Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American film actor. He was famous for his emotionless demeanor and small stature (reports of his height vary from 5'2" to 5'5", with 5'5" being the most generally accepted today). In the majority of his films, he played either the hero or a bad guy with a conscience.
Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas to English immigrant parents.
After first becoming a star with his performance as a hitman with a conscience in This Gun for Hire (1942), he became most famous for his starring role as a gunfighter in the classic 1953 western Shane. Ladd also made Quigley's Top 10 Stars of the Year List 3 times, 1947, 1953 and 1954. In 1954 he starred alongside Peter Cushing and Patrick Troughton in the British film The Black Knight, unusually cast as a medieval swashbuckling hero, and surrounded by veterans of British films. Unfortunately, this film was being made just as Shane was becoming a gigantic critical and commercial hit, and...
Created by dipity on Feb 7, 2008
Last updated: 03/11/10 at 11:22 PM
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Alan Ladd died in Palm Springs, California, Riverside County
The Badlanders (1958). Directed by Delmer Daves. Written by Richard Collins, based upon the novel by W.R. Burnett. Starring Alan Ladd and Ernest Borganine.Two men are released from the Arizona Territorial Prison at Yuma in 1898. One, the Dutchman, is out to get both gold and revenge from the people of a small mining town who had him imprisoned unjustly. The other, McBain, is just trying to go straight, but that is easier said than done once the Dutchman involves him in his gold theft scheme....,
The Black Knight is a 1954 film starring Alan Ladd as the title character and Peter Cushing and Patrick Troughton as two conspirators attempting to overthrow King Arthur. A sword-maker is tutored at Camelot and eventually creates a secret identity in the form of the black knight. But as some conspirators plan to overthrow King Arthur, he is branded a traitor. ...,
Shane is a 1953 western film made by Paramount Pictures. It was produced and directed by George Stevens from a screenplay by A.B. Guthrie Jr., based on the 1949 novel of the same name by Jack Schaefer. The cinematography was by Loyal Griggs, the music score by Victor Young and the costume design by Edith Head.The film stars Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur and Van Heflin with Brandon De Wilde, Elisha Cook Jr., Jack Palance and Ben Johnson.
A mysterious gunslinger named Shane (Alan Ladd) drifts into a quiet western town, and quickly finds himself drawn into a conflict between simple homesteader (sodbuster) Joe Starrett (Van Heflin) and powerful cattle baron Rufus Ryker (Emile Meyer), who wants to force him and every other homesteader in the valley off his land. Shane accepts a job as a farmhand, but finds Starrett's young son Joey (Brandon DeWilde) drawn to him for his strength and skill with a gun. Shane himself is uncomfortably drawn to Starrett's wholesomely charming wife, Marian (Jean Arthur...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046303
The Blue Dahlia is a 1946 American film noir made in black-and-white. The film marks the third pairing of stars Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake.
Aspiring actress and 1947 murder victim Elizabeth Short was given the name the "Black Dahlia" as a play on this film's title. Incidentally, Universal Studios, the current rights-holder to this film, released a film in 2006 based on Short's murder.
Johnny (Ladd) returns home from the military with buddies Buzz (Bendix) and George (Beaumont) to find his wife Helen kissing her new boyfriend Eddie Harwood, the owner of the Blue Dahlia nightclub. Helen admits her alcoholism caused their son's death. He pulls a gun on her but decides she's not worth it. Later, Helen is found dead and Johnny is the prime suspect. Johnny teams up with Joyce (Lake), the estranged wife of Eddie Harwood to help clear his name.
Actor Harold J. Stone made his first movie appearance in this film.
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http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038369
And Now Tomorrow is the name of the bestselling book, published in 1942, by Rachel Field, as well as the 1944 movie based on it. Both center around one doctor's attempt for curing deafness. The film stars Alan Ladd and Susan Hayward. Its tagline was Who are you that a man can't make love to you?.
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http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036599/
The Glass Key is a novel by Dashiell Hammett, said to be his favorite among his works. It was first published in 1931, and tells the story of gambler and racketeer Ned Beaumont, whose devotion to crooked political boss Paul Madvig leads him to investigate the murder of a local senator's son. The novel was dedicated to onetime lover Nell Martin.There were two film adaptations made based on the novel. It has been asserted—though never officially corroborated—that the kidnapping and brutal beating of one of the characters in The Glass Key was the inspiration for the similar scenes in Yojimbo (1961) by Akira Kurosawa. (See also Red Harvest.)...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034798
This Gun for Hire is a 1942 film noir, directed by Frank Tuttle and based on the novel A Gun for Sale by Graham Greene.
Tagline: "He's dynamite with a gun or a girl."A hit man, called Raven (Alan Ladd), is doublecrossed by nightclub owner Willard Gates (Laird Cregar) who acts as a middleman for a traitorous industrialist, the president of Nitro Chemical, Alvin Brewster (Tully Marshall). Traveling to Los Angeles to kill his way to the top of his betrayers, Raven meets up with Ellen Graham (Veronica Lake) a nightclub magician and singer. Graham's been enlisted by a senator to use Gates to find out who is making deals to manufacture poison gas for the Japanese. Ellen's fianceé Lt. Michael Crane (Robert Preston) tries as best he can to keep up, tracking Raven while wondering if his girlfriend has been kidnapped or is a willing accomplice. Yvonne De Carlo also has a small role.
When the film was first released, Ladd received fourth billing. Because of fan reaction and critical praise,...,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035432
Alan Ladd was born
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