Want to know the best Alan Ladd movies? How about the worst Alan Ladd movies? Curious about Alan Ladd box office grosses or which Alan Ladd movie picked up the most Oscar nominations? Need to know which Alan Ladd movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which got the worst reviews? Well, you have come to the right place…. because we have all of that information.
In the hierarchy of movie-tough guys, Alan Ladd (1913-1964), is an honored name. Ladd was an American actor who found success in film during the 1940s and early 1950s. We think the best current comparison to Ladd is Bruce Willis. Each specialized in box office hit action movies and each got very little respect for their acting abilities. Ladd’s IMDb page shows 98 acting credits from 1932-1964. This page will take a statistical look at 50 Alan Ladd movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. His uncredited roles, his cameo roles and his television appearances were not included in the table.
Drivel part: So after getting sidetracked on some other UMR movie page projects….we felt it was time to start knocking out some of the performers from our Request Hotline page. So Søren, Flora & Dan…here is finally your requested Alan Ladd UMR movie page.
Alan Ladd Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.
| Year | Movie (Year) | Rating | S |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Movie (Year) | Rating | S |
| 1953 | Shane (1953) AA Best Picture Nom |
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| 1947 | Wild Harvest (1947) |  |
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| 1946 | The Blue Dahlia (1946) | |
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| 1946 | O.S.S. (1946) | |
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| 1946 | Calcutta (1946) | |
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| 1946 | Two Years Before The Mast (1946) | |
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| 1948 | Whispering Smith (1948) | |
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| 1964 | The Carpetbaggers (1964) | |
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| 1945 | Salty O'Rourke (1945) | |
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| 1944 | And Now Tomorrow (1944) | |
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| 1947 | Variety Girl (1947) | |
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| 1949 | Chicago Deadline (1949) | |
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| 1943 | China (1943) | |
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| 1942 | Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) | |
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| 1947 | Saigon (1947) | |
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| 1948 | Beyond Glory (1948) | |
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| 1955 | The McConnell Story (1955) | |
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| 1942 | This Gun For Hire (1942) |  |
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| 1954 | Drum Beat (1954) | |
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| 1954 | O'Rourke of the Royal Mounted (1954) | |
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| 1942 | The Glass Key (1942) | |
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| 1950 | Branded (1950) | |
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| 1957 | Boy On a Dolphin (1957) | |
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| 1949 | The Great Gatsby (1949) | |
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| 1952 | Thunder in the East (1952) | |
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| 1951 | Red Mountain (1951) | |
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| 1952 | Botany Bay (1952) | |
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| 1982 | Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) | |
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| 1942 | Lucky Jordan (1942) |  |
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| 1955 | Hell On Frisco Bay (1955) | |
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| 1952 | The Iron Mistress (1952) | |
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| 1941 | The Reluctant Dragon (1941) | |
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| 1949 | Captain Carey, U.S.A. (1949) | |
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| 1950 | Appointment with Danger (1950) | |
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| 1958 | The Proud Rebel (1958) | |
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| 1942 | Joan of Paris (1942) | |
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| 1954 | Hell Below Zero (1954) | |
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| 1956 | Santiago (1956) |  |
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| 1953 | Paratrooper (1953) | |
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| 1954 | The Black Knight (1954) | |
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| 1957 | The Big Land (1957) | |
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| 1960 | All the Young Men (1960) | |
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| 1941 | The Black Cat (1941) | |
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| 1953 | Desert Legion (1953) | |
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| 1958 | The Badlanders (1958) | |
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| 1962 | 13 West Street (1962) | |
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| 1960 | Guns of the Timberland (1960) |  |
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| 1941 | Paper Bullets (1941) | |
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| 1958 | The Deep Six (1958) |  |
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| 1959 | The Man in The Net (1959) | |
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| 1960 | One Foot in Hell (1960) | |
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| 1961 | Duel of Champions (1961) |  |
Alan Ladd Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort Alan Ladd movies by his co-stars
- Sort Alan Ladd movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort Alan Ladd movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort Alan Ladd movies by how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Alan Ladd movie received.
