He was then cast as Francis Chesney in "Charley's Aunt" (1941), the first of several showcases for the actor's comic flair. After his sinister portrayal of the obsessed detective in "I Wake Up Screaming" (also 1941), he was borrowed for RKO to make "Joan of Paris" (1942). Cregar briefly returned to the stage to appear in the title role of "The Man Who Came to Dinner"; it was at the El Capitan, the site of his "Oscar Wilde" triumph, and was well received. Paramount borrowed him for "This Gun for Hire" (1942), a film noir. Cregar played the film's antagonist, Willard Gates, opposite Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd.