Five years after their first collab, the hottest Hollywood duo in history, Veronica Lake and Alan Ladd, exude sexual energy again. Today's film industry has no one like Veronica Lake, and this is sad. The last half century in moviemaking certainly lacks alluring and talented female leads. Having spent time in southeast Asia and Vietnam, I can attest to the amount of sweat a man can lose. The presence of Veronica Lake in this setting would have been almost unfair. Our feature today is 1947's "Saigon," directed by Leslie Fenton. This is an extremely hard film to find, but if you do, it is a must watch.
The war has just ended. Major Larry Briggs (Ladd) has just received some awful news from an army doctor. His captain, Mike (Douglas Dick) will die from his head injuries within 60 days. Larry tells the doctor not to tell him as the good major will tell Mike in his own way. His own way? Not tell him, but make sure Mike's last 60 days are crammed with 100 years worth of a happy life. Enter Veronica Lake as Susan. Susan is the "secretary" for a crime lord named Alex Maris (Morris Carovsky). In reality, she is probably more than just a secretary. Alex pays Mike and his bomber crew $10K to fly him from Shanghai to Saigon. A gunfight with the cops makes Alex miss the flight but Susan arrives carrying Alex' briefcase of hot loot. Mike takes to Susan immediately, as do we. Larry and his sergeant, Pete (Wally Cassell) know her for what she is...a mobster's toy.
The airplane is junk and crash lands short of Saigon. There a French cop, Lt. Keon (Arthur Adler) realizes this surviving quartet is quite suspicious. Larry has an idea...he blackmails Susan, and takes her briefcase of loot. The deal, he won't turn her into the cops if she makes Mike's last days on Earth happy. Susan has no choice but does a great job. Mike is full of goodness and Susan knows she is just a mobster's toy. She falls for him but knows Mike has fallen in love with a lie. Uh oh...Susan falls for Larry. Mike speeds toward death and he has no idea that that is his prognosis. He proposes to Susan. Lt. Keon gets closer to arresting Susan. Mike falls more in love with Susan. Even worse...homicide and gunfights will invade the plot.
Will Susan end up with Larry or be the toy of other female prisoners in a Vietnamese jail? Is there a medical miracle in the plot for Mike? Will Susan end up like many a mobster's girlfriends end up? Veronica Lake gives a sultry performance and the scenes when she is clad in the white evening gown are a testament to what allure and seduction are. For a great Film Noir film set in the gritty streets of Shanghai and Saigon, see "Saigon," if you can find it.
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