Saigon

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.

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.

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 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

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.