Alan Ladd Movies

Want to know the best Alan Ladd movies?  How about the worst Alan Ladd movies?  Curious about Alan Ladd box office grosses or which Alan Ladd movie picked up the most Oscar nominations? Need to know which Alan Ladd movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which got the worst reviews? Well, you have come to the right place…. because we have all of that information.

In the hierarchy of movie-tough guys, Alan Ladd (1913-1964), is an honored name.  Ladd was an American actor who found success in film during the 1940s and early 1950s.  We think the best current comparison to Ladd is Bruce Willis.  Each specialized in box office hit action movies and each got very little respect for their acting abilities.  Ladd’s IMDb page shows 98 acting credits from 1932-1964. This page will take a statistical look at 50 Alan Ladd movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information.  His uncredited roles, his cameo roles and his television appearances were not included in the table.

Drivel part:  So after getting sidetracked on some other UMR movie page projects….we felt it was time to start knocking out some of the performers from our Request Hotline page.  So Søren, Flora & Dan…here is finally your requested Alan Ladd UMR movie page.

Alan Ladd in 1942’s This Gun For Hire

Alan Ladd Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.

1942’s The Glass Key

Alan Ladd Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table

The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.

  • Sort Alan Ladd movies by his co-stars
  • Sort Alan Ladd movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
  • Sort Alan Ladd movies by yearly domestic box office rank
  • Sort Alan Ladd movies by how they were received by critics and audiences.  60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
  • Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each Alan Ladd movie received.
  • Sort Alan Ladd movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score.  UMR puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
Alan Ladd in 1964's The Carpetbaggers...his last movie was the biggest box office hit of his career
Alan Ladd in 1964’s The Carpetbaggers…his last movie was the biggest box office hit of his career

Possibly Interesting Facts About Alan Ladd

  1. Alan Walbridge Ladd was born in Hot Springs, Arkansas on September 3rd, 1913.

2. Alan Ladd was a swimming and diving champion in high school.

3. Alan Ladd has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 1601 Vine Street.  He received his star in 1960.

4.  Alan Ladd He and Veronica Lake made seven movies together: 1942’s This Gun For Hire, 1942’s The Glass Key, 1942’s Star Spangled Rhythm,  1945’s Duffy’s Tavern, 1946’s The Blue Dahlia (1946), 1947’s Variety Girl and 1948’s Saigon (1948). In Variety Girl (1947), Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) and Duffy’s Tavern (1945), they appear as themselves.

5.  Alan Ladd was the visual inspiration for the original illustrations of superhero Green Lantern/Alan Scott (created in 1940). Ladd was 27 years old at the point. The Green Lantern’s full name is Alan Ladd Wellington Scott.

6.  Alan Ladd was ranked in the annual Top 10 Box Office Stars 3 times:  His was ranked 10th in 1947, 4th in 1953 and 6th in 1954.

7.  Alan Ladd was married two times in his life. He had 3 children.  His son, Alan Ladd, Jr. won an Oscar® for producing 1995’s Braveheart.  His son, David Ladd, earned a Golden Globe® nomination for Best Supporting Actor in 1958’s The Proud Rebel.  His daughter, Alana Ladd, appeared in four of her father’s movies….including a part in Shane.  His granddaughter, Jordan Ladd, has over 50 IMDb acting credits.

8.  Alan Ladd was strongly considered for or actually attached to these roles:  Kirk Douglas role in Detective Story, Gregory Peck role in Roman Holiday, James Dean role in Giant, John Wayne role in The Sons of Katie Elder, Spencer Tracy role in Bad Day At Black Rock and William Holden role in Submarine Command.

9.  Check out Alan Ladd’s movie career compared to current and classic stars on our Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time page.

10.  Many people might have first discovered Alan Ladd in 1982’s Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid.  Check out You Tube view to see his brief but impressive appearance in that movie ..

Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences.

Figured it might be interesting to see the process of what it takes to put these pages together.  How we put together our Alan Ladd page.

Steve’s Alan Ladd You Tube Video

 

(Visited 2 times)

114 thoughts on “Alan Ladd Movies”

  1. Hi

    I wouldn’t say I was his greatest fan but I liked his films with Lake, they had great chemistry. Undoubtedly he was a massive star in the 40’s but as I said before I don’t think he done anything to top Shane. It is my favourite Western and would hope if you ever do a page on Westerns, it would be near the top.
    Originally William Holden was slotted for the role and Barbara Stanwyck in the Jean Arthur role, but I don’t think it would have worked in the same way. Ironically Holden won the Oscar in 53. I think Ladd should have at least been nominated.
    I watched a documentary and he was quite sensitive about his height but it didn’t seem to do his career any harm. It was sad how his life ended. But he left a great body of work.

    Reply

    1. Hey Chris. Thanks for stopping by. I have only seen one Lake/Ladd movie…but they were great in This Gun For Hire. Shane is his masterpiece. If he had made it today…they would probably gotten to Shane 4 or 5…with regards to sequels. I did not know that Holden and Stanwyck were possibles for Shane….they must have wanted to work together again…because they appeared in Executive Suite in 1954. His height did not bother his career at all….though I think his height had something to do with some of his off screen problems. One day I will get a western movie page done….looking at musicals (another subject you requested)…for my next massive project. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on Ladd.

      Reply

  2. A Hollywood legend and screen heartthrob to millions of women in his time, but what you wouldn’t read in the fan magazines is that he was also quite short. Movie directors would look for various ways to film him so as not to give away his height. When he made Boy on a Dolphin with Sophia Loren, she towered over him so when they were walking together they had her walking in a specially dug ditch.

