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Lucky Jordan

Lucky Jordan
Luckjodpos.jpg
Directed by Frank Tuttle
Produced by Fred Kohlmar
Written by Karl Tunberg
Darrell Ware
Based on story by Charles Leonard
Starring Alan Ladd
Helen Walker
Sheldon Leonard
Production
company
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date
  • November 16, 1942 (1942-11-16)
Running time
84 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Lucky Jordan is a 1942 film directed by Frank Tuttle, starring Alan Ladd in his first leading role, Helen Walker in her film debut, and Sheldon Leonard. The screenplay concerns a self-centered gangster who tangles with Nazi spies.

Gangster Lucky Jordan (Alan Ladd) narrowly escapes death at the hands of an assassin hired by his ambitious right hand man, Slip Moran (Sheldon Leonard); his decoy double Eddie is killed instead.

Meanwhile, Lucky has been drafted. His lawyer, Ernest Higgins (Lloyd Corrigan), tries to get him off by giving the orphaned Lucky a "mother" in alcoholic panhandler Annie (Mabel Paige), but the draft board is unconvinced, and he ends up in the army. To avoid work, Lucky lounges in the canteen, where he meets Jill Evans (Helen Walker). He gets found out and is thrown in the stockade, but escapes. To get out of camp, he steals the car and papers of an army engineer.

To his puzzlement, two thugs catch up to him on the road and try to rough him up. They leave when Jill drives up. Lucky takes Jill along with him against her will, and they become acquainted. She threatens to throw out Lucky's papers if he does not let her go. Since they are not his, he is unconcerned when she dumps them by the roadside.

When Lucky sneaks back into the city, he finds Slip occupying his office. Slip tells him about some foreigners who are paying him plenty of money to sabotage the American war effort. He even takes credit (and payment) for the burning of the SS Normandie, even though he had nothing to do with it. It turns that the two goons Lucky encountered were after papers dealing with secret new tank armor.

The trio head back to look for the papers. When Lucky finds them, Slip pulls a gun on him. Fortunately, Lucky is able to knock Slip out; Jill persuades him not to kill the helpless Slip.

Still, for $50,000, Lucky is willing to pass along the papers. He phones Slip to arrange an exchange. Annie warns him that Slip has set up a trap, and offers to hide him at her place. Lucky is willing to try selling out his country again, but he is spotted by Slip's men. They follow him back to his hideout. While he is out, they beat Annie up, but she tells them nothing. When Lucky gets back, he checks out where he hid the papers; the thugs (who hid in the apartment) knock him out and take them.

From a slim clue, Lucky tracks the spy ring to Kilpatrick Gardens on Long Island. He sneaks around and finds Slip and Kilpatrick (Miles Mander) with the papers. He manages to grab them and race away. All the exits are locked and watched, but when a man who had been taking a public tour of the place demands from a guard the return of an umbrella he left behind, Lucky hides the papers and an explanatory note inside the rolled up umbrella.


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