The film Contract Killer (1942) original Spanish DVD poster cover
On the promotional poster for the movie "Contract Killer This Gun for Hire" (1942), the distribution company deliberately enlarged the graceful side face of Veronica Lake (1919-1973) infinitely, and Alan Ladd (1913-1964) was placed on the lower left side with a full-body portrait of the looking back, a poster that emphasized the male and female protagonists, which was selected by Premiere as the "Top 25 Best Poster in Film History".
Promotional photo for the film Contract Killer (1942), Veronica Lecco and Alan Ladd
Images of Veronica Lacco and Alan Ladd in the film Contract Killer (1942).
In fact, strictly speaking, the poster art design is not unique, and the real classic may be that it is far away from the black era of the trench coat and hat, and there is no longer the ambiguous eyes of Alan Ladd, and there is no irreplaceable Veronica Leco.
Although "Contract Killer" has been classified as "film noir" since its release, the style of "Contract Killer" does not fully match the aesthetic of film noir that people remember, and even has a slightly light comedy color.
Promotional photo for the film Contract Killer (1942), Alan Ladd
The story moves smoothly forward with slight twists and turns, and the simple story line can even be summed up in the ridicule of hollywood-style scripts by french counterparts — a man, a woman and a gun.
The title of the film, "This Gun for Hire", directly points out the protagonist Raven's killer profession, and the gun he uses to make a living is the origin of the whole story.
Image from the film Contract Killer (1942).
The film begins with acclaimed opening: from a low-angle shot, the protagonist killer Raven (played by Alan Ladd) is perfectly seen sitting on a bed, loading a bullet into the robbery, standing up, putting on a coat and hat, and gently feeding a stray cat some milk.
Stills from the film Contract Killer (1942), Pamela Black
Stills from the film Contract Killer (1942), Alan Ladd and Pamela Black
A maid (Pamela Blake Pamela Blake) walks in, dressed as if she had just stepped off the cover of a vulgar magazine, wearing lipstick and a low-cut shirt, and she wants to blast away the cat, but the protagonist killer Raven tears up her clothes and slaps her, and Alan Ladd's performance is cold, charming and elegant.
Alan Ladd and Lard Craiga (left) in the film Contract Killer (1942).
Raven was then hired to address the middle-aged man of the extortion employer, as well as the unfortunate female secretary who was present.
Upon completion of the mission, Raven offers to hand over a mysterious recipe filled with chemical symbols to his employer, Mr. Gates (Played by Lard Craigah Laird Cregar).
Image of Lard Krega (left) in the film Contract Killer (1942).
In order to kill Mr. Gates, he deliberately took out a black sum of money that had been reported lost by the police when paying the honorarium, and the unsuspecting Raven revealed his identity.
After successfully escaping the first police pursuit, Raven is determined to find his employer Gates for revenge.
The wanted Raven tracks Down Mr. Gates and wanders among the passengers of the San Francisco-to-Los Angeles train, unaware that the neighboring Miss Alan (Veronica Lecco) is the magician Gates has found for his new club in Los Angeles.
Image from Veronica Lyco's film Contract Killer (1942).
The next morning, when Mr. Gates came out of the first-class box intending to greet Miss Allen, he found Raven asleep next to him, and Gates hurried to the police in a panic.
The police immediately decided to seal off the station after receiving the information and captured Raven when the train arrived in Los Angeles.
Alan Ladd's image in the film Contract Killer (1942).
Sensing the danger, Raven kidnaps Alan and his pretending to be a couple to escape from the station blockade, but when the plan is extinguished, the escape is also plunged into a greater mystery due to a brief hesitation.
Although on the surface Ellen appears to be nothing more than a sweet and delicate blonde, she is the first key person to discern the whole picture in the intricate network of relationships in the story.
From the beginning, Allen's trip to Los Angeles was not simple, and being hired by Mr. Gates to perform in the evening club was just a cover-up, and the real task was to be assigned by the congressman to investigate Gates' secret connection to a political cabal.
Images of Veronica Lecco and Robert Preston in the film Contract Killer (1942).
In order to keep the operation confidential, Allen never confided the truth to anyone, even his boyfriend, Officer Michael (Robert Preston), who was tasked with hunting down the killer Raven.
Image of Veronica Lecco (right) in the film Contract Killer (1942).
The escape from the Los Angeles station makes Ellen vaguely aware of Raven's connection to the matter, while on the other hand, she inadvertently helps Raven escape, and also makes Mr. Gates suspicious of the blonde beauty's true purpose in approaching him.
Image of Veronica Lecco (second from left) in the film Contract Killer (1942).
With an unparalleled vocal voice and beauty, Allen's premiere at the club was exceptionally successful.