- Sort Alan Ladd movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Actual B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | B.O. Rank by Year | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | S |
| 1 | Shane (1953) AA Best Picture Nom |
Jean Arthur | 22.70 | 408.3 | 577.10 | 5 | 87 | 06 / 01 | 99.5 | |
| 3 | Wild Harvest (1947) | Dorothy Lamour & Robert Preston |
6.90 | 200.8 | 200.80 | 37 | 80 | 00 / 00 | 97.5 | |
| 2 | The Blue Dahlia (1946) | Veronica Lake | 7.40 | 228.9 | 228.90 | 47 | 79 | 01 / 00 | 97.3 | |
| 5 | O.S.S. (1946) | Geraldine Fitzgerald | 7.60 | 233.1 | 233.10 | 40 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 93.9 | |
| 4 | Calcutta (1946) | Gail Russell & William Bendix |
7.60 | 233.1 | 233.10 | 39 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 93.9 | |
| 6 | Two Years Before The Mast (1946) | Brian Donlevy | 11.90 | 366.3 | 366.30 | 10 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 93.9 | |
| 7 | Whispering Smith (1948) | Robert Preston | 7.50 | 202.1 | 202.10 | 26 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 93.5 | |
| 8 | The Carpetbaggers (1964) | George Peppard | 36.30 | 416.1 | 416.10 | 4 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 92.6 | |
| 10 | Salty O'Rourke (1945) | Gail Russell & William Bendix |
5.80 | 185.0 | 185.00 | 57 | 65 | 01 / 00 | 92.6 | |
| 9 | And Now Tomorrow (1944) | Susan Heyward | 6.50 | 217.3 | 217.30 | 40 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 92.3 | |
| 11 | Variety Girl (1947) | Mary Hatcher & All-Star Cast |
9.70 | 283.5 | 283.50 | 18 | 59 | 00 / 00 | 92.0 | |
| 14 | Chicago Deadline (1949) | Donna Reed | 5.80 | 146.2 | 146.20 | 38 | 75 | 00 / 00 | 91.7 | |
| 12 | China (1943) | Loretta Young & William Bendix |
7.10 | 256.7 | 256.70 | 30 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 91.7 | |
| 13 | Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) | Susan Peters & All-Star Cast |
8.30 | 308.0 | 308.00 | 13 | 55 | 02 / 00 | 91.4 | |
| 15 | Saigon (1947) | Veronica Lake | 6.10 | 177.2 | 177.20 | 48 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 91.3 | |
| 17 | Beyond Glory (1948) | Donna Reed | 6.30 | 170.2 | 170.20 | 42 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 91.1 | |
| 16 | The McConnell Story (1955) | June Allyson | 10.00 | 207.3 | 207.30 | 29 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 90.8 | |
| 18 | This Gun For Hire (1942) | Veronica Lake | 3.10 | 113.6 | 113.60 | 89 | 80 | 00 / 00 | 89.8 | |
| 19 | Drum Beat (1954) | Charles Bronson | 8.60 | 200.9 | 200.90 | 33 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 88.4 | |
| 20 | O'Rourke of the Royal Mounted (1954) | Shelley Winters | 6.40 | 150.7 | 150.70 | 50 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 88.1 | |
| 21 | The Glass Key (1942) | Veronica Lake | 2.80 | 105.1 | 105.10 | 102 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 86.9 | |
| 22 | Branded (1950) | Charles Bickford | 6.30 | 141.2 | 141.20 | 34 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 86.3 | |
| 23 | Boy On a Dolphin (1957) | Sophia Loren | 8.60 | 165.0 | 165.00 | 22 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 86.0 | |
| 24 | The Great Gatsby (1949) | Shelley Winters | 5.60 | 139.3 | 139.30 | 46 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 84.5 | |
| 25 | Thunder in the East (1952) | Deborah Kerr & Charles Boyer |
5.60 | 108.9 | 108.90 | 58 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 82.2 | |
| 26 | Red Mountain (1951) | Lizabeth Scott | 5.70 | 123.2 | 123.20 | 43 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 81.3 | |
