after this gun for hire and paramount realize they have a popular star and lead man in alan ladd . good look and and with camera angle and trick to disguise his short height and he be soon a leading star at the studio . but like so many other good idea and paramounts production head think only of image in make ladd movie . in this gun for hire he have be raven and a cold blood killer make that way by a crummy childhood ( culminate in his self defense killing of his aunt ) and and year of reformatory and prison . be it any wonder that he sell his killing service for whoever pay the best price . but wait and he do like little kid and do like cat and be willing to consider replace the blouse of an obnoxious maid he have a fight with and and he do start a type of patriotic reform with the aid of understanding ( and pretty ) veronica lake . it take too late and but he die on the side of the angel ( aid the u. s. ) . this gun for hire set up a formula that would be use again and again and until ladd would try to vary it with western ( like his classic shane ) and and even classic novel ( the great gatsby ) . he be a tough guy and who gradually learn that there be certain thing that be so bad or evil they transcend stuff you be willing to accept a part of do illegal business ( i. e. and break someone head be tolerable and but set up a death camp or march soldier on a death march be not ) . this theory of degree of evil have be use in the 1930s in gangster film ( and would be use again in film noir gangster film in the 1940s and 1950s ) . the idea be that the criminal should not be lump together so easily . it be okay for jimmy cagney ( a rocky in angel with dirty face ) to shoot down two business associate and because rocky be fair and even hand with loot just insist that his loot be leave his loot and while those two associate ( one be humphrey bogart a a crooked lawyer ) be just willing to cheat rocky of his loot . similarly and with edward g. robinson in the amazing dr. clitterhouse and he be a cultured and urbane and and helpful man do research into crime and who end up run bogart mob but bogart be a nasty customer who try to do all his enemy in ( he try to freeze robinson to death in a fur vault ) . bogart ( when he too rise to stardom in high sierra ) be an intelligent and loyal lieutenant to good old donald mcbride and but mcbride other lieutenant be barton maclane and who be a corrupt ex cop ( so he totally bad ) . see degree of evil here . it must have cause consternation with the hay office and the breen office to follow these illogical and logical sequence mirror thought or philosophy in screenplay . the villain in this gun for hire ( tully marshall and laird cregar and and marc lawrence ) be go to sell poison gas to japan after pearl harbor and so they be traitor ( well pay one too marshall have some secret japanese medal for his service to hirohito ) . their destruction by ladd be welcome by the post pearl harbor audience watch the film ( although ladd also take a pot shot at robert preston and who be not a traitor but a detective and and do kill a cop ) . lucky jordan be a logical extension of the plot of this gun for hire . ladd and a jordan and be the surly head of a mob and and be draft . he soon be in the stockade for insubordination and but flees to return to his mob . he really be at home in his urban street jungle . but he find his second in command ( the superb sheldon leonard ) have pull a moriarty ( i. e. sherlock holmes and the secret weapon ) and in that he be aid the axis ( mile mander ) in spy and work against the u. s. ladd have learn enough about the axis to be oppose to this and and leonard ( in any case ) be not really interested in return the mob leadership to ladd . so the audience watch ladd patriotism rise enough to overcome ( or blend in with ) his surly gangster mentality . eventually he be the personification of fdr famous comment about back trujillo in the dominican republic during the war . an aide tell fdr that trujillo be a real s. o. b. yes and say the president somberly and but hes our s. o. b. with helen walker a the love interest and but she not as good in blend with ladd a lake be . so the film be only an positive . but still entertaining and despite it weird morality point of view .