Movie review - Ladd #12 - "Saigon" (1948) **1/2

Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake made four films together, the first three classics - this fourth one is a very minor entry (and is the one liable to stump you on trivia night - not that I've ever heard an Alan Ladd question on trivia night). I was disappointed with it on first viewing but on a second go I enjoyed it more - in part because my expectations were lower and I could enjoy the good things the film did have, such as it's studio French Indo China setting, Ladd and Lake, some decent support cast, and brisk pace.

Its one of several films that had Alan Ladd as a pilot in the third world (Calcutta, Thunder in the East) - he plays a war veteran with two close mates, one of whom was clearly meant to be played by William Bendix (but who isn't), one of whom is played by a handsome contract actor and who in the film has a terminal illness. At which point you might say "huh?" - there was an earlier film about three pilot friends, one of whom had a terminal illness, called You Came Along, maybe the writers liked it - but most of the time this film forgets about this and has Ladd and his mates get involved transporting some contraband for a shady crook and a shady lady (Veronica Lake).

The Vietnam setting is an interesting one but not really exploited - there is a local French police officer (well played by Luther Adler), indicating the filmmakers probably had dreams about Casablanca but they don't come anywhere near close. Ladd is in pretty decent form but his scenes with Lake here don't sparkle and its really annoying that the sick friend is conveniently killed. (Actually both friends are killed.) Morris Carnovsky is a good crook - even if the heroes aren't that terrific because they are technically ripping him off.