM).
Belongs on every list of 5 top westerns.

A Western Classic.......2007-02-22

I remember this movie, when it came to the theaters. I was just a kid at that time, when Roy Rogers, Gene Autry & all of the other Cowboy Idols were still popular. It is definitely a Classic among the Westerns. If you enjoy Westerns & collect the movies, this one should be part of your collection. Also, Westerns in color were a premium treat back then.

Average customer rating:

Good movie!
This Movie Is Everything You Expect, Presented in ways you do not always expect!
True movie
Pure garbage
Gwennie

28 Days (Special Edition)
Starring: Sandra Bullock , Viggo Mortensen , Dominic West , Elizabeth Perkins , and Azura Skye
Director: Betty Thomas
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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Clean and Sober
When a Man Loves a Woman
My Name Is Bill W
Days of Wine and Roses
Drunks

ASIN: B00004UEDQ
Release Date: 2000-09-19

Amazon.com

To appreciate 28 Days, it's best to be thankful that director Betty Thomas hasn't forced Sandra Bullock into a remake of Clean and Sober. Instead Thomas has balanced her comedic sensibility (evident in Dr. Dolittle and Private Parts) with the seriousness of alcoholism and substance abuse, and she succeeds without compromising the gravity of the subject matter. Some critics have scoffed at the movie's breezy, formulaic portrait of 27-year-old boozer and pill-popper Gwen Cummings (Bullock), but this smooth-running star vehicle does for Bullock what Erin Brockovich did for Julia Roberts, focusing her appeal in a substantial role without taxing the limits of her talent. It's no wonder that Susannah Grant (who wrote both films) was one of the hottest new screenwriters of 1999. She writes "Hollywood Lite" without insulting anyone's intelligence.

As played by Bullock, Gwen is an alcoholic in denial whose latest bender with boozer boyfriend Jasper (Dominic West) ruins the wedding of her sister (Elizabeth Perkins) and lands her in a month-long rehab program with the requisite gang of struggling drunks and junkies. Newcomer Alan Tudyk steals his scenes as a gay German rehabber who might've dropped in from a Berlin performance-art exhibit, and Steve Buscemi aptly conveys the weary commitment of a counselor who's seen it all. Thomas has surrounded Bullock with a sharp ensemble, and the addition of singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III (as a kind of Greek chorus crooner) is sublimely inspired. Certainly no surprises here--the warring sisters will reconcile, and at least one rehabber will fail to recover--but there's ample pleasure to be found in Bullock's finely tuned performance, and in Thomas's inclusion of flashbacks and tangents that add depth and laughter in just the right dosage. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Good movie!.......2007-05-21

Although not an accurate portrayal of treatment centers, they do an excellent job of describing addiction. Combination of reality and humor.

This Movie Is Everything You Expect, Presented in ways you do not always expect!.......2007-03-19

This movie is another in a pretty formulaic cadre of from committed boozer and dope addict to drug free recovery stories. This movie does have the virtue of being genuinely funny in some places. Best of all this movie does not take itself so seriously that the anti-drug message dominates the movie. The Movie has a strong anti-drug message make no mistake about that but it is not preachy, high toned, condescending or overly moralistic.

I do not agree that this movie protrays all teenaged ladies as vapid, self absorbed, trite peices of fluff unable to avoid the snare of drug abuse or addiction. However if you go to a football stadium during a football game most of the people you will see there are football fans. Likewise if you have a movie set in the teen ladies unit of a drug treatment center you will see mostly teenaged ladies who for whatever reason were unable to beat the lure of low life dope dealers. The fact that a small faction of teen aged young ladies end up on the crazy road to drug drained boozed up palookaville does not in any way take from the fact that most teen aged young ladies become awesome contributing members of society. 28 Days wants to be a movie that zooms in on life for a small fraction of teen aged ladies who have surcumb to the evils of dope and booze and are on the road to productive recovery.

Despite the serious subject matter what makes this movie fun, is the cast of odd ball characters on the druggie unit with the main character. You just know by looking at this druggie program that it is populated with the posh more well to do upper crust crowd and their is nothing wrong with that. Everyone is just slightly off kilter just enough to be interesting yet still beleivable. I have found most dope addicts and boozers have their weird quirks. It is said that what most in society consider an eccess of weirdness is the price paid by those whose level of inspired creativity allows them to think outside the box in chosen life pursuits.

In the case of the main character as with so many creative types, she aches to be accepted by mainstream society. Her pleas to be loved by polite society go unrequited as thinking outside the box creatively has become a pain for which drugs and or booze become her crutch. One of the funniest parts of the movie has to be when her enabler boyfriend brings booze, a cheap diamond and his stupid boozed up - pro-druggie ideals to her on a boatride while she is in the treatment center. This guy was such a TOTAL UTTER LOSER, while he sounded sincere in his every word he was also a sad black comedy because, there are really people out there who think exactly like him.

28 Days (Special Edition) is a good DVD because despite its heavy subject matter it is still a "very entertaining movie". Good fun solid Entertainment is something most druggie \ boozer finds redemption flicks usually do not do very well. 28 days is funny, entertaining while still holding on to its strong anti-drug message. Sandra Bullock is not bad to look at in this DVD, she does some good solid acting here and if Sandra is your cup of tea she shines like a diamond ever so nicely in for these 28 Days! If you buy 28 Days you will see for yourself!

True movie.......2007-03-05

This movie is very very true movie!!! This movie could help you realize if you are like Sandra Bullock maybe you will realize what really going to happen to you. I am not a drug or drinker but it's something for all of us to learn many things through life what would happen to all of us in the future. This movie has taught people who has drinking and drugs problems!!

Pure garbage.......2007-01-14

I hate this movie! Because it protrays 17-year-old girls in such a negative light. I'm almost 17 years old and I felt disgusted that adults think that all teenagers do is smoke and do drugs and drink when they really don't.In real life, teenage girls don't do that kind of stuff. I think Hollywood producers should make movies about girls following their dreams and finding themselves rather than they do drugs and overdose and die. It's so disgusting that the media presents teenagers like this to the public and then adults think that's what young girls are like. I don't think I have ever seen a movie about a seventeen-year-old girl like this ever. It's the worst movie I've ever seen in my whole entire life and I shouldn't have seen it to begin with. I'm sorry I wasted my time watching this piece of crap. I love Sandra Bullock, I think she's a cool woman and an great actress, but this piece of trash is too horrible for words. It's sick! Don't watch this at all!!!!!!!!

