Saigon

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.