TCM and Universal will release four 1940s films starring Alan Ladd in Alan Ladd: The 1940s Collection.

The four-disc set includes a quartet of titles never released on DVD before, although this still lacks 1949's The Great Gatsby which has never been put out on DVD.

This collection is another in TCM's off-shoot label, TCM Selects, which indicates it's likely to be minus bonus material.

And since this is a TCM Shop exclusive, ClassicFlix will carry the set as rental only starting December 15th.

Handsome leading man Alan Ladd found success in the 1940s and '50s, first as the tough guy in several films noir co-starring Veronica Lake and then as the stoic hero in Westerns such as Shane (1953). TCM and Universal are proud to present this four-film collection that showcases Ladd's talents in a range of genres from melodrama to adventure, as well as the work of such directors as Irving Pichel and Frank Tuttle, and writers the likes of Richard Maibaum and Raymond Chandler.

Lucky Jordan (1942, 84 min.)
Directed by Frank Tuttle (who also directed Ladd's breakthrough film This Gun for Hire the same year), Lucky Jordan stars Ladd as a racketeer who gets drafted into the US Army and will do anything to get out of it-even go AWOL. As he tries to escape, he soon finds himself dealing with a backstabbing second-in-command, a patriotic WAC who wants him to change his ways and enemy spies in this comedic crime thriller co-starring Helen Walker.

And Now Tomorrow (1944, 86 min.)
One of the most popular genres of the 1940s was the melodrama, in which characters often dealt with domestic problems, illness and unrequited romance, as seen in this adaptation of Rachel Field's novel by Frank Partos and Raymond Chandler. The film stars Loretta Young as Emily Blair, a wealthy young woman who goes deaf after contracting meningitis, and Ladd as the doctor working on a cure while denying his attraction to her. The film also co-stars Susan Hayward as Emily's younger sister and romantic rival.

Two Years Before the Mast (1946, 98 min.)
Ladd takes to the high seas in this adventure film based on the 1834 travel book by Richard Henry Dana Jr. that exposed the conditions of sailors aboard merchant ships. Ladd stars as Charles Stewart, the spoiled son of a ship magnate who gets shanghaied onto one of his father's ships. He spends the next year under the tyrannical rule of the ship's captain and eventually finds the courage to lead the crew to mutiny. The film was directed by John Farrow and costars Brian Donlevy, William Bendix and Howard Da Silva.

O.S.S (1946, 105 min.)
Writer Richard Maibaum is most famous for his work on the James Bond series (he wrote 13 of the franchise's first 15 films), and his ability to write taut spy thrillers is on display in this film starring Ladd and Geraldine Fitzgerald. Set during World War II, Ladd and Fitzgerald play members of an American spy ring who are sent into France with the objective of destroying the French railway system. But as their mission gets more complicated, Ladd must decide between obeying his commands and being a hero.