The scarred hand

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Movie
German title The scarred hand
Original title This gun for hire
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1942
length 80 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Frank Tuttle
script Graham Greene
Albert Maltz
W. R. Burnett
production Hugh Perceval for Paramount Pictures
music David Buttolph
camera John F. Seitz
cut Archie Marshek
occupation

The scarred hand (original title This Gun for Hire ) is a film by director Frank Tuttle from 1942. The film is based on the novel A Gun for Sale (German title Das Assentat ) by Graham Greene and is attributed to the film noir . The main roles act Alan Ladd as opaque hitman Philip Raven, Veronica Lake as a bar singer, hostage and fiancee Cranes, Laird Cregar as principal Ravens and Robert Preston as Detective Michael Crane.

action

A hit man named Raven is tricked by nightclub owner Willard Gates, a middleman for traitorous industrialist Alvin Brewster, president of Nitro Chemical . On his way to Los Angeles , shooting his way to the traitors, Raven meets Ellen Graham, a nightclub singer, and takes her hostage.

Graham is then hired by a senator to find out through Gates who is doing business with the Japanese to sell them poison gas . Ellen's fiancé, Lt. Michael Crane tries to stalk Raven while wondering if his girlfriend has been kidnapped or is a willing accomplice.

production

prehistory

Paramount wanted to produce the film as early as May 1936, shortly after Green's story was bought in London for $ 12,000. It was also published under the title Guns for Sale . Producer AM Botsford hired Dore Schary to write a script and considered offering Peter Lorre the role of Philip Raven. The directors Ewald André Dupont and Robert Florey showed interest in the project. After further delays, Maurice Geraghty was signed in August 1936 to work with Jack Moffitt on a script. James P. Hogan was discussed as a director. In October 1936, the authors Thomas Monroe and Robert Wyler created a script. When it became foreseeable that the production costs of the film would get too high, Botsford gave up the project and left Paramount.

In 1939/1940 the project was resumed with Paramount's consideration to shoot the film in Great Britain. In April 1940, actor Anthony Quinn and writer Lester Koenig are believed to have created a script that was apparently rejected.

Filming, background

In June 1941, Albert Maltz and WR Burnett wrote the screenplay and production of the film began on October 27, 1941 under the working title The Redemption of Raven , also to take advantage of the growing popularity of Veronica Lake. Charles Ruggles was supposed to play a role in the film , according to The Hollywood Reporter . Alan Ladd's blonde hair has been dyed black for the role to match the description of the Raven as his name is. On December 5, 1941, Ladd collapsed while filming due to pneumonia and had to spend a week in the hospital before he could return to work. Meanwhile, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World War II . Filming lasted until December 16, 1941.

The MPAA and the Production Code Administration (PCA) expressed reservations about certain scenes in the script, such as the scene in which Tommy explains his plans to kill Ellens, as these would describe the crime in too much detail. The scene remained in the film, however, as did the one in which Gates is killed by Raven. The motive for the murder was also retained as stated in the script. The PCA had suggested that Gates should be killed by Raven instead of revenge for refusing to sign the confession.

Yvonne De Carlo also has a small role in the film. She appears as a dancer in the Neptune Club. Edith Head was in charge of the Veronica Lake cloakroom .

According to an interview in the Saturday Evening Post in 1946, Ladd revealed that Philip Raven was his favorite role, which gave him his career as a movie star. Contemporary reviews support this.

Production costs

The cost of producing the film was $ 512,423, which was $ 63,423 above the approved budget.

Publication, prohibition

The film premiered in New York on May 13, 1942. In the United Kingdom it was released in London on May 29, 1942, and it was released in Argentina, Belgium and Mexico in 1942, in Portugal and Sweden in 1944 and in Finland in 1946. In 1947 it was published in France, Italy and Denmark, and in 1948 in Spain (Madrid). On January 8, 1952, the film was shown for the first time in the Federal Republic of Germany and on February 26, 1952 in Austria. It was also broadcast on German television under the title Killer zu Rentals .

On October 2nd, 2004 the film was presented at the Panorama of European Cinema Festival in Greece. He could also be seen in Bulgaria, Brazil, Canada, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and the Soviet Union.

The film was released on May 18, 2017 by Koch Media GmbH with a German soundtrack within the series “Film Noir - Masterpieces of the Black Series” as the 24th film in the collection on DVD.

According to an article in the New York Times from December 1947, the MPAA banned the republication of this and other films in the United States that were released between 1928 and 1947, stating that they contained passages that were objectionable. This ban came along with an attempt by the MPAA to enforce new, stricter regulations "to prevent the glorification of crimes and criminals on the big screen".

criticism

The reactions of many fans and the praise of the critics made Alan Ladd a movie star. In the New York Times , Bosley Crowther thought that Alan Ladd, the villain, was definitely an actor to watch for after his brilliant performance. Laird Cregar, on loan from 20th Century Fox , was also described as masterful.

In 2004, DVD Savant reviewer Glenn Erickson wrote that he was not impressed with the glamorous Veronica Lake, but was impressed by Alan Ladd. The Paramount film is what UCLA Cinema School used to call a landmark film. It establishes some of the main aspects of film noir and especially later action films such as the James Bond series.

Artmag.de found that the story was inspiring for a skilled young actor, Alan Ladd, and that he would achieve star actor status in the role of the killer. It was said of Frank Tuttle that the film guaranteed him a higher rank as a director.

On the Film Noir page , it was said that “of the three film noir classics with Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd”, “none of the masterpieces that could be expected given the cast lists and the authors of their originals”. However, none of the films were even "unsuccessful" and "definitely a recommendation for film noir friends and all lovers of classic Hollywood cinema of the forties". Alan Ladd's performance is felt to be “convincing”, and it has also become “a style for a generation of antiheroes”. Likewise, Veronica Lake, who was just 19 at the time, was "a style icon for all upcoming femme-fatale creatures of film noir in this first production at Ladd's side and captivates with youth and beauty". The performance of Laird Cregar, who died at the age of only 31 and played the villain Willard Gates, was rated “outstanding”.

Cinema wrote: "The dark, fatalistic mood set the style and made the crime thriller a classic." The conclusion was: "A masterpiece from the Black Series."

Aftermath

The film, which is considered by modern sources as one of the first important films in the film noir genre , had a great influence on American film noir productions, especially with regard to the design of a more complex psychology of the protagonists. The character played by Alan Ladd was also the model for Jef Costello, the ice-cold angel, played by Alain Delon in Jean-Pierre Melville's crime thriller .

Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake became a popular couple through the film, after which Paramount reunited them in three more of their films: The Glass Key (1942), The Blue Dahlia (1946), and Saigon (1948). In addition, both had guest appearances in Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) and in Duffy's Tavern (1945). Alan Ladd and Laird Cregar repeated their roles on January 25, 1943 in a broadcast by the Lux Radio Theater. Joan Blondell was there.

In 1957, Paramount released a remake called Short Cut to Hell, based on Albert Maltz 'and WR Burnett's script. Directed by James Cagney , the leading roles played Robert Ivers and Georgann Johnson .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ This Gun for Hire script info at TCM - Turner Classic Movies (English).
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k This Gun for Hire Notes at TCM (English). Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  3. ↑ This Gun for Hire Original Print Info at TCM (English)
  4. ↑ Die Scarhand Fig. DVD case Film Noir No. 24
  5. ↑ Bosley Crowther : "This Gun for Hire", Seen at The Paramount In: The New York Times . May 14, 1942 (English). Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  6. ↑ Glenn Erickson - DVD Savant Review: This Gun for Hire , sS dvdtalk.com (English), accessed October 13, 2013.
  7. ↑ a b Die Scarhand sS der-film-noir.de (with pictures of some film posters). Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  8. ↑ Die Scarhand sS cinema.de. Retrieved October 19, 2018.