My Favorite Alan Ladd Movies

                    My Top Five Favorite Alan Ladd Movies

Hello there! In honor of that wonderful actor Alan Ladd's birthday (September 3rd) a blogathon is being hosted by Pale Writer. I knew I would have to write something when I first heard about it. I originally had the idea of doing my Top Ten favorite Alan Ladd movies, since that would fit neatly into mine and Anna's 'Top Ten' category, but then I realized I've only seen nine of Alan's movies. Whoops. Kinda embarrassing, I know. Maybe you're saying 'Hey, why don't you just go out a watch a couple of his movies. Treat yourself to something nice.' That would be a good idea, except what if the movies aren't good enough to be listed as my absolute favorites? What then? What if it's too late to enter my list for the blogathon? What then, I ask you?! So I just decided to do my top five. Enjoy 😁

1. And Now Tomorrow (1944)

Poor but talented Dr. Merek Vance returns to his 

hometown after many years away with a serum that may be capable of restoring the hearing of wealthy Emily Blair. Problem is, he doesn't want anything to do with what he thinks is nothing but a spoiled rich girl. And she wants nothing to do with what she thinks is a cynical and rude doctor.

I think this is my favorite role from Mr. Ladd. He's so wonderful, I can't handle it. I usually don't like romances, but this movie is just straight up sweet, and doesn't have too many wishy-washy scenes. Acting's great (of course. It's Alan Ladd and Loretta Young), story's heart-warming and fuzzy, and the dialogue is quick and snappy. I love it 💗

                                                                                                                                                            

 2. Branded (1950)

Outlaw Choya gets in on a sweet deal that his outlaw 

buddies discovered. Apparently, twenty-five years ago

the son of a wealthy ranching family was kidnapped and 

never seen again. Choya just happens to be of the right age 

and overall appearance to maybe pass off as the long-lost 

Lavery boy. Besides that, Choya's partner-in-crime tattoos  

a distinctive birthmark on his shoulder. And with that, Choya 

sets out to fool the Lavery family and come into a nice, fat

inheritance. But what happens when this conscienceless

desperado starts falling in love with family he's supposed to

hoodwink? 

I love movies where men of questionable morals start out to

cheat and rob a family or person but then end up with a terrible

case of the conscience. This movie is a great example of that 

story-line. I love Choya's character arc and I also quite like 

and admire the main girl, Ruth Lavery, which is quite strange

for a western. The whole movie's both an exciting western,

full of plot twists and turns,as well as a sweet and fuzzy 

bowl of chicken soup. It's a movie that makes me happy 😄

3. This Gun For Hire (1942)

Paid killer Phillip Raven begins to track down his employer

when he realizes he has been given marked bills in payment

for his latest job. While on the trail of his treacherous boss,

Raven happens to sit next to the beautiful lady named Ellen while hitching a ride on a train out of town. Although she is engaged to a police lieutenant, Ellen decides to try and help Raven walk the straight-and-narrow as he dodges both the police and his former employer's hit-men.

This is, I think, the best put-together movie on this list. The

acting's fabulous, and the cinematography sets a dark and 

depressing stage, perfect for a film noir. Although I wouldn't 

say that Raven is my favorite Alan Ladd role (he's a bit un-hinged, if you know what I mean) he still puts in a heck of a performance. And of course Mr. Ladd and Miss Veronica Lake together are bound to be nothing short of spectacular. Great, albeit tragic, film.

4. Whispering Smith (1948)

Luke 'Whispering' Smith is an 1800's policeman tasked with

stopping a gang of train-robbers terrorizing his railroad line.

Whispering Smith is faced with a serious problem when 

his best friend Murray is fired from his job for the railroad and, 

in an act of defiance, joins the very gang of outlaws that Smith 

is trying to put out of order. To further complicate matters, 

Murray's wife, and Luke's old flame, claims to still be in love 

with Luke.

Whispering Smith has got to be one of the greatest guys to ever

draw breath. He is practically perfect in every way. And as much as I enjoy Alan Ladd in his more cynical roles, it's nice to see him as a mild-mannered and gentle guy like Luke who can still ride wild horses and take down bad guys with the best of 'em. One of the things I love about this movie is that Luke has to fight against his own best friend. The DRAMA guys! It's heartrendingly amazing. And just a little note, I do NOT like Marian, Murray's wife, at all. She made her choice between Murray and Luke long ago, but when the former shows up for just a quick stop, she's falling all over him! Honestly, lady, have a little pride!

5. China (1943)

David Jones, a war profiteer, is traveling through China with 

his buddy Johnny Sparrow shortly before Pearl Harbor. 

While travelling cross-country to Shanghai, Mr. Jones and his 

friend encounter school-teacher Carolyn Grant. Soon the cynical 

Mr. Jones finds himself driving Miss Grant and a large group of 

Chinese school girls through Japanese infested territory in what

soon becomes a fight for freedom and China.

This movie was WAY more emotionally taxing than I was prepared for. It's pretty intense at times, but it's still a wonderful movie. Alan Ladd's character, David Jones, finds that there are more important things in this world than money and his personal safety (never would have guessed that) and along the bumpy road of this astounding discovery, he also finds love. Sighhhhhhhh. But seriously, it's a really good movie, with Alan Ladd at his best,chalk-full of action and excitement, along with a meaningful message and a fairly theologically correct talk about God. What won't they think of next?

And there you have my five favorite Alan Ladd movies. Mind you, they may be moved around or even replaced as I add more of Alan's movies to my list, but for now they are my golden five! I also readily enjoy The Blue Dahlia (1946)', 'The Glass Key (1942)', and I don't really remember Shane, but I do remember that I loved the scenery, so there's that for all you Shane fans.
Happy (slightly late) birthday, Alan Ladd. I've loved you in every single movie I've seen you in and you shall forever remain one of my favorite actors.