At the beginning of "The Great Man's Lady," Barbara Stanwyck is supposed to be eighteen years old. By the time the film is over, she has reached the ripe old age of one hundred and two. This probably sets some sort of Hollywood record for long-drawn-out bores, and it's a fifty-fifty chance you'll feel as old as Miss Stanwyck looks when, and if, you've sat through it.

Theoretically there's a moral running along somewhere in the movie. It is that behind the great man there stands a woman who spuss him on in his achievements. How Joel McCrea, the "great man" in this case, ever manages to get past first base ranks as the number one cinema mystery of the season. He gambles away his property, shoots his wife's best friend, disappears at the weirdest times, and manages to scare the daylights out of his wife when he is around.

"This Gun for Hire," though given second billing at the U. T., easily surpasses its dyspeptic counterpart. Alan Ladd grimly and effectively stalks his way through a difficult and interesting role, with various and sundry saboteur doing their darndest to stop him. Ladd himself makes the picture what it is, and his sensitive portrayal of a different kind of ruthless killer marks him an actor to be watched. Veronica Lake is here, too. There must be something nice to say about her presence in the film, but all we can think of right now is--well, Veronica Lake is here, too.