User Reviews

Here we have Alan Ladd investigating the death of a close friend in Calcutta when India was still part of the British Em-Pah. Assisting him are his close pal, fellow pilot William Bendix. The two men fly cargo and passengers over the hump from India to China. That close friend used to be a pilot as well but he discovered some smuggling was going on and was strangled -- in Thugee fashion, with the garrote. The deceased may also have been particeps criminis but it's not clear. The explanation of this twisted tale, when it comes, comes in a torrent and is a little hard to follow.

What's not hard to follow is two of the most beautiful women of the movies of 1940, the exotic June Duprez and the girlish and vulnerable Gail Russell. Neither gets the treatment they deserve. Duprez, in love with Ladd, is "a good guy," except when he's casually boffing her. Russell, miscast as a liar and manipulator, acts and sounds as if she'd recently been snatched out of Santa Monica High School, given a few acting lessons, and thrust before the cameras, which she was.

There is a scene at the end, when Ladd confronts Russell with evidence of her guilt in the smuggling scheme. They've been more or less attracted to one another and have spent at least one night together. It's a blanched echo of the similar but far more intensely moving scene at the climax of "The Maltese Falcon." Alan Ladd is not Humphrey Bogart and Gail Russell is not treacherous. And in "Falcon," the dialog consists mostly of excerpts from Dashiel Hammet's novel, while here the screenwriter, Seton I. Miller, and the director, John Farrow, have turned it leaden. Ladd slaps Russell around to get her to talk. It's unpleasant.

I don't want to make the film sound like a total failure because it's not. A lot depends on individual taste. The Calcutta in which the tale takes place is Hollywood's idea of a foreign city. The "white men" wear uniforms or white suits. A few pith helmets are in evidence. We see one -- count 'em, one -- woman dressed in a sari but there are a plenitude of turbans. The streets are crowded but not full of garbage. The "white people" visit night clubs of a sophistication and decor that would be hard to find in New York City. They wear evening clothes. There are no cockroaches or mosquitoes, though there are one or two mosquito nets. I didn't see any beaded curtains and missed them terribly.

The movie is a bit sluggish. As is usual in these dramas, Ladd visits (or is visited by) one colorful character after another, all of their values ambiguous. One stand-out is the fat lady dressed like Mae West who smokes cigars and evidently runs some kind of whorehouse.

It's Hollywood craftsmanship. Not at its best, but at its most typical for the period. I rather enjoyed it.

Alan Ladd and William Bendix are cargo pilots in the far East. Shortly after their friend and fellow pilot John Whitney announces a surprise marriage, he's found murdered. Ladd decides to investigate the murder himself. Through nightclub singer June Duprez he tracks down the fiancée, Gail Russell, who seems very evasive. When he finds out her wedding present is a necklace Whitney could not possibly afford, he digs deeper, and slowly uncovers a smuggling ring, that might or might not involve Russell, who he is getting quite close to.

The movie is a mixed bag, in almost every way. The story wants to be a mystery, relying too much on peripheral characters who seem important but aren't, such as Edith King as the owner of a jewelry store.

Gail Russell's ('Moonrise') casting as a femme fatale seems like a potential goldmine, as she is one of the least likely actresses to play one. But she doesn't fully convince me, part of her appeal is her (real life) fragility and it doesn't mesh well with the more conniving aspects of her character. Duprez ('And Then There Were None') fits her role much much better, it's a shame it's such a minor role.

Ladd ('This Gun For Hire') on the other hand is great, altho chances are this part was written with him in mind anyways. He could portray tough and tenacious as well as anybody else. And he has excellent chemistry with Bendix ('The Dark Corner'), who is always solid. There's a funny scene early on in the movie with Ladd and Bendix stranded after mechanical issues. Ladd is bare chested, covered in dirt and sweat (I imagine some ladies in the audience wanted this scene to go on forever), while Bendix is still wearing his shirt and is barely sweating.

The movie's competently made, but director John Farrow ('The Big Clock') and DoP John F. Seitz ('Double Indemnity') have done way better and more remarkable movies. It makes the movie even more frustrating, so much talent in front of the camera as well as behind, and the end result (despite being a box office hit on release) is rather bland. Maybe if a better print surfaces I will enjoy it a bit more, but as it stands, it's only a 6/10

A somewhat disappointing film from the hands of ace director John Farrow (especially when compared with Leslie Fenton's somewhat similar Ladd vehicle, Saigon, made the following year). Of course he was hamstrung by a somewhat indifferent script whose writer was breathing down his neck as producer