Gwennie.......2006-11-21

Another very funny movie with Sandra Bullock! In rehab, Gwennie finds friends, and oddball romance. Favorite part when she gets a diamond.

Average customer rating:

Cornbally Plot Rescued by Great Performances from Early-in-their-Career Legends!
Very enjoyable football musical comedy

Pigskin Parade
Starring: Stuart Erwin , Patsy Kelly , Jack Haley , Johnny Downs , and Betty Grable
Director: David Butler
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
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The Clock
On the Riviera
Can-Can
Presenting Lily Mars
Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Vol. 2 (The Pirate / Words and Music / That's Dancing / The Belle of New York & Royal Wedding / That Midnight Kiss & The Toast of New Orleans)

ASIN: B000OY6HTK
Release Date: 2007-05-22

Amazon.com

The first major movie produced by the then-brand-new studio 20th Century Fox, the black and white 1936 musical Pigskin Parade is a story about the power of self-confidence. Stars of the day Stuart Erwin, Jack Haley, and Patsy Kelly are joined by then-newcomers to the screen Judy Garland (on loan from MGM studio), Betty Grable, and Anthony (Tony) Martin for an ensemble cast with incredible talent for singing, dancing, and acting. The story begins with a small, mediocre Texas State University football team being mistakenly invited to play against Yale University in a charity ball. The Texas team doesn't have a chance of winning against the mighty Yale team, so everyone thinks, but a new coach (Jack Haley) and his wife (Patsy Kelly) come to town and, thanks to some inspired instruction, their players begin to develop a new self-confidence that, combined with an unlikely new recruit (Stuart Erwin), makes them true football contenders. Much more than just a sports movie, Pigskin Parade is a true musical production complete with elaborate dance numbers like "You're Slightly Terrific" danced by Dixie Dunbar and a host of great songs including "Down With Everything" and "We'd Rather Be In College" performed by the Yacht Club Boys and the powerful "It's Love I'm After" performed by a young Judy Garland. Bonus features include a "Making of the Team" featurette which looks at the talented cast, a "Remembering Judy" segment featuring Judy Garland's daughter Lorna Luft, and a "Meet the Coach" featurette that explores producer Darryl Zanuck's career and his instrumental role in the merge between 20th Century Studios and the Fox Film Corporation. Also included are still galleries and a brief restoration comparison. --Tami Horiuchi

Customer Reviews:

Cornbally Plot Rescued by Great Performances from Early-in-their-Career Legends!.......2007-06-22

Well, the public library shelves lead me to another obscure but fun film. Randomness can be so fulfilling sometimes!

Pigskin Parade--the story of a small Texas university football team accidentally invited to play against Yale--is a predecessor of all the "underdog makes good" sports movies that would come out, and continue to, in the decades that follow. But, with one difference: This one has a legendary cast, or at least a cast that would become legendary years later.

The shining star is, of course, Judy Garland, in her musical debut. You marvel watching her perform, realizing that she is but 15 and already has a mature style and expressiveness that will lead her to things both great and tragic in later life. Betty Grable is barely paid attention to in this film, but just wait a few years and everyone will know her name. Jack Haley, the bumbling football coach with a good-hearted harpy of a wife (also a terrific comedic performance), already portrays many of the character quirks that will make him such a loveable tinman just three years down the road.

Anyway, the movie is fun, as are most of the songs, esp. those sung by the Texas university quartet. Their pieces could be performed today to great advantage. Talented high school kids could have great fun with "Woo-Hoo," for instance.

Predictable, yes, but who cares. It moves along at a rapid clip and, though the climactic football game's results can be guessed way in advance, that doesn't stop this film from being enjoyable.

Very enjoyable football musical comedy.......2007-06-12

PIGSKIN PARADE is a 1936 Fox football musical comedy with location filming at USC and the nearby Coliseum. It stars Oscar nominee Stuart Erwin, Patsy Kelly, Jack Haley, Betty Grable, Dixie Dunbar, Tony Martin, and a scene-stealing young Judy Garland in her film debut. She was on loan-out from MGM and three years later would be reunited there with Haley for THE WIZARD OF OZ. Kelly is a delight. Garland's one musical number, "It's Love I'm After", brought down the house when it was filmed; applause ruined the first take. And Grable would become a huge star in the 1940's at Fox with Technicolor musical delights, some with Haley also. What a cast this has!

The plot is nonsensical. Yale is playing a big football game with the Texas State University hayseeds, and the latter's musical numbers are what really matters. The Yacht Club Boys are also featured in a couple of numbers. Of course, there is a last minute winning touchdown, and the movie patrons exit the theater happily.

There are tons of bonuses on a $14.95 DVD--Meet the Cast featurette, meet producer Darryl F. Zanuck, Lorna Luft talks about mother Judy Garland, there is a theatrical trailer, and there is an envelope of lobby cards. And incidentally the DVD box is wrong; the movie is in original B&W, not color. Have a great time with PIGSKIN PARADE, on home video for the first time.

Poison Ivy/Poison Ivy 2: Lily/Poison Ivy: The New Seduction

Average customer rating:

seduction not from 1 movie, but from 3
(sigh)(rolls 2d0) I shouldn't have to upvote this kinda stuff...
Skin flicks, anyone?
Ignore the Non-Philistine Naysayers
3 terrible movies, 1 low price.

Poison Ivy/Poison Ivy 2: Lily/Poison Ivy: The New Seduction
Starring: Sara Gilbert , Drew Barrymore , Tom Skerritt , Cheryl Ladd , and Alan Stock
Director: Katt Shea , Anne Goursaud , and Kurt Voss
Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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Embrace of the Vampire
Havoc (Unrated Version)
Gia (Unrated Edition)
Uncovered
Snapdragon

ASIN: B000HT38EO
Release Date: 2006-11-07

Customer Reviews:

seduction not from 1 movie, but from 3.......2007-04-12

I'm a Milano fan so i have to go with number 2: Lily, as the best. Just a nice good old couple of young seduction stories with a few interesting personalities.