Mr. Gates pretended to invite her to his mansion in Beverly Hills to celebrate, and after several verbal attempts, Gates found a flaw in Allen's statement, believed that she knew Raven, ordered his men to kill her, and in order to create alibi, he drove away first.
When Gates's men are about to do something, Officer Michael, who has rushed from San Francisco to Los Angeles, suddenly comes to the door to look for his girlfriend, and while the two are circling, Raven, who is tracking him all the way from the shadows, saves Alan and asks Alan to take him to the club to confront Gates.
Mr. Gates slipped away after receiving timely notice from his subordinates, and Raven was forced to hold Alan hostage again in order to escape the police pursuit.
During the escape, Alan secretly left a mark for the police officer's boyfriend, and the stalking police surrounded Raven and Allen on the construction site near the station, planning to arrest them as soon as dawn came.
Stills from the film Contract Killer (1942), from left: Lard Craiga, Mark Lawrence, marc Lawrence; Veronica Lecco lying down
On the set of the film Contract Killer (1942), crews prepare veronica Lecco (center) for filming
In a hurry, Alan reveals what he knows to Raven and deduces that Mr. Gates has another mastermind behind him based on Raven's description of the mysterious formula, which is a chemical equation of poisonous gas.
Their plan was to sell the formula to Japan and then airdrop a large number of poison gas bombs on Los Angeles to carry out their political plot in a devastating terrorist attack.
After the two tribulations, Alan and Raven invisibly trust each other, and Raven's description of his unfortunate childhood between escapes made Alan add some subtle feelings to the tragic killer in front of him.
So Alan decides to help Raven escape the roundup, let him find Mr. Gates and his behind-the-scenes commanders, and verify the truth to prevent the catastrophe.
Stills from the film Contract Killer (1942), Tully Marshall
After Raven escapes, he successfully infiltrates Gates' office and goes along the way to find the real mastermind, Sir Marcus (Tully Marshall Tully Marshall), and the truth is revealed.
At this time, Alan arrived in time with her boyfriend Officer Michael to successfully stop the political conspiracy, and Raven was shot and killed after shooting Gates himself.
World War II in the 1940s brought the once-box-office-winning Western out of favor in Hollywood overnight, and film noir about detectives, spies, and intrigues was favored by companies and directors. "Contract Killer" can be called one of the most characteristic of the times.
The film combines action, suspense, crime and many other genres, and involves political conspiracy and antagonism between the participating countries, the entertainment is not boring, the seriousness is not special, and even if you look at the black style and tight rhythm of "Contract Killer" with today's eyes, it can still be called a classic, even if there are slight flaws, most of them must be attributed to the limitations of the times.
On the set of the film Contract Killer (1942), directors Frank Tuttle (right) and Veronica Lecco (the kidnapped) and the staff
Overall, the film's character settings are mostly decent, and the real excellence lies in the narrative ability.
The perfect demonstration of such a tight plot in 80 minutes is the perfect example of director Frank Tuttle (1892-1963) whose skillful scheduling ability is naturally due, thanks in part to the original charm of Graham Greene (1904-1991).
Directed by Frank Tuttle
The character of the killer Raven in the story is set up very thoughtfully, although the routine is very thoughtful.
The film begins with a set of extremely neat shots outlining the killer's delicate personality to the cleaning lady in the hotel, but will gently pet the stray kitten by the window; shoot two people in succession without changing their faces, but when evacuating the scene, they will patiently help the little girl playing on the stairs to pick up glass marbles; when the heroine is kidnapped, she has a cold attitude, but she can't bear it when she should be killed...
Stills from the film Contract Killer (1942), Veronica Lecco and Alan Ladd
Although every detail seems routine today, in the early 1940s, such an anti-hero image with a cold appearance and a soft heart was still fresh.
As for Hollywood's incessant cold-blooded killer's on-screen story of his childhood shadow, Raven, who painfully tells his childhood abuse experience in the film, is also an absolute pioneer in the field.
As such a contradictory cold-faced killer, Raven has little dialogue in the film, and his tone is always casual and indifferent.
In addition to an inner confession during the later Los Angeles hunt, Raven's real information content in the whole film's lines is actually only two sentences - "Who will trust anyone?" And "I am my own law." ”
Even such rebellious characters with dual personalities, hostile to the world around them, disappointed and lonely, and finally finding a home in death, are almost exemplary products of the black model.
However, because of its pioneering nature, the "Contract Killer", which was born 25 years before the "Lone Killer Le samouraï" (1967), still made the previously unknown Alan Ladd popular throughout the 1940s.