| 27 | Botany Bay (1952) | James Mason | 5.60 | 108.9 | 108.90 | 55 | 60 | 00 / 00 | 80.5 | |
| 28 | Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) | Steve Martin & Rachel Ward |
18.20 | 66.7 | 66.70 | 40 | 72 | 00 / 00 | 80.2 | |
| 29 | Lucky Jordan (1942) | Sheldon Leonard | 2.50 | 92.9 | 92.90 | 104 | 64 | 00 / 00 | 79.9 | |
| 30 | Hell On Frisco Bay (1955) | Edward G. Robinson | 4.50 | 94.2 | 167.10 | 76 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 78.8 | |
| 31 | The Iron Mistress (1952) | Virginia Mayo | 6.60 | 128.5 | 212.20 | 38 | 51 | 00 / 00 | 78.7 | |
| 32 | The Reluctant Dragon (1941) | Robert Benchley | 1.50 | 57.1 | 57.10 | 145 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 75.8 | |
| 33 | Captain Carey, U.S.A. (1949) | Wanda Hendrix | 4.50 | 113.2 | 113.20 | 66 | 50 | 01 / 01 | 75.6 | |
| 34 | Appointment with Danger (1950) | Jack Webb & Harry Morgan |
4.10 | 93.0 | 93.00 | 74 | 58 | 00 / 00 | 75.2 | |
| 36 | The Proud Rebel (1958) | Olivia de Havilland | 4.30 | 77.0 | 77.00 | 56 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 74.6 | |
| 35 | Joan of Paris (1942) | Paul Henreid & Thomas Mitchell |
1.40 | 53.4 | 122.10 | 153 | 69 | 01 / 00 | 74.5 | |
| 37 | Hell Below Zero (1954) | Stanley Baker | 3.40 | 80.3 | 80.30 | 98 | 57 | 00 / 00 | 70.6 | |
| 38 | Santiago (1956) | Rossana Podestà | 5.70 | 112.0 | 112.00 | 48 | 45 | 00 / 00 | 67.1 | |
| 39 | Paratrooper (1953) | Stanley Baker | 5.20 | 93.2 | 153.10 | 61 | 49 | 00 / 00 | 64.8 | |
| 40 | The Black Knight (1954) | Peter Cushing | 3.70 | 87.0 | 87.00 | 87 | 49 | 00 / 00 | 61.8 | |
| 42 | The Big Land (1957) | Virginia Mayo | 4.50 | 87.3 | 169.40 | 50 | 48 | 00 / 00 | 61.3 | |
| 43 | All the Young Men (1960) | Sidney Poitier | 4.10 | 64.7 | 64.70 | 67 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 61.1 | |
| 41 | The Black Cat (1941) | Broderick Crawford | 0.90 | 34.9 | 34.90 | 181 | 65 | 00 / 00 | 61.0 | |
| 44 | Desert Legion (1953) | Arlene Dahl | 5.00 | 89.8 | 89.80 | 62 | 43 | 00 / 00 | 54.1 | |
| 45 | The Badlanders (1958) | Ernest Borgnine | 2.80 | 49.8 | 108.10 | 84 | 55 | 00 / 00 | 52.9 | |
| 46 | 13 West Street (1962) | Rod Steiger | 1.70 | 24.4 | 24.40 | 106 | 63 | 00 / 00 | 52.0 | |
| 47 | Guns of the Timberland (1960) | Jeanne Crain | 2.00 | 31.9 | 31.90 | 100 | 52 | 00 / 00 | 33.3 | |
| 48 | Paper Bullets (1941) | Joan Woodbury | 0.60 | 24.8 | 24.80 | 205 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 30.5 | |
| 49 | The Deep Six (1958) | William Bendix | 2.20 | 39.3 | 39.30 | 101 | 47 | 00 / 00 | 27.9 | |
| 50 | The Man in The Net (1959) | Carolyn Jones | 1.80 | 31.6 | 31.60 | 123 | 46 | 00 / 00 | 22.3 | |
| 51 | One Foot in Hell (1960) | Don Murray | 2.40 | 37.0 | 37.00 | 94 | 44 | 00 / 00 | 21.9 | |
| 52 | Duel of Champions (1961) | Franca Bettoia | 0.40 | 5.1 | 5.10 | 136 | 53 | 00 / 00 | 19.4 |
Possibly Interesting Facts About Alan Ladd
- Alan Walbridge Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas on September 3rd, 1913.
2. Alan Ladd was a swimming and diving champion in high school.
3. Alan Ladd has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 1601 Vine Street. He received his star in 1960.
4. Alan Ladd He and Veronica Lake made seven movies together: 1942’s This Gun For Hire, 1942’s The Glass Key, 1942’s Star Spangled Rhythm, 1945’s Duffy’s Tavern, 1946’s The Blue Dahlia (1946), 1947’s Variety Girl and 1948’s Saigon (1948). In Variety Girl (1947), Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) and Duffy’s Tavern (1945), they appear as themselves.
5. Alan Ladd was the visual inspiration for the original illustrations of superhero Green Lantern/Alan Scott (created in 1940). Ladd was 27 years old at the point. The Green Lantern’s full name is Alan Ladd Wellington Scott.
6. Alan Ladd was ranked in the annual Top 10 Box Office Stars 3 times: His was ranked 10th in 1947, 4th in 1953 and 6th in 1954.
7. Alan Ladd was married two times in his life. He had 3 children. His son, Alan Ladd, Jr. won an Oscar® for producing 1995’s Braveheart. His son, David Ladd, earned a Golden Globe® nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1958’s The Proud Rebel. His daughter, Alana Ladd, appeared in four of her father’s movies….including a part in Shane. His granddaughter, Jordan Ladd, has over 50 IMDb acting credits.
8. Alan Ladd was strongly considered for or actually attached to these roles: Kirk Douglas role in Detective Story, Gregory Peck role in Roman Holiday, James Dean role in Giant, John Wayne role in The Sons of Katie Elder, Spencer Tracy role in Bad Day At Black Rock and William Holden role in Submarine Command.
9. Check out Alan Ladd’s movie career compared to current and classic stars on our Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time page.
10. Many people might have first discovered Alan Ladd in 1982’s Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid. Check out You Tube view to see his brief but impressive appearance in that movie ..
Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences.
Figured it might be interesting to see the process of what it takes to put these pages together. How we put together our Alan Ladd page.
Steve’s Alan Ladd You Tube Video
Hi, Bruce.
I did not have time to check your new Alan Ladd page prior to now.
This is great.
I associate Ladd most with film noir and Veronica Lake- his main leading lady.
Yes, he is Shane. Shane is exceptional.
But I always think of noir first.
Anyone who doubts that can check my comments on the film noir pages Bruce did at my request.
Bruce – I emailed Steve something which I got him to forward to you as it is a video of my choir singing years ago and I was afraid that you might not get it if I sent it to you as you have all these comments to answer.
Back to Alan Ladd:
Thanks for completing this request.
Thanks also for changing around the pages at the top of your main page to highlight certain pages for people who are looking you up on google so that they know about new pages or updated pages.
My favourites: Besides Shane:
The Blue Dahlia
The Glass Key
This Gun for Hire (once Deforest Kelley was up for the part)
The Proud Rebel
Thank again.
Flora
Bruce: YOU have not seen The Carpetbaggers !
1 On the night of the premier of The Carpetbaggers (1964) Alan Ladd apparently told his family to go to the event without him as he didn’t feel well; so they left and Alan at the age of 50 reportedly lay down and died.
2 Even if one is not especially the Alan Ladd fan that I am I feel The Carpetbaggers is a historical MUST for any movie buff as it is the final film of one of the great stars of the 40s and early 50s classic era who died prematurely in tragic circumstances.
3 Some historians think that given his screen persona in his heyday The Carpetbaggers was a sad ending for Laddie even on film. In the ‘prequel’ two years later McQueen played the young vibrant Nevada Smith; but in The Carpetbaggers Alan was landed with the part of the ageing Nevada who becomes a washed up movie cowboy actor and almost parodied the once great Ladd image. At one point Carroll Baker/Jean Harlow’s Rena says of him “Nevada’s ideal for toting guns in movies. Like him they’re full of blanks”.
4 Screen image was more important in those days than it is nowadays when the anti hero can be as popular as the hero. In the film Ryan’s daughter (1970) Bob Mitchum plays a school teacher who is what Sir Walter Scott in his poem Young Lochinvar described as “a dullard in
love” and I remember seeing a TV interview in which a movie critic became seriously incensed
that The Great Bob had been so humiliated by being obliged to play the character in that way !!
5 Anyway as you have highlighted in Cagney’s case very few of Ladd’s movies lost money and his final film was at least a box office smash as you illustrate above. ‘Laddie’ was the nickname given to him by his idolater, best friend, and serial co-star Bill Bendix. The Carpetbaggers also cemented albeit for a modest period George Peppard’s stardom which got rolling with Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961).