    I’ve seen 14 of the 50 films you’ve listed, again it’s probably more I can’t remember all the films I’ve seen in my youth. Shane had to top the UMR chart of course, his most famous film and it was the classic template for many westerns to come especially Italian Westerns – a mysterious laconic stranger rides into town, wipes out the villains and rides away never to be seen again – Eastwood must have been a fan.

    This Gun for Hire is the film that made him famous, one of the great film noirs of the 40s and too low on your chart, other classics include The Blue Dahlia and The Glass Key, all three co-starring sultry Veronica Lake. If you look up the word ‘sultry’ there should be a picture of Lake next to it. 🙂

    I would have included Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid in the list just to confuse people. One of my favorite Steve Martin spoofs.

    Looking at the box office charts, The Carpetbaggers was his biggest hit, Paul Newman played the same character in the prequel Nevada Smith.

    Excellent facts and stats on Ladd. Another winner Bruce. Voted Up.

    Reply

    1. Yes, I think everyone who appeared in Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid should be included on the list of every actor and actress who appeared in the movie as they were important to the plotline -at least Bogart. (Remember Ford in A.Now….)

      Studios often paired people up by height. That is why Lake was Ladd’s leading lady. She was shorter.

      Reply

      1. Hey Flora…..good point about Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid. I agree Lake was the perfect fit for Ladd. Thanks for the input.

        Reply

    2. Hey Steve….thanks for stopping by. Congrats on the tally win…..as you just edged out Flora 14 to 13….while I sit dead last at 2. Loren in a ditch….now that would have been interesting to see. This Gun For Hire made the Top 15…in the old equation it would have been worse. This Gun For Hire is 3rd when you look at the best reviewed movies. I really want to see The Glass Key….especially since I read that it heavily influenced the Coen Brothers’ Miller’s Crossing which is one of my favorite movies. I figured I had to include Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid…especially since it is one of three Ladd movies that I have seen. I love how they edited his scene. McQueen played Nevada Smith…too bad he did not play him in the Carpetbaggers too…that would have been interesting. As always…greatly appreciate your comment.

      Reply

      1. My bad, of course it was McQueen. I had Newman’s Hombre on my mind from that video I posted recently. I don’t think I’ve seen Whispering Smith, one of Flora’s favorites, looking at my database I do have a copy of it, so did I see it or didn’t I? Hmmm one way to find out.

        Reply

        1. Hey Steve….I am sure the fact that my UMR score had This Gun For Hire so lowly ranked…it threw you off a little….lol. It is hell getting old….and our memory playing tricks on us. I just watched….Here Comes Mr. Jordan…..even after it ended I am not sure if I had seen it before or not….I blame Heaven Can Wait…..which I know I have seen many times before……maybe the memory will get better as time advances.

          Reply

  3. Well hard to argue his top movie being Shane. But I would say Gun For Hire is much lower than I would have suggested.

    Reply

    1. Hey Simpson. Yeah Shane was the easy number one. As for This Gun For Hire…it was a decent hit but not a monster hit…so it’s box office total did not help the score….though it did get the 3rd best reviews of his career….but got no Oscar love. Easily one of his two most famous roles….thanks for stopping by.,

      Reply

  4. Wonderful job. glad to see you mention his granddaughter Jordan. Hopefully her career will gain some momentum.

    Reply

    1. Thank you Helakoski….have to admit I was not aware of Jordan before doing this page…but the fact that she has over 50 IMDb credits so far is pretty good…I wish her lots of success in the future

      Reply

  5. This is wonderful, Bruce.

    Being a fan of film noir, Alan Ladd is a big name in my home.

    I saw Alan Ladd long before I saw Dead Me Don’t Wear Plaid. That is my favourite Steve Martin movie.

    I have seen most but not all of his films with Veronica Lake.

    The role he got in This Gun For Hire was once considered for Deforest Kelley.

    Of course, I know Shane very well.

    The highest ranked movie I have seen is Shane at number 1.

    The lowest ranked movie I have seen is The Bandlanders at number 41.

    I have seen only 13 of his movies – all of them either film noir or westerns. Your page will help me find the movies of his I wan to see.

    Here are my favourites:

    Shane
    The Blue Dahlia
    The Glass Key
    Whispering Smith
    This Gun For Hire (except for what happens to the cat!)

    The film I saw of his for the first time most recently of his for the first time was The Proud Rebel. It was well done, but a movie I watched for the stars only. I did not care for the story.

    Cheers!

    Flora

    Reply

    2. Hey Flora
      1. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
      2. Glad you liked this Ladd page so much.
      3. Tally count….Steve 14, you 13 and me….sad to say 2 (This Gun For Hire and Shane).
      4. That is interesting trivia about Dr. McCoy being up for the Ladd part in Gun…..bet that would have changed things n DeForest’s life.
      5. Actually surprised your tally count is fairly low (granted it is 6 times my total)….but still surprising
      6. I want to see the three in your Top 5…they I have not seen….so I will be on the lookout for The Blue Dahlia, The Glass Key and Whispering Smith….as well as The Carpetbaggers
      7. I think is cool his son got a Golden Globe for The Proud Rebel.
      As always thanks for sharing your Alan Ladd movie thoughts

      Reply

      1. The tally count is low due to access.

        Though, I have seen a number of his films where his role is not big enough to be in this table.

        Reply

        1. Understandable….I could get to 4 Alan Ladd movies watched…if I counted Citizen Kane and Dead Men…..either way….I should see more Ladd movies in the future. Actually I did some library research….and there are not a lot of Ladd movies available to rent in the 7 surrounding cities in my area.

          Reply

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