Alan Ladd was an actor.
Alan Ladd . Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s , particularly in Westerns such as Shane ( 1953 ) and films noir in which he was often paired with Veronica Lake , such as This Gun for Hire ( 1942 ) , The Glass Key ( 1942 ) and The Blue Dahlia ( 1946 ) . Shane (film) . Shane stars Alan Ladd , Jean Arthur ( in the last feature , and only color , film of her career ) and Van Heflin , and features Brandon deWilde , Jack Palance , Emile Meyer , Elisha Cook Jr. , and Ben Johnson . The Blue Dahlia . The film marks the third pairing of stars Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake . This Gun for Hire . The film stars Veronica Lake , Robert Preston , Laird Cregar , and Alan Ladd . The movie made a star of Alan Ladd . Veronica Lake . Lake won both popular and critical acclaim , most notably for her role in Sullivan 's Travels and for her femme fatale roles in film noirs with Alan Ladd , during the 1940s .