Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1946)

EXPLOITATION PICTURE * of the issue THE BLUE DAHLIA Ladd As They Love Him i It was exactly four years ago this month that an unknown film player — slight of physique and not handsome in the usual Hollywood style — flashed across the movie firmament in the role of a steely-eyed, hard-boiled killer in a minor little epic called This Gun for Hire. But Alan Ladd was no flash, for he has remained high in Paramount's particular heaven of stars ever since. Now he returns in the same kind of part that first brought him fame and the notices on The Blue Dahlia sound like it is occasion for huzzahs from both exhibitors and Ladd fans. He's a cold-blooded character again, but a war vet and a bit more sympathetic — which should please the ladies who adore him no end. For added marquee value there is the same Veronica Lake, who helped launch his career in This Gun for Hire. There is William Bendix, too, as Ladd's wounded buddy. And — please note particularly — the cast includes two of the principals from the current click, Lost WeekEnd, Doris Dowling and Howard da Silva. She's the barroom dame who yearned for Ray Milland and he's the bartender. But the big news here is Ladd. (Continued on Next Page) Alan Ladd comes back in the kind of role that first zoomed him to movie fame. He's seen as Johnny Morrison, war vet with steely eyes and a steady gat-hand, who knows how to deal with double crossing dames and guys.