Andy

(sigh)(rolls 2d0) I shouldn't have to upvote this kinda stuff..........2007-04-12

IDGI... AMAZON RECCOMENDATIONS ARE USUALLY SO ON-TARGET.

whoever is responsible for recommending THIS to me must've had abou' as much empathic intuition as a bowling ball thas a liiiittle bit oerdosed on crack cocaine or sumethin', if ya' catch my drift..

IDGI...I've always been more of an Ally Sheedy, Short Circuit, Sentimentalist of sorts...(rolling 2d0 again) I only turn to this stuff to distract myself from solitude and mean-spirited, judgmental looks of others...(sigh), its enough to make a grown man...

Skin flicks, anyone?.......2007-03-28

While the first installment with Drew Barrymore is fairly good, the subsequent films are just reasons to get a couple of hot actresses naked. The storyline of Lily has nothing to do with the first one, and only mentions someone named "Ivy" in passing. New Seduction shows the main character being Ivy's sister, Violet. What the two sequels seemed to have missed is that "Ivy" was a nickname given to the main character in the first film and not her actual name...but I digress. Watch the first, then, as another reviewer said, turn down the volume for Parts 2 and 3.

Ignore the Non-Philistine Naysayers.......2007-03-12

It's simple - Jaime Pressly in the hottest thing she ever did. These kinds of films are often all gong and no dinner, but not in the case of "The New Seduction". You'll flip your toupee watching it, or I'll eat my shorts. Also, Ms. Milano makes the second entry watchable. What's that? Don't care for the plot, music, story, acting, etc.? Just turn the sound down and enjoy. Get'chr priorities straight, son.

3 terrible movies, 1 low price........2006-11-09

These 3 awful soft core erotic thrillers are some of the worst movies ever made.

The only reason to watch them is to see a 17 year old Drew Barrymore strut her stuff in the 1st film playing a very bad girl (though she doesn't do any actual nudity, her body double was Jamie Pressly ironically enough.)

The 2nd film has Alyssa Milano looking really nice in the buff.

And the 3rd film has Jamie Pressly discarding her clothing for most of the film.

But as for the films themselves? Terrible.

At least in the 1st film, they seemed to actually be reaching for something more artistic than just exploitative trash, but due to a pathetic script, they ended failing. Didn't register as a blip at all pretty much during it's original theatrical run after the whole Drew-Barrymore-sheds-her-good-girl-image press had run its course.

The filmmakers involved with the 2nd and 3rd films just didn't even try. They were also done as straight-to-video releases.

The films are all 3 shown in their unmatted full frame theatrical ratios, which actually helps as the full frame versions show some more flesh in some scenes.

These are also the more explicit unrated versions of all 3 versions as well. The pointless R rated versions available on the old DVD's have been jettisoned.

Only for super, super hardcore fans of the 3 actresses involved in the films.

There's nothing at all otherwise to be gained from watching these 3 cinematic abominations.

This Gun For Hire (Universal Noir Collection)

Average customer rating:

"This Gun for Hire (1942) ... Alan Ladd ... Paramount Pictures Film Noir"
Likeable Ladd and Lake
Ladd and Lake in a sizzling crime thriller!
"Ugly people, blackmailers...only one way to deal with them."
"I Don't Remember Breaking Any Commandments."

This Gun For Hire (Universal Noir Collection)
Starring: Veronica Lake , Robert Preston , Laird Cregar , Alan Ladd , and Tully Marshall
Director: Frank Tuttle
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Criss Cross (Universal Noir Collection)
Black Angel (Universal Noir Collection)
The Big Clock (Universal Noir Collection)
Where the Sidewalk Ends (Fox Film Noir)
Laura (Fox Film Noir)

ASIN: B00023P4II
Release Date: 2004-07-06

Customer Reviews:

"This Gun for Hire (1942) ... Alan Ladd ... Paramount Pictures Film Noir".......2007-03-21

Paramount Pictures present "THIS GUN FOR HIRE" (1942) (80 mins/B&W) (Dolby digitally remastered) --- Starring Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Robert Preston, Laird Cregar, Tully Marshall & Marc Lawrence.--- Directed by Frank Tuttle released in May 13, 1942, our story line and film, Outstanding film noir, based on Graham Greene's novel "A Gun For Sale", which presents one of the most disturbed (and disturbing) killers ever to cross the screen ... Ladd is scary because he doesn't care; he is simply a killing machine hired out by whoever will pay ... Only when Lake takes the time to break through the emotional fortress that he has built around himself does Ladd show any signs of humanity --- This is the film that made Alan Ladd a star --- `This Gun for Hire' is much darker and pure film noir --- Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake made 7 films together, "The Blue Dahlia" (1946), "Duffy's Tavern" (1945), "The Glass Key" (1942), "Saigon" (1948), "Star Spangled Rhythm" (1942), "This Gun for Hire" (1942) and "Variety Girl" (1947). "In Variety Girl" (1947), "Star Spangled Rhythm" (1942) and "Duffy's Tavern" (1945) they appear as themselves --- Visually, this film is pure noir, directed by Frank Tuttle, who made the first version of "The Glass Key" in 1935, combining a hard-boiled gangster story and expressionist-influenced lighting. "This Gun For Hire" fits firmly into that mode, and shows that many of the stylistic trademarks of the supposedly "post-war" Noir style were firmly in place before the US had even been in WW2 for a full year.

Under Frank Tuttle (Director), Richard Blumenthal (Producer), W.R. Burnett (Screenwriter), Graham Greene (Book Author), Albert Maltz (Screenwriter), John F. Seitz (Cinematographer), David Buttolph (Composer (Music Score), Frank Loesser (Songwriter), Jacques Press (Songwriter), Archie Marshek (Editor), Hans Dreier (Art Director) - - - - the cast includes Alan Ladd (Philip Raven), Veronica Lake (Ellen Graham), Robert Preston (Michael Crane), Laird Cregar (Willard Gates), Tully Marshall (Alvin Brewster), Mikhail Rasumny (Sluky), Marc Lawrence (Tommy), Pamela Blake (Annie), Harry Shannon (Steve Finnerty), Frank Ferguson (Albert Baker), Bernadene Hayes (Baker's Secretary), James Farley (Night Watchman), Edwin Stanley (Police Captain) - - - - - Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe Hollywood crime dramas that set their protagonists in a world perceived as inherently corrupt and unsympathetic...Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography, while many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hard-boiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Depression...the term film noir (French for "black film"), first applied to Hollywood movies by French critic Nino Frank in 1946, was unknown to most of the American filmmakers and actors while they were creating the classic film noirs..the canon of film noir was defined in retrospect by film historians and critics; many of those involved in the making of film noir later professed to be unaware at the time of having created a distinctive type of film ... featuring top performances from the '40s and '50s with outstanding drama and screenplays, along with a wonderful cast and supporting actors to bring it all together ... another winner from the vaults of almost forgotten film noir gems

SPECIAL FEATURES BIOS:
1. Alan Walbridge Ladd
Date of Birth: 3 September 1913 - Hot Springs, Arkansas
Date of Death: 29 January 1964 - Palm Springs, California

2. Veronica Lake (aka: Constance Frances Marie Ockelman)
Date of Birth: 14 November 1919 - Brooklyn, New York
Date of Death: 7 July 1973 - Burlington, Vermont

3 Robert Preston (aka: Robert Preston Meservey)
Date of Birth: 8 June 1918 - Newton Highlands, Massachusetts
Date of Death: 21 March 1987 - Montecito, California

4. Frank Tuttle (Director)
Date of Birth: 6 August 1892 - New York, New York
Date of Death: 6 January 1963 - Hollywood, California

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc), Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") and Trevor Scott (Down Under Com) as they have rekindled my interest once again for Film Noir, B-Westerns and Serials --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns ... order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out VCI Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns and Serials --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 80 min on DVD ~ Universal Home Video ~ (7/06/2004)

Likeable Ladd and Lake.......2006-10-30

Although Frank Tuttle's "This Gun for Hire" was released the year I was born, I hadn't seen it until my newly-purchased copy arrived last week (October 2006). As a movie-mad, Alan Ladd-adoring child I knew about it as the pivotal point of my idol's career, but never found it screening anywhere, not even on television.

So how did it shape up? Regrettably, not as well as I'd hoped. First, the notion of traitorous war-time activity is too big an angle for a small film - why not a simple, grubby little motive (anything to do with sex)for blackmail? Second, there are too many weak performances in supporting roles - not to mention 3rd-billed Laird Cregar's amateurish turn as the double-crossing Gates.

That aside, Ladd is sensational as the bitter-and-twisted Raven - no wonder the role made him a star. What a shame his career was so badly-handled - not just by Paramount, who never gave him the vehicles (apart from "Shane") a star of his popularity deserved, but also by his none-too farsighted agent Sue (Mrs. Ladd) Carroll. And Veronica Lake - what can one say? Fabulous in all the few films she made (the cabaret numbers she performs in this film are total delight), it's outrageous to think her name means nothing to so many of today's movie-goers.

Shortcomings aside, I'm pleased finally to have seen and enjoyed "This Gun for Hire".

Ladd and Lake in a sizzling crime thriller!.......2006-09-27

This Gun for Hire struck a deep chord with the movie viewing audiences of 1942 since this was the movie that made Ladd a big star. This is the first pairing of Lake and Ladd in a film--a combination the studios were to repeat often.

Ladd's character, Raven, is a gunman, a hired assassin who is set up by his employers. When he is on the run from the law he runs into Lake's character, Ellen, an entertainer with a cop boyfriend (played by Robert Preston) who is traveling by train to Los Angeles. Ellen is a fearlessly honest gal who is able to look Raven in the eye and challenge him in a nice way. He uses her as a hostage to escape. Ultimately Ellen becomes sympathetic to Raven, due to his saving her life and hearing his story of abuse that created his outlaw personality.

This Gun for Hire fills the bill on some levels as a Noir film--in particular the dark, violent and pessimistic plot, along with some shadowed scenes. This film is strongly influenced by psychoanalysis--in one scene Ellen asks Raven about his dreams.

Ladd and Lake look beautiful and are very appealing in this film. Lake is particularly charming in a scene where she performs sleight of hand while singing. Ladd works on perfecting his cold-hearted killer stare. There are some awkward moments due to using the film as wartime propaganda, but on the whole it is a fascinating film with some arresting chemistry between Lake and Ladd.

"Ugly people, blackmailers...only one way to deal with them.".......2006-08-08

While Alan Ladd (The Blue Dahlia, Shane) certainly had plenty of time in front of the camera in bits parts early in his career, it wasn't until he appeared in the feature This Gun for Hire (1942), his first of seven films he'd make with costar Veronica Lake (Sullivan's Travels, The Blue Dahlia), that he became a star. Based on a novel by Graham Greene (The Third Man), adapted to the screen by Albert Maltz (Destination Tokyo) and W.R. Burnett (Little Caesar, High Sierra), and directed by Frank Tuttle (Gunman in the Streets), the film stars, as I've mentioned, Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. Also appearing is Robert Preston (The Music Man, Victor/Victoria), Laird Cregar (The Black Swan, The Lodger), Tully Marshall (The Covered Wagon), Roger Imhof (Drums Along the Mohawk), Marc Lawrence (Key Largo), and Yvonne De Carlo (The Ten Commandments, "The Munsters"), in a bit part early in her career.

As the film begins we see Ladd waking up in a seedy motel room in the middle of the afternoon, looking fairly rough...after cleaning up and giving an insolent housekeeper what for, he heads off to take care of some business, his business being...murder! Seems Ladd's character, a cold as ice contract killer who's got a thing for cats named Philip Raven, has been hired by a sniveling, heavyset chemical company executive named Gates (Cregar), who moonlights as a nightclub owner, to bump off another man, one who was involved in some sort of blackmail scheme against Gates and his unnamed associate. Well, here's where things get messy...after Raven completes the task, Gates and his mystery partner pull a double cross by paying Raven with marked money, the intent being to get Raven, who's a loose end at this point, killed by the police (seems the money came from a robbery where someone was knocked off, the murderer considered an extremely dangerous man to be shot on sight by authorities). So how does Ellen Graham (Lake), a nightclub singer, figure into all of this? Well, seems she's been hired by Gates to perform in his show, and has been contacted by a gooberment official to secretly get the goods on Gates, as its believed by authorities he's involved in some un-American activities (remember, World War II was in full swing by now). Oh yeah, I should also mention Ellen's boyfriend, Detective Lieutenant Michael Crane (Preston), is on the case, looking to capture the individual in possession of the marked bills, the same ones Gates used to pay Raven (Crane is unaware Ellen's been enlisted by the Feds to get the goods on Gates). Anyway, Raven, who learns of the double cross, is now looking to pay Gates and his associate back (in spades), gets mixed up with Ellen through a series of circumstances, which leads Gates into believing the pair are somehow working together, and are a threat to be dealt with...eventually things come to a head as all the parties involved come together, resulting in one heck of a climatic finale.

My favorite part of this film occurs during a scene on a train, after Raven skips town and heads to Los Angeles to deal with Gates, and ends up sitting next to Ellen, who, unbeknownst to Raven, is also going to see Gates under the guise of a performer to get the goods on him for the gooberment. Anyway, during the middle of the night, Ellen gets up to get a drink of water...while she's gone, Raven, who's broke (the money he got from Gates was `hot'), filches some dough from her handbag. She does catch on, fairly quickly I might add, resulting in the pair having somewhat of an exchange. It's truly a desperate man that would steal a woman's last five dollars...anyway, I did enjoy this film a lot particularly because of the convoluted nature of the story, which was full of all sorts of wild twists and turns, and Tuttle does a wonderful job keeping things not only moving along but relatively clear, despite the elaborate intricacies inherent within the script. While Ladd and Lake's characters weren't romantically involved, there was a certain amount of chemistry between the pair, something that apparently wasn't lost on studio executives as they would be cast in six more films together. I thought both did very well, as Ladd managed to drawn forth some sympathy for a relatively despicable and ruthless character (even before we learned of his background), and Lake, who performs a couple of musical numbers, turns in a solid performance. Even if she didn't do well it would have been hard for me to notice as whenever she was on the screen I was mesmerized by her delicately angelic features (what I'm saying is she really melted my butter). I've always been partial to brunettes, but for her I'd gladly make an exception (dream on, Monkeyboy). I thought Laird Cregar did very well as the heavyset, morally bereft, weak-willed antagonist who abhorred violence of any kind, adding an unexpected smidge of humor to the `noir-ish' proceedings. As far as Preston, he did well enough, but I kept expecting him to break out in song at any moment given the fact that anytime I see him I think of his role of Harold Hill from the musical The Music Man (1962). There were a couple of aspects of the story I did find so fantastic and subsequently hard to buy off on, the main one involving Ellen. Near the beginning she's approached by a gooberment official, a senator no less, to use her position as a nightclub singer to put herself in harm's way in an attempt to uncover Gates' un-American activities, apparently something the Feds were unable to do themselves. Since when does the gooberment enlist private civilians to undertake potentially dangerous, covert investigations? Oh yeah, she can't tell anyone what she's doing, either, not even her police detective boyfriend (hell, they don't even give her any support in terms of contacts or field agents to follow her). I dunno, it just seemed so far-fetched, and given it was such an integral element of the plot, it really stood out for me. I was able to get past this and enjoy the film, but my ability to suspend disbelief was put to the test.

The picture quality on this Universal Studios DVD release, presented in fullscreen (1.33:1), looks very clean and clear, and the Dolby Digital audio comes through with no complaints. There aren't really any extras (not even a theatrical trailer), other than subtitles available in English, Spanish, and French.

Cookieman108

"I Don't Remember Breaking Any Commandments.".......2006-05-05

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 fianc?e, 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.

Average customer rating:

Danielle Steel's Now & Forever
Danielle Steel's Now & Forever
A Lesser Known Danielle Steel Movie

Danielle Steel's Now & Forever
Starring: Cheryl Ladd , Aileen Britton , Tim Burns , Robert Coleby , and Carmen Duncan
Director: Adrian Carr
Manufacturer: Trinity Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Danielle Steel's A Perfect Stranger
Danielle Steel's Changes
Danielle Steel's the Ring - Parts 1 & 2
Danielle Steel's Once in a Lifetime
Danielle Steel's Remembrance

ASIN: B00009MEGN
Release Date: 2004-11-30

Description

Based on the Best Selling Danielle Steele novel of the same name- Jesse and Ian Clark must struggle to save their marriage when Ian is unfairly sent to prison.

Customer Reviews:

Danielle Steel's Now & Forever.......2007-02-20

I was not particularly fond of this one movie and can't put my finger on it. Not sure if it was the actor/actress or just the story itself Sorry!

Danielle Steel's Now & Forever.......2006-11-10

A good story line and Cheryl Ladd is, as always, magic in this movie. She is a strong, loving wife who has been betrayed by her husband but she stands by him regardless and in the end love prevails. Great entertainment!

A Lesser Known Danielle Steel Movie.......2005-05-17

This film is not known as widely as some of the other films based on the novels of Danielle Steel most likely because it was not shown on commerical TV. Released in 1983, this film is rated PG-13 due to the subject matter (rape). I originally read the book when it first came out years ago and loved it! The film is very faithful to the novel. Cheryl Ladd is beautiful as ever and does a fantastic job portraying the 'wronged wife'- This is one of the darker stories by Danielle Steel, but does have the romantic story line that she is famous for. I would highly recommend this movie for the adult viewer.

Average customer rating:

True Life
Well worth watching ... !
A Mixed Review
Highly recommended
Uplifting and entertaining

Though None Go with Me
Starring: Cheryl Ladd , Denise Grayson , Amy Grabow , Lindy Newton , and Kimberly Evan
Director: Armand Mastroianni
Manufacturer: Good Times Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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( T ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Hidden Places
Love's Abiding Joy
Thicker Than Water
Ordinary Miracles
A Place Called Home

ASIN: B000GDH7PM
Release Date: 2006-09-05

Description

Though None Go With Me back copy: Based on the book by best-selling author Jerry B. Jenkins (Left Behind series, Hometown Legend), Though None Go With Me is the heartwarming and inspirational story of Elizabeth Leroy Bishop (Cheryl Ladd, Las Vegas, Charlie's Angels), a remarkable woman whose faith is tested with each tragedy endured on an extraordinary life journey. It's 1951 and America is caught in the Korean War, but a world away in Three Rivers, Elizabeth Leroy (Amy Grabow, General Hospital) is caught in her own personal struggle. She longs to escape her small town life and set out in pursuit of a career but a twist of fate and the promise of true love forces her to stay. She meets the town's new handsome and devout minister with whom she quickly falls in love and plans to marry but when he leaves for Korea to do God's work, she is heartbroken. The events that follow alter Elizabeth's life forever and truly test not only her faith and inner strength but her resilience as well.