Hey Bob.
1. Guilty as charged…back in my video store days….I often saw The Carpetbaggers being checked out….but I never watched it. So Ladd never saw the success that his last movie got…that is sad.
2. I am sold…..now I just have to find it…..I have lots of libraries at my disposal but not thinking I have ever seen it in any of those libraries….but I will keep my eye open for it….I have seen Nevada Smith…any points for that?…lol.
3. Seems I remember reading that Ladd got some Oscar buzz for the Carpetbaggers….if it was today….he would get the nomination and the win.
4. I loved Ryan’s Daughter….the shooting locations were breathe taking….as for Mitch…I liked his role in that one….one of the films that shows his acting ability.
5. Good behind the scenes information on Ladd and The Carpetbaggers…..thanks for sharing it. 🙂
BRUCE
1 Thanks for your usual thoughtful and balanced response on the Bob Montgomery page to my post about the hypothetical crossover of Gable etc to the modern era. Two of your observations were particularly interesting:
(1) Bing. I have never seen Shampoo (1975) but Bing expressed personal disgust at whatever antics Warren Beatty got up to in that movie.
(2a) Cruise as the modern Alan Ladd. Ladd was often the object of unflattering comments about his height whereas other ‘little tough guys’ such as Robinson and Cagney got a bye. Yet ironically of the the three Ladd probably exercised the most physical prowess in real life because as you point out above he was a swimming & diving champ in high school; and he apparently also did a job stint as a lifeguard on beaches.
(2b) About a year ago I watched a TV documentary that selected perceived chilling scenes from films and included along with the now obligatory Psycho shower one was hit man Philip Raven in This Gun for Hire (1942) creeping up a dark stairway with gun drawn; so I guess you don’t have to be massive to be frightening if you have a gun.
(2c) After her divorce from Cruise Nicole Kidman quipped in an interview “it’s great to be able to wear high heels again.” Catty! – but she did concede in the interview that “Tom has had one of the GREAT careers of the cinema.” and indicated that she could never match him in that respect. True but she is a very fine actress and most attractive. I saw her recently in The Railway Man (2015) and she was excellent.
2 You posted your Ladd page before I got into commenting; but it’s very good and as he is in my Top 5 I was naturally delighted to see it. So thanks again.
BOB
Hey Bob.
1. I can imagine Bing at the end…being concerned about how movies were being made….John Wayne thought that way about Eastwood’s westerns….especially took offense that people consider Clint’s role in High Plains Drifter as a hero….Wayne thought the movie was “crap”.
2. Yep Ladd had some skills…but I think the height issue bothered Ladd more than it does Cruise. Funny ….Cagney’s height never really enters my mind when I think of him.
3. Yep guns make you scary….and sadly here in the United States…they seem to be everywhere
4. Nicole Kidman is one of the best actresses working….though …since she turned 40…her career has fallen off….her movies have averaged only $20 million since then….the curse of 39 strikes again….it is almost sad that her biggest hit since 2006 is her Adam Sandler movie…and she was barely in it.
5. Good to know Mr. Ladd is among your Top 5.
🙂
🙂
Hey – I think that Alan Ladd was a good actor. The Iron Mistress is the role I told you about a short while ago. That was good along with The Carpetbaggers. Thanks so much for this site. I had not realized that he had made that many movies. I have seen quite a lot of them. THANKS.
Hey Bern1960….glad you enjoyed The Iron Mistress and The Carpetbaggers…I have not seen either one of them….but I hope to see them in the near future….especially with my tally count being only 2 Ladd movies watched. Thanks for stopping by.
Hello, Bruce. Alan Ladd , Tyrone Power and Jean Harlow were my father’s favorite movie stars from his youth. Which of course made them not my favorites. Though I like them. My favorite Alan Ladd film is “Shane” (1953) *****. I also like “This Gun for Hire” and “The Glass Key” from 1942 and “The Blue Dahlia” (1946). Thanks for doing another classic movie star page.
Hey Lyle….glad you found and liked my Alan Ladd page. I know have all three of your father’s favorite done…when it comes to pages. Sadly my Ladd tally count is sitting at 2…..but I have seen 2 of your favorites…and The Glass Key and The Blue Dahlia are on my list of movies to watch. Thanks for the visit and the comment.