Alan Ladd died on January 29, 1964, having just turned fifty on September 3. From his first great hit, This Gun for Hire, in 1942, to his last, The Carpetbaggers, released posthumously in 1964, he had made 47 films. Ladd had a hardscrabble childhood and spent years on the fringes of "Hollywood" as a grip and a radio actor before getting his lucky break. His second wife, Sue Carol, entered his life as his agent, and subsequently managed his career--favoring lucrative jobs over more challenging roles, and their family life--courting the public using the fan magazines. Frequently praised for appearing "like a young Greek god," Ladd always had serious doubts about his acting abilities, and using alcohol to combat those insecurities took a toll. Linet, who worked for Modern Screen writes with a fan-zine point of view, where psychological insight is not on offer. So, while the man remains a mystery, the manicuring of his nice-guy image is documented in ghastly detail, as is the process by which his career was eventually sabotaged.