Customer Reviews:

True Life.......2007-06-08

There are no villains in this movie. There are two nice men who are interested in the same wonderful woman. It is true to life. It is inspirational. It is an excellent movie. I recommend it to all persons and all ages.

Well worth watching ... ! .......2007-04-12

I took a chance with this movie, not knowing what to expect, and I was very pleasantly surprised at how wonderful it was! Such a touching and moving story ... I have to admit the acting was not the best (excluding Cheryl Ladd of course who's always wonderful), but actually, the script is so good it really didn't seem to matter ! Highly recommended for everyone !

A Mixed Review.......2007-01-20

I thought the acting was BAD; no one was believable. But, despite that, the story line was very moving. I will be thinking about the message for a long time to come.

Highly recommended.......2006-12-27

I would highly recommend this movie. It is a heartwarming family movie that focuses on what's important. It's well written and the actors and actresses are very convincing. It's also nice to see a movie that focuses on God and the importance of faith.

Uplifting and entertaining.......2006-12-17

I read the novel this film is based on years ago and I've never forgotten it. The movie stayed true to the novel's themes and is a wonderful, uplifting story that refutes the idea that bad things never happen to Christians. But it also shows how God can carry us through when tragedy happens and even use our lives as an example and an encouragement to others. Very moving and memorable, and a movie I wouldn't be ashamed to recommend to family and friends of any age.

Average customer rating:

Model Railroading
Well-directed, railroad detective Western from 1948 with Alan Ladd as "Whispering" Smith
Seven Men from Now
Good story, great script, Alan Ladd excellent!
A Solid, Action-Packed Western With Alan Ladd

Whispering Smith
Starring: Alan Ladd , Robert Preston , Brenda Marshall , Donald Crisp , and William Demarest
Director: Leslie Fenton
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Crime | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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( W ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Branded
Albuquerque
No Name on the Bullet
Seven Men From Now (Special Collector's Edition)
War Arrow

ASIN: B0001FVDY6
Release Date: 2004-06-01

Customer Reviews:

Model Railroading.......2007-03-21

Great movie to see rail stock and rail operations in the old West. Great shot of crane cars. Shows under carraige and purpose of chains. Thanks to stop action the senes of rail operaation which go pretty fast you can stop and study how to model a train wreck and many other facets of ralroading. And Alan Ladd one of the good guys is all ways fun.

Well-directed, railroad detective Western from 1948 with Alan Ladd as "Whispering" Smith.......2007-02-05

Railroad detective Luke "Whispering" Smith (Alan Ladd) rides out of the snow covered mountains into the valley below in search of the train robbing Barton brothers, he is ambushed by two of the brothers, losing his horse he sets out to nearest railroad and hitches a ride on the Nebraska & Pacific train, intending on making an unscheduled stop at Coyote Creek to telegraph the sheriff at Medicine Bend. But the Bartons brothers have beaten them to it and attack the train at the station. In the ensuing gunfight Leroy Barton (Ward Wood) and Gabby Barton (Bob Kortman) are killed, whilst the leader Blake Barton (Murvyn Vye) makes good his escape. Smith then collapses from a bullet wound he received during the shoot-out.

Fellow railroad worker Murray Sinclair (Robert Preston) takes Smith home to his ranch. His wife Marian (Brenda Marshall) having known Smith in earlier times nurses him back to health. As a result of a friendly visit by Bill Dansing (William Demarest) Smith learns that Blake Barton is being holed up in William's Canyon under the protection of no-good gang leader Barney Rebstock (Donald Crisp) and his henchman Whitey Du Sang (Frank Faylen). Smith accosts Rebstock and Whitey in Medicine Bend and has a final shootout with Blake Barton.

Sinclair falls out with newly appointed railroad boss George McCloud (John Eldredge) and throws his lot in with Rebstock, together they organise a series of raids on the railroad. Smith is recalled to Medicine Bend to investigate, he meets Marian on arriving in town then has a face-off in the saloon with Murray and Rebstock. Later following a hold-up at Tower "W" a guard is killed. The gang then high tail it for William's Canyon. Whispering Smith heads a railroad posse to round up the gang and bring them to justice one way or the other.

Directed at a fast pace by Leslie Fenton, based on the story by Frank H. Spearman and scripted by Frank R. Butler and Karl Lamb. Alan Ladd is first-rate in the title role the film has a fine opening sequence leading up to the ambush, parts of which look almost "Shane" like, indeed after "Shane" it's probably Ladd's best Western! The romantic interest is Brenda Marshall (Mrs. William Holden) who plays Marian Sinclair. The film is also the last pairing of Ladd with Preston Foster after having made several films together! Look out for Hank Worden (Mose Harper in "The Searchers") as Murray's ranch-hand.

Filmed sixty years ago at Paramount Studios and on location at Paramount Ranch, Agoura, and Sierra Railroad, Jamestown, California, USA. Beautiful scenery, Top quality color transfer to DVD no spots or scratches to be seen. (Would they were all like this) Highly Recommended.

Seven Men from Now.......2007-01-20

This was a very good western from the 1950's. I also enjoyed the clarity of the DVD.

Good story, great script, Alan Ladd excellent! .......2005-08-29

Good western scripts are rare. This one is excellent. The acting is very good. Robert Preston delivers his usual complex baddy performance to excellent effect. The character of "Whispering Smith" is tailormade for Alan Ladd. There is great support from all other members of the cast - which means very good direction. The only disappointment is the ending which is something of a let-down.

A Solid, Action-Packed Western With Alan Ladd.......2005-07-01

If you're a railroad thief in the old West and one night you hear a soft voice behind you, it's already too late to draw. Whispering Smith has found you. He's smarter than you, tougher than you, and faster than you.

