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A curious blend of film noir (the story takes place just at the end of WW2 ,like in Dmytryk's "crossfire") and of melodrama (the soldier whose days are numbered :his two mates -the threesome is some kind of 'three musketeers" cum "lives of a Bengal lancer" - want to help him make the best of it ,without telling him the truth).When secretary Veronica Lake appears ,the terminally ill puts her on a pedestal .His two mates just ask her to pretend but they despise this bad gal ,this femme Fatale .Ladd is particularly such a lout ,and with his favorite partner ,at that!This scene when he shows the girl another way of wearing her sumptuous dress might remind the young audience of Kim Basinger in "LA Confidential".

This is perhaps not Ladd's best ,nor among his best ,but his pairing with Lake was magic and considering they have some kind of Colombo's father as a cop hot on their heels,they are excusable.

Like Singapore, Calcutta and Macao, Saigon sets off to an Asian port of intrigue. Demobbed in Shanghai after action in the Pacific Theater, three flyboys postpone their return to the States because one of them, Douglas Dick, has only a month or two to live. The catch is that he doesn't know it; his pals Alan Ladd and Wally Cassell guard the secret, having decided, under cover of operating lucrative commercial flights, to pack `a whole lifetime' of excitement and pleasure into his brief span left.

Their first assignment, however, proves their last. Shady war profiteer Morris Carnovsky pays them a suspiciously large sum to take him to Saigon, the `Paris of the Orient.' But, detained by police and gunshots, he doesn't show for the punctual flight; instead, they carry his `secretary,' Veronica Lake, carting along a briefcase crammed with half a million. The crate they're flying has to crash-land, and they make the rest of the journey by boat to Saigon, giving a romantic triangle time to form: Both Dick (avidly) and Ladd (reluctantly) fall for Lake. But a police inspector (Luther Adler) just happens to be aboard as well....

Yet another romantic adventure in subtropical heat, Saigon owes much to John F. Seitz' solid camerawork (which deserves special mention for avoiding ceiling fans). It's pretty by-the-book, but not nearly so embarrassing as Ladd's Calcutta of the previous year.

The movie marks the last screen pairing of Ladd and Lake, an emblematic couple in the noir cycle noteworthy for their chilly emotional temperature. Whatever cryogenic chemistry they generated in This Gun For Hire and The Glass Key and The Blue Dahlia had by this time, alas, gone inert; few sparks get struck this close to absolute zero. Only the perfunctory conventions of the genre insist that their future together will be either a long or a happy one. Even that pretense is belied by the movie's final shot – in a cemetery.

I found this movie entertaining, but I think it is a mistake to compare it to "Calcutta," since they are very different in many ways. The only similarity is that they both take place in the orient. "Calcutta" is essentially-- aside from the adventure trappings -- a "whodunnit" with a surprise twist at the end, similar to both "Dead Reckoning" and "The Maltese Falcon". "Saigon," which I enjoyed for what it is, is a much less involving movie because, for one thing, there is really not that much suspense. However, the Ladd/Lake combo is always interesting to watch and the supporting actors -- in particular, Morris Carnovsky and Luis van Rooten -- I found fascinating. Whereas Paramount gave "Calcutta" a much more expensive mounting (which paid off because it actually took in more at the box office than even "The Blue Dahlia), I felt they really reduced the budget on this movie -- the hotel sets at the end being the only really expensive looking ones. recommended for Ladd/Lake fans.

Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake end their four-year partnership on a low note, Saigon (1947). This film and another one, the name of which escapes me, demonstrates that Hollywood knew very little of the population of Saigon. There were a lot of Americans and not much in the way of Vietnamese.

Major Larry Briggs (Ladd) is told that one of his war buddies (Pete), has a brain tumor and only a few months to live. It sounds like that tumor Bette Davis had in "Dark Victory", glioma of the cerebellum. Larry decides not to tell him. He and his other buddy Mike want to give Pete the most fabulous time of his life.

Opportunity comes when Briggs is hired for $10,000 by Alex Maris (Morris Carnovsky) to fly a plane to Saigon. It must leave by 6 p.m. It doesn't. At 6:30, Maris' secretary Susan (Lake) arrives, and we hear the sound of gunshots. Susan insists that they wait for Maris. Briggs refuses. He takes off with his two buddies and Susan.

The right engine goes out and the plane lands in a swamp. Prevailing upon the natives, they finally make it via oxcart to Saigon. Eventually Larry learns that although Susan claimed $78 on the card she filled out at the hotel, she has an absolute fortune in a briefcase.

Meanwhile, Pete has fallen hard for Susan, and Briggs asks her to be nice to him - she is a rather cold person. However, knowing Pete's story, she goes along.

The problem with this film for me is that there really isn't a plot. You have to fill it in yourself. Maris is a nefarious businessman and is sending Susan to Saigon in order to pay for something. He obviously has been involved in some illegal wartime dealings.

The movie just sort of meanders along. I really like Ladd and Lake, both had great presences. The Cassell character drove me insane. The excellent stage actor Luther Adler plays the mens' boss, Lt. Keon.

A little trivia - I also watched "Calcutta" starring Alan Ladd. Just as in this film, in the beginning, the right engine of the plane goes out and, just like this film, they have to dump boxes, etc., whatever is in the plane. Same scene. And I guess it's always the right engine.

After World War II Larry learns that his flying buddy Mike will only live a short time despite the efforts of the doctors. He takes on a profitable flying job for profiteers Maris to finance a good time for his buddy. As the plane takes off he shoves Maris' secretary Susan on board. When Mike falls for her, Larry tells her to play along for Mike's sake. She, of course, falls for Larry. So does Larry.

Blending film noir, adventure and melodrama together, Saigon is not a bad viewing; it can be a bit slow, and Ladd and Lake spend most of the time exchanging vitriolic ripostes, however things pick up in the last thirty minutes. There's some sensitive portrayals by Ladd and Lake in regards to their dying friend.

Saigon is in a category of films I call WMs; watchable messes. These movies are totally unbelievable, over the top, and have lots of loose ends. However, they are entertaining; especially when they use top of the line talent like Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake in lead roles. A secondary role, played by an actor with an unfortunate name, Douglas Dick, is also featured. What agent decided this guy's screen name should be Dick? I am sure he finished near the bottom of his class. I shudder to think what he named his first female client. Anyway, this story is pretty convoluted; far too convoluted to review here. Suffice it to say it is a mess. Saigon, by the way, looks and feels nothing at all like the Saigon we know now. The city is rampant with Western colonialism, and one can see why the Vietnamese wanted all foreigners out of their country. We all know who will end up together after about fifteen minutes, but it is the journey and not the destination that makes the film watchable. (Even though it is a mess).

SAIGON was the last teaming of ALAN LADD and VERONICA LAKE, and sorry to say, it's also their least satisfying effort.

It's the buddy theme again, with Ladd and WALLY CASSELL trying to protect their buddy, DOUGLAS DICK, from the truth that he doesn't have long to live--and then getting involved in an adventurous tale of smugglers, loot and murder. VERONICA LAKE turns up to join the trio for a cloak and dagger sort of tale that pits the three buddies against the villainous LUTHER ADLER.

Neither Ladd nor Lake is seen to best advantage here and the script, as well as their seeming indifference to the storyline, is the real problem. Paramount apparently made this one in a hurry to cash in on whatever remained of the star chemistry Ladd and Lake once had, but they got poor returns for their efforts and didn't invest enough time to create a good enough script.

For Ladd and Lake fans, it's strictly below average as entertainment.

Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake co-starred for Paramount in three classic films, This Gun For Hire, The Glass Key, and The Blue Dahlia. Their fourth and final film was Saigon and it doesn't rate in the category of the other three.

Saigon has Ladd as a recently discharged Army Air Corps pilot who has not headed back to the USA, but hung around the Orient watching out for a buddy Douglas Dick who has had multiple surgeries due to head wounds. Dick has a platinum cranium courtesy of the war and the Army Medical Corps, but he's dying, he has maybe a month or two left.

Ladd and another of his crew Wally Cassell are hanging around to make Dick's life or what's left of it, happy. For that reason they accept a flying job to Saigon, no questions asked from Morris Carnovsky who is carrying a lot of cash from shady wartime dealings and Veronica Lake. They're getting $10,000.00 for the flight.

Lake and the cash get away all right, but Carnovsky is detained by the police who are firing at Ladd's plane as it is taking off. With them thinking Carnovsky is dead, the four are at liberty. Dick falls hard for the sexy Lake and Ladd wants to keep her around to make him happy in his last days. What a pal.

All these elements come together in a bloody climax that I will not reveal. The idea of a story about a dying soldier was handled far better the following year by Warner Brothers in The Hasty Heart.

This was also the second Alan Ladd film with a far east city title, the other being Calcutta from the year before. Although this film is better than Calcutta, it's still cut from the same routine action/adventure mold that Calcutta was taken from. And like Calcutta you would never know the problems that were happening in French IndoChina as the Viet Minh were starting their guerrilla war for independence against the French Colonial occupying power. Said power here is represented by Luther Adler who as always is giving a great performance.

Veronica Lake left Paramount the following year and Alan Ladd would follow a few years after that. Too bad their screen partnership ended on a mediocre note.

Saigon is the end of the line for Mike Perry (Douglas Dick). As a Captain in W.W.-II, Perry had taken a wound to the head, enduring 6 months of varied and complicated surgeries. And, as a crowning glory, earning a plate of platinum to match the medals on his chest. Despite the efforts of the best doctors, he is fading fast; only he doesn't know it. Rather than telling him and sending him home to die, Mike Perry's pals, Maj. Larry Briggs (Alan Ladd) and Sgt. Pete Rocco (Wally Cassell) decide to keep him on the move with them, as they travel the Far East. To cram "100 years of good living" into 2 months...maybe less. (For the rest, the only similarities with THE BLUE DAHLIA are 3 army-pals (Jimmy, George and Buzz), and 1 pal with a W.W.-II head-wound (Buzz).)

However, good living comes at a price: Larry Briggs and both boys take a flying job, offered them by the unscrupulous Alex Maris (Morris Carnovsky), and for a payment suspiciously high $10,000 suggests something more akin to smuggling rubies, than to an innocent business trip as Mr. Maris calls it. But then again, that kind of money could set thing up nicely for Mike Perry.

Shady deals often involve shady ladies. Just as the arranged flight is supposed to take off, Mr. Maris' secretary Susan Cleaver (Veronica Lake) appears on the scene, dressed in a leopard coat. Her demeanor is anything but sweet, a quality enhanced, when anyone reaches for the briefcase she carries; but something about her captures Mike's attentions… and Larry's. The attraction might have been a passing fancy, if Susan Cleaver didn't now find her lot thrown in with the boys', when the sound of gunfire triggers an emergency take off. Amidst much protest, Susan is bundled in, up, and off to Saigon (nowadays called "Ho Chi Minh City", Vietnam).

Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd amaze me with their sensitive portrayals, they give so much! Susan Cleaver and Larry Briggs are characters with a past, melancholy, but not devoid of all feeling, of all hope. In one scene, Larry Briggs points to a mark on Susan Cleaver's face, where she had been slapped. "Is this where he hit you?" Larry asks, leaning over to kiss the spot. "There, now it doesn't hurt anymore." Susan shows indifference, almost loathing… until he leaves the room. Then she turns slightly, resting her head against the bedpost….she's falling for him... There's another marvelous sequence involving an evening gown (made by Edith Head). Susan comes out of her hotel room, finding Larry on the adjoining balcony. Susan is resplendent in draped white. Larry walks up to her; Susan turns around to give him the full view, her usually straight face softened into a sweet expression. Gingerly, Larry takes the back collar of her gown, which is actually a hood, and frames Susan's beautiful face. Larry looks at her for a moment, and then with the same gentleness, lets it back down. "No. It looks better the other way, with your hair showing."...

I like "Saigon" very much. Performances are really excellent all the way around. Tender scenes are played with sincerity, as are the lighter moments that lend relief to this melodrama. Unconcerned with strict adherence to plot, it delves instead into character study, and is the better for it. It gives us the why, when and where, and leaves us to discover the how. The suspense and adventure are wonderful...the romance too!

I really look forward to the moment, when this great movie will be released on DVD; NTSC-VHS copies of this film are scarce nowadays. My proposal: a Veronica Lake DVD-box with Veronica's other scarce films, like "The Blue Dahlia", "The Glass Key", "I Wanted Wings" and "So Proudly We Hail!"

Robert

Neither Alan Ladd or Veronica Lake were among my favourite actors and actresses, but they were watchable and that is evident in their chemistry together, which sizzled at its best. It is a shame that this promising pairing only lasted for four films. Having enjoyed to loved their previous films, 'The Blue Dahlia', 'The Glass Key' and especially their first 'This Gun for Hire', was somewhat let down by their last pairing 'Saigon'.

Not because 'Saigon' is a terrible film. It isn't. There are enough decent, good even, things to make it worth a one time watch, if not much more than that. It just lacks or more doesn't have enough of what made Ladd and Lake's previous films as good as they were. If ranking their films, 'Saigon', as sad as it is to say, is by quite some way their weakest, seeing 'This Gun for Hire', 'The Glass Key' and 'The Blue Dahlia', in order of release, were good to great and this was only watchable (from personal opinion).

Whatever problems 'Saigon' had, they did not lie with Ladd and Lake, who are actually the reasons to watch it. Ladd has the right amount of understated steel, even if it is not a performance of burning intensity, and Lake does sultriness, iciness and vulnerability beautifully. A great contrast but a contrast that does not come over as disconnected on screen, their chemistry is still very believable if not quite sizzling.

Luther Adler is suitably shady and the film does come to life in the last twenty minutes, which did have the tension that was not there before and was the most surprising it got. 'Saigon's' photography is well orchestrated enough and the costumes are beautiful.

On the other hand, 'Saigon' does lack tension and suspense which does severely affect the momentum, which is sluggish, and the story is silly and with nothing that really surprises. The edge, snap and conciseness in the script are not there either, too much of the dialogue is perfunctory at best and sometimes limp. The flatness is obvious in the direction, which lacks tightness and energy and instead feels bland.

A better supporting cast would have made things better, with only Adler standing out or doing a lot with what he is. Everybody else seemed indifferent or to have little clue of what to do with their too conveniently black and white (meaning standard cliches, nothing to do with ethnicity) characters, Douglas Dick is particularly weak. Apart from the photography and costumes, the production values are not much special. There is a sense of a rushed production and there is a studio backlot look.

Summarising, worth a one time watch but have no real desire to see it again. 5/10

This last and least successful teaming of Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake is still highly watchable for the sizzling chemistry between them and the Byzantine, if predictable, plot twists and dagger wielding bad guys behind the curtains. Alan Ladd's character has decided to kick around the Far East waiting for his terminally ill army buddy to die, rather than return home to normalcy after WWII. The various plot-lines involving smugglers and murderers is of less interest than the screen presence of the two headliners.

This film begins with an American Army bomber pilot by the name of "Major Larry Briggs" (Alan Ladd) talking to a doctor in Shanghai concerning the health of his good friend "Captain Mike Perry" (Douglas Dick). Unfortunately, the news is not good as the doctor tells the major that his friend has terminal brain cancer and only has 2 to 3 months to live. Since both of them have recently been discharged from the army the major decides not to tell his friend of his condition but rather invites him to go with with him and another member of their team "Staff Sergeant Pete Rocco" (Wally Cassell) on a job flying a private civilian airplane from there to Saigon. Although the major suspects that there is something illegal involved with this mission he is determined to give his good friend the best 2 months of his life in the Orient. What he doesn't count on is becoming directly involved after the flight ends. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a fairly good grade-B movie which had a decent plot and some solid acting-especially on the part of Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake (as "Susan Cleaver"). That being said, for a story supposedly taking place in the Orient, the sets seemed to have a slight Hollywood feel to them here and there. But that's to be expected for the most part in American films during this period I suppose. In any case, I considered this movie to be good enough for the time spent and I have rated it accordingly. Average.

This is a very rare film. There has never been a commercial release to my knowledge. The print I viewed was transferred from 16mm and although it is a beat up print, it is fairly sharp. The story centers around three wartime airmen, who are waiting for one of them to regain his health. The bad news comes right at the start. One of the friends, Mike (Douglas Dick) has only a couple of months to live. His two buddies Larry (Alan Ladd) and Pete (Wally Cassell) decide not to tell him he's dying. Instead, they decide to go out with a bang and have one great, last adventure.

Larry decides the adventure will start by flying a wealthy businessman's cargo to Saigon. The businessman,Mr. Maris (Morris Carnovsky), agrees to pay the men $10,000 for the delivery. When the friends arrive to transport the shipment to Saigon, they find only Maris's beautiful secretary, Susan. She (Veronica Lake) reveals there is no cargo, only a suitcase. Larry begins to smell a rat, but he can't turn back, as the police show up firing bullets as the plane takes to the air.

It is revealed that the suitcase contains $500,000 and that Maris was trying to abscond with it. Larry ponders how deeply involved Susan is involved in the deception. Things take a turn on the journey to Saigon. Mike, the dying airman, falls for Susan. She is torn, as she still believes her boss is legit and the three friends may be crooked. Eventually, her views soften when she learns Mike is dying and sees how concerned his friends are. She agrees to a light romance with Mike, knowing his days are numbered.

The denouement comes at a posh Saigon hotel. The four have arrived safely, but so has a police official (Luther Adler) who knows about Maris' plan and the missing $500,000. Maris finally shows in Susan's room to retrieve the suitcase. She explains she no longer has it and the final fireworks start.

I'll be honest. Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd are two of my favorites. Ladd was my dad's favorite actor, and he's in my top two. Veronica, was a stunningly beautiful woman and she had that sparkle. There is a scene in the movie, towards the end, where she dons a white gown. In the night, she glides like the flame of a candle, dancing in the wind. Breathtaking in her beauty.