Watched: 11/27/2025
Format: BluRay
Viewing: First
Director: Leslie Fenton
I was pretty psyched to see a new-to-me movie starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. And one that was set in a post-WWII Saigon. I was very curious how they'd handle the dynamics of the French colonialism, Japanese occupation, rise of Communism, etc...
Well, the answer is, none of that comes up. In fact, I don't think there's a single Vietnamese person in this movie. That's... wild.
I *do* like the basic idea of the plot.
Three Army Air Corp soldiers in post-War China are getting discharged. One of them doesn't know he has only 2-3 months to live due to an ailment (cancer? something else?) but will likely just die suddenly. So, the other two decide to show him the time of his life, which they can do if they take a lucrative but shady gig flying a businessman from Shanghai to Saigon.
But when they go to get the plane and fly him out, the cops stop the businessman, while his secretary, Veronica Lake, jumps in the plane and they fly off. The plane crashes in Vietnam, and they make their way to Saigon. Along the way, the dying man falls for Lake (reasonable) while she spars with Alan Ladd.
Oh, and she has a briefcase full of cash.
And, as Lake humors the dying guy, she and Ladd start to fall for each other.
Anyway, it's super weird. They treat it as if everyone in Vietnam is French? Or vaguely European? There's only one Asian person in the movie at the very beginning who sounds very Southern Californian.
The movie is fine. It'll never be a favorite, but when I was thinking "I don't think this is working", it kind of changed directions a few times and saved itself. It fits into that "it's fine" category, but closer to "it's good". But I just wasn't 100% on board. But I maybe need to give it another shot.
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