Luke "Whispering" Smith (Alan Ladd) is a soft-spoken railroad detective. His best friend, Murray Sinclair (Robert Preston) also works for the railroad. Sinclair is a rough-and-ready crew chief who loves the old ways, and that means taking a cut from the goods in train wrecks. He's married to Marian Sinclair (Brenda Marshall), owns a ranch bigger than he should be able to afford, and finally sounds off once too often to railroad management. It doesn't help things when Murray realizes that Smith has long loved Marian. Lurking around is Barney Rebstock (Donald Crisp), a wealthy thief and rustler who now and then arranges for train wrecks. Rebstock's right hand man is a white-haired, squinty-eyed killer named Whitey Du Sang (Frank Faylen).

And it all comes together when Murray, fired by the railroad, outraged over his treatment, resentful of Smith, jealous of his wife, throws in his lot with Rebstock. The number of train wrecks increases, Du Sang kills a railway guard...and Whispering Smith is brought in to end things one way or another. Now the former best friends have to go up against each other.

This is a pretty good western, maybe not A caliber but a strong B-plus. Preston is his usual dynamic, energetic self, yet once again (as in This Gun for Hire) he's overshadowed by Ladd. Alan Ladd, in my view, was an unlikely major star. He had pretty looks and a small stature, and he wasn't a dominating actor. But he also had a great voice, a kind of passive style that hinted at violence, an agreeable screen personality...and something I can't describe that connected seamlessly with a camera. In this movie, as in all his others, he plays the same person, but it works. Whispering Smith is Alan Ladd's movie.

It was good to see Donald Crisp in a bad guy's role. He usually is the kindly granddad or the tough-minded but well meaning father. As Barney Rebstock, he's an avuncular snake. It's always nice to see William Demarest. And Frank Faylen as the cold-blooded killer Du Sang gives a performance that is just inches from being over the top.

All in all, this is an enjoyable action Western with some psychological tensions. It might not be for everyone's collection, but it would be good to have you like older movies, professionally crafted Westerns and Ladd. There's nothing much by way of extras, but the DVD transfer looks good.

Average customer rating:

superb movie
Love the music and the storyline.
Better than the novel
Riveting Hollywood Sleaze
A Nauseatingly Addictive Train Wreck.

The Carpetbaggers
Starring: George Peppard , Alan Ladd , Robert Cummings , Martha Hyer , and Elizabeth Ashley
Director: Edward Dmytryk
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Nevada Smith
Home from the Hill
From the Terrace
Operation Crossbow
A Summer Place

ASIN: B00008CMQZ
Release Date: 2003-04-22

Amazon.com

The Carpetbaggers is the kind of trash classic most people are too embarrassed to admit they actually enjoy. But this Harold Robbins adaptation is so cheerfully vulgar, it's hard not to have a good time--especially given the thinly veiled portrait of Howard Hughes at its center. George Peppard plays the heel-hero, who founds an airline company in the 1920s and buys a movie studio in the 1930s, crushing friends and mistresses along the way. The high cheese factor is aided by the good-time cast: Carroll Baker as Peppard's hot stepmom, Bob Cummings (quite funny) as a cynical agent, and Elizabeth Ashley, who married Peppard, in her debut--uncharacteristically, as a good girl. The sad note is Alan Ladd, looking and sounding very end-of-the-line in his final role, as a man's man cowboy star. Elmer Bernstein's swaggering score helps goose the action along, but the rest is thick melodrama indeed. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

superb movie.......2006-01-29

A great film with an engrossing story- I literally could not take my eyes off it.George Peppard's signature role (better than Tiffany's). If you long for a movie with a great story buy it! Congrats to Paramount for the excellent transfer- sharp with great colours and very little evidence of print damage.

Love the music and the storyline........2005-09-06

I've been a fan of this version of the movie for years. I love the theme music, and the storyline. George Pappard is wonderful also. Definitely dated, a lot of sexist stuff, pre women's lib.

Better than the novel.......2005-08-30

I'm a huge fan of the harold robbins novel but i've got to say that the film is every bit as good and probably better. The only thing lacking id the back story about nevada smith but he has his own film as well so i recommend getting that one also. overall its a terrific story and in a day and age when its all about special effects this film stands alone as a story, and a bloody good one at that!

Riveting Hollywood Sleaze.......2005-07-12

"The Carpetbaggers" is a fantastic adaptation of Harold Robbins' bestseller, very racy for its era, with dialogue that is often rare and juicy, a superb cast, and great direction by Edward Dmyrtryk. The character of Jonas Cord is loosely based on the life of Howard Hughes, and it is interesting to compare this film with Martin Scorsese's "The Aviator." Both George Peppard as Cord and Leonardo DiCaprio as Hughes give brilliant performances, but overall, I find this film far more satisfying, and certainly a lot more entertaining.

Peppard was at the height of his career in this film, and it is perhaps his best. It gives him a wide range of emotions, as well as the physicality and toughness he was so good at. Others that shine in the large cast are Alan Ladd in what was to be his last film as Nevada Smith, Carroll Baker as the sultry Rina, Robert Cummings as Nevada's slick and slimey manager. Elizabeth Ashely as Mrs. Jonas Cord (and who soon after this film was to become the real life Mrs. Peppard), Martin Balsam as the owner of a film studio, and Lew Ayres, as second in command in Jonas Cord's empire, has some of the best lines in the film.

The pacing of the film never lags, and there is a brutal fight between Jonas and Nevada, one of those screen fights that is always fascinating to watch. The Nevada Smith character is quite complex, and was to spawn a "prequel" 2 years later, starring Steve McQueen. The cinematography by Joseph MacDonald is marvelous, the Edith Head gowns lavishly glamorous, and very important to the success of this film is the fabulous jazzy score, which is one of Elmer Bernstein's finest. In my youth I devoured all of Robbins' books, loved the well-written sleaze of them, and loved this film in its theatrical release. I've since watched it repeatedly, and find more to enjoy in it with each viewing. Total running time is 150 minutes.

A Nauseatingly Addictive Train Wreck........2005-07-12

I just got through watching this Dmytryk film on TCM tonight, and all I can say is that if you are looking for the George Peppard who played Paul Varjak in Breakfast at Tiffany's, forget it. In fact, he is so cold and so stiff (I realize he's trying to play a nasty Howard Hughes knockoff), that a cardboard figurine would have been just as convincing in his stead.

Outside of great costumes and sets, this movie is long and boring. Where it's not boring it's a snicker inducing raunchfest. Poor Alan Ladd in his final role, barely having to act as he plays a drunken hasbeen, and Elizabeth Ashley who is the only redeeming character in the entire plot and also resembles Audrey Hepburn to a scary degree in the last half of this debacle. Carroll Baker may be sexy in her lingerie, but she's so over-the-top with her heavy breathing and her lingerie that you actually want to cheer when her car goes off the road.

I can think of better ways to pass my time for 2 and 1/2 hours than this...like watching the mating rituals of moth-eaten underwear. Still, you just can't stop watching it through to its unrealistic ending. If I'd have thought beating up one of my old flames after years of his acting like a total jag would have changed him overnight, I'd have done it long ago! If you must see this lousy piece of 60's smut, make sure you rent it or come across it on TV before you go buying it. I've seen corpses that are more convincing than Peppard was in this flick!

Average customer rating:

A Strong Story And Alan Ladd's Performance Make This A First Rate Western
razor sharp like cactus
branded is the best
Branded

Branded
Starring: Alan Ladd , Mona Freeman , Charles Bickford , Robert Keith , and Joseph Calleia
Director: Rudolph Maté
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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4-for-3 All DVDs | 4-for-3 DVD | Stores | DVD | Video

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( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Whispering Smith
Seven Men From Now (Special Collector's Edition)
The Last Wagon
Man in the Saddle [Region 99]
Yellow Sky

ASIN: B0007Y08U6
Release Date: 2005-09-13

Amazon.com

They don't make 'em like Branded anymore. Actually, they hardly make 'em at all. Westerns, that is, with their big skies and scenic technicolor vistas, rousing musical scores, cattle and cowpokes, bad guys and prairie damsels, horses and wagons and dust. Branded has all of that, and a good story, decent acting, and superior writing to go with it. Alan Ladd plays Choya, a morally ambiguous loner (asked if he has any friends or kinfolk, he submits "my guns" and "my horse") and falsely-accused bandit who gets pulled into a "foolproof" million dollar scam that involves impersonating the long-lost son of a rich Texas cattle rancher. Needless to say, complications ensue. The villain (Robert Keith) starts getting antsy; the rancher, Lavery (Charles Bickford), and his wife turn out to be kind, decent folks; Choya takes an interest in his "sister" (Mona Freeman) that goes well beyond fraternal devotion; and his conscience kicks in, too. His ruse revealed, feeling guilt-ridden and seeking redemption, Choya spends the second half of the film on a quest to find the real missing Lavery heir (no easy task, as "Tonio" has been raised by a notorious Mexican outlaw)… and, in the end, to discover that what he really wants and needs is the family he's just betrayed. We all know how it will turn out, of course, but Branded is a good, wholesome family fare, and a lot of fun to boot. This DVD release contains no bonus features. --Sam Graham

Description

In BRANDED, Ladd plays Choya, a bandit who poses as the long-lost son of a wealthy Texas rancher. Shamed by the kindness of his new family and attracted to his lovely "sister," Choya vows to right the wrong he's done them. He rides out in search of the real missing heir...and into adventure as big as the western sky.

Customer Reviews:

A Strong Story And Alan Ladd's Performance Make This A First Rate Western.......2005-11-27

"All my life I've been a snake...lived by my wits...gotten what I've wanted any way I wanted it. Just lately, I've been wonderin'...if...just for once...I could do somethin' straight...do somethin' a little decent."

Choya (Alan Ladd) finds himself in the middle of a cruel con, and then finds he has a conscience. In Branded, a very good Western, Ladd plays a man who has always done what he wants, a loner at heart. "You got any friends?" an old man asks him. "My guns," Choya says. "Kinfolk?" "My horse."

Choya meets P. Jefferson Leffingwell (Robert Keith), who shows Choya how he can claim to be the lost son of the Lavery family, wealthy ranch owners. The son was kidnapped more than 20 years ago and has never been heard of since. Richard Lavery (Charles Bickford) renews each year a $100,000 reward in the hope of hearing something about his son. Choya and Leffingwell plan to split the reward, and with Choya accepted as the son, Leffingwell points out that in time he'll inherit the cattle ranch as well...and maybe to speed things up they'll even help Lavery into an early grave.

A tattooed birthmark and Choya's own cleverness do the trick. Lavery and his wife, fragile emotionally since the child was taken, and the Lavery's daughter, Ruth (Mona Freeman), accept Choya completely. Then something happens that now drives the movie into a new direction. He falls for Ruth and he is changed by the decency and openness of the Laverys. He decides to redeem himself by trying to find the real son and then disappearing. This sets off yet more unexpected developments.

Branded, in my view, is an excellent Western. There's great scenery, of course, and plenty of action. What gives this movie a dramatic wallop, however, is a strong story, the drama of a lost son, of twists that involve family feelings and the issue of what makes a real father. Not the least of its strengths is Alan Ladd's performance. Ladd may not have been much of an actor, but something about his on-screen personality brought out the image of a loner with a code of honor. That quality of silence combined with strength, of righteousness that could be aroused to do right, is what he brought to his best roles and which still make so many of his movies worth watching.

Bickford, as so often, plays a strong, decent man. Keith is first rate as an utterly amoral and greasy crook. And Joseph Calleia does an outstanding job as a man, like Bickford, who has to decide what loving a son really means.

The DVD color transfer is in great shape. There are no extras.

The theme of a long lost heir who returns and who may not be true is an old one It's always good for a strong story. If you like mysteries, I recommend Josephine Tey's book, Brat Farrar. Brat is the long lost son who reappears and who may not be who he claims. One of the complications is that Brat has a twin...who refuses to accept him.

razor sharp like cactus.......2005-06-14

this is one of the best western i have seen.where alan ladd's performance is powerful, razor sharp with a whip lashing command in his voice. who went to rob the cattle baron charles bickford of their fortune as their long lost son -somewhere along the line he had a change of heart and brings home their real lost son who was removed from the family when he was only 5 yrs old and given to a mexican bandit across the river who raised him as his own.i think it is one of the must have movies.

branded is the best.......2005-03-30

great movie with teriffic alan ladd action with a great story

Branded.......2002-02-04

If you enjoy good OL westerns this is one of the most entertaining. Good story, one of Alan Lad's best westerns.

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