Its unshakable status in film noir is more like Paramount's joke to film noir fans: "There are so many actors in the world, why do you all like Humphrey Bopgart (1899-1957)?" ”
Also tough guy professionals in film noir, Alan Ladd and Humphrey Bogart have similar superstar experiences.
Before endorsing "Contract Killer", he had already played passerby A and B in 40 films, and the role was so small that he often fell into the situation of being owed wages. Then it was also the advent of World War II and the popularity of film noir that made Alan Ladd a superstar.
"Contract Killer" was one of the best works of Frank Tuttle's directorial career, but the disregard for the box office and awards that year did not make Frank Tuttle one of the first-line directors ever since.
So the only real success of this success is the classic screen combination of "Ladd and Lake" paired with the male and female protagonists, and Alan Ladd has been grateful to Frank Tuttle for having the grace of knowing after this overnight popularity.
The two later collaborated on several occasions, and even after Ellen Ladd moved from Paramount to Warner Bros., frank Tuttle, who was on the verge of unemployment at the time, was still directing in his own films. Alan Ladd recalled Frank Tuttle years later with even more emotion: "Without him, I am nothing." ”
In addition to Alan Ladd, another myth of the achievement of "Contract Killer" is that of a generation of Hollywood sexy goddesses, Veronica Lecco.
Veronica Lacco, who was only 23 years old at the time, was a beauty pageant champion, and when she first entered the film industry, she played mostly insignificant vase roles, and later an audition by chance brought her a Paramount contract, and since then she has embarked on the star path.
Images from Veronica Lyco's film Sullivan's Journey (1941).
In the fall of 1941, Veronica Lacco made a postpartum comeback starring in the film noir Contract Killer. This is her first time hanging the top card, and it is an A-grade production, which shows that Paramount has regarded her as a first-line heroine.
Before starring in Contract Killer, Veronica Lacco had only one "Sullivan's Travels" (1941) leaning over, but the edge was already not to be underestimated.
In the previous "Sullivan's Journey", Veronica Lecco played nothing more than a nameless "The Girl", and Paramount only wrote a slogan when promoting the film: "Veronica Lake's on the take".
To the slightly cool image of Veronica Lecco in "Contract Killer", from charm to drama can be equal to the male protagonist, and the film even set up two song and dance magic performances for her that are slightly out of touch with the black atmosphere, paramount's star-making painstakingly speaks for itself.
Veronica Lyco, who plays the female magician Allen who makes a living as a small club performer, does become the absolute focus outside of Ellen Ladd.
Veronica Lac's sweet blonde image is extremely eye-catching, and the low magnetic voice also makes people immersed in her smile.
Veronica Lacco is petite in stature, with a beautiful face, half-covered blonde hair and red lips, and a unique style magnified by Frank Tuttle's lens to a fatal attraction.
In the film noir routine, Veronica Leco of "Contract Killer" is also almost a breakthrough, although Allen is bright, but he is not a snake and scorpion beauty in the traditional sense, and his agility is calm and courageous, so that this role is in the same position as the male protagonist in the movie.
On the set of the film Contract Killer (1942), Veronica Lyco reads the script carefully
She is not a weak woman waiting for the hero to save, nor is she a ghost girl with hot eyes, and even helped Raven break the siege many times in danger, and she is more like a man, and this trust and affection have become Raven's only consolation before his death.
Since "Contract Killer", Veronica Lacco has become more and more star-studded, and because of the unexpected chemistry with Alan Ladd in the film, it is reflected that the inaction of the entire film is like a helper.
Since then, Paramount has specially arranged three other collaborations of the "Ladd and Lake" group for fans who have not had fun, which has also achieved the most brilliant 5 years of Veronica Lecco's acting career.
Veronica Lyco's status as a goddess in film noir was thus established. If you take stock of the black classics after the 1960s, L.A. L.A. Confidential (1997) is undoubtedly one of the best, and the only obvious homage to the classics in the film, Curtis Hanson dedicated to Contract Killer and Veronica Lecco.
On the left is a still from Kim Basinger's film L.A. Confidential (1997) and on the right is a promotional photo from Veronica Lyke's film Contract Killer (1942).
When Russell Crowe first went to Kim Basinger's residence to investigate, the senior call girl's home was showing the train section of "Contract Killer", and Kim Bassinger's half-covered face with blond curls and bright red lips was smiling and talking veronica Leco.
Even in the dialogue between the male and female protagonists, the tribute is so straightforward: "In five years, you are the first person who has not praised me in a minute for not looking like Veronica Leco." ”
30 years after the advent of "Contract Killer", Veronica Lacco died of pneumonia, because she retired in her heyday, no one has seen her describe the appearance of the withered mallet, and what remains in people's eyes is always the classic Veronica Leco style.
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