Num Corpo de Mulher

This is a rather weird spy thriller comedy with a lot of confusion into it, and not until towards the end the actions begin to make some sense and be interesting. Ray Milland and Paulette Goddard are always good and reliable as actors, they seldom disappointed any audience, and without them the film would have been nothing. Roland Young adds to the comedy, he is always an amusing success, but for the story, it is far-fetched and nonsensical and as far from any hint at realism as any constructed fiction yarn about spying could be. The finale is great, but before that there are just a tremendous lot of confusing loose ends of intrigue that stink of being just constructed to make some entertainment.

World War II. A female espionage agent has important Naval plans tattooed on her dorsal regions (making her the only person with a "Naval" on her back).

She travels to Lisbon to auction the plans off to the highest bidder, planning to travel under the name of a female reporter (Paulette Goddard) going to work for a tough-minded newsman (Ray Milland). Unfortunately, the spy is delayed so when Goddard arrives everyone thinks she's the agent, and they chase after her for the plans.

Clear, so far?

Roland Young plays the English agent who wants to see the plans before bidding. The Germans are also included in the auction. But Goddard thinks everyone is after her for herself. I've known women like that, myself. Young ropes Milland into the game, adding to the confusion.

The confusion generates some humor, especially from Young.

When she finds out the truth, Goddard ventures alone into the National Socialist embassy, fishing for a story. What could go wrong?

For such a slight little yarn this movie has a surprisingly strong cast, and they do what comedies are supposed to do: try for laughs. The third act turns serious, changing the tone and making it a tad schizophrenic. But it is wartime so a little propaganda is understandable.

When the film begins, a lady is having top secret plans drawn onto her back using invisible ink. She is NOT tattooed despite what the summary says...trust me on this! The plan is to have this lady travel to neutral Lisbon in order to sell it to the highest bidder-- be it the Allies or the Nazis! As a cover, the plan is to have this evil woman pretend to be Sidney Royce, a news correspondent. To do this, they arrange to have the real Ms. Royce waylaid. However, this part of the plan is messed up when their agent is captured by American customs officials...and the real Royce (Paulette Goddard) ends up in Lisbon BEFORE the fake one arrives. Immediately, she is shocked--she's given a suite in the hotel and it's paid for AND soon agents approach her and start making seemingly unseemly remakes to her--telling her to take off her clothes and show them her back!! She thinks the British and Nazi officials are just dirty old men-- not realizing that they think she has these plans on her back! There's much, much more to the story and a bit of a romance with a handsome correspondent (Ray Milland). How will all this craziness end? See the film.

This movie is an interesting and enjoyable blend of comedy, suspense and romance. Unusual to say the least and the plot does work despite the crazy story idea about invisible ink on a woman's back! Well worth seeing. Excellent acting and just fun to watch.

Bad girl Margaret Hayes (Rita) assumes the identity of reporter Paulette Goddard (Sidney) in order to pass on secrets to her Nazi contact Albert Dekker (The Baron) in Lisbon. She has some plans tattooed onto her back and then covered in invisible ink so nothing shows up. The information can be retrieved by applying another fluid onto her back. She is destined to meet up with Dekker at a Lisbon hotel, but, in a mix-up, it is Goddard who shows up at the hotel and is pursued for the information that she knows nothing about. Fellow reporter Ray Milland (Kenneth) is there to help solve the mystery as all are chased around the hotel.

The film plays out straight-forwardly with no real suspense and far too much comedy that isn't necessarily funny. Especially from the dithering Roland Young (Ronald) as a British envoy. There is an amusing sequence of events that involves Goddard, Dekker and Young at the beginning of the film when both Dekker and Young ask Goddard to remove her clothing. But that is the only stand-out scene apart from the beginning when Hayes gets her tattoo. The film also scores points for the hotel rooms and Goddard's outfits. However, the film is nothing more than an OK time-passer.

"The Lady Has Plans" is interesting for its content and timing alone. It's an American film that premiered on January 20, 1942. The U.S. had been in World War II just six weeks. That was two years after the start of WW II in Europe. Which means that this movie had been in the making since early in the war. Yet, some or much of its filming was done after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

While there's no indication that America was yet at war, this clearly is a WW II espionage film. It's part thriller and part comedy. A band of thieves steals military secrets to sell to the highest bidder. Nazi Germany is interested. So too is Great Britain. And, Japan is mentioned.

There is no presence of armed forces and no battles or military operations here. Rather, the action takes place mostly in neutral Portugal. Lisbon truly did become a city of spies and intrigue during WW II. This film gives an early peek at what Lisbon would become during the war. Several films during and after the war show the city as a hotbed of intrigue and espionage. It also was the great escape hatch for many who fled Nazi Europe for the Americas. That point is made in "Casablanca" and other films during and after the war.

The plot seems a little hokey - the smuggling of a secret plan drawn with invisible ink on a woman's back. But, it was certainly possible. A number of older movies were made about the use of invisible ink. In this case, the design of a secret American weapon is drawn with invisible ink on the back of an attractive woman spy. She has taken the identity of an American newswoman, Sidney Royce, who is being sent to Lisbon. The story doesn't divulge how the thieves knew about a reporter's transfer in time to hatch their plan and make fake passports and documents. But, the story unfolds with intrigue, occasional doses of humor, and some action when the real Royce gets to Lisbon ahead of the spy.

The cast all give fine performances. Ray Milland plays Kenneth Harper, head of the American news outfit. Paulette Goddard is Royce, the new reporter sent to help him. Roland Young is the British embassy intelligence officer and Albert Dekker plays the German embassy gestapo leader, Baron von Kemp. Margaret Hayes plays the female spy, Rita Lenox, and Addison Richards is the chief of the espionage thieves, Paul Baker.

Most viewers should enjoy this film. Collectors of war films and those interested in espionage films may want to add it to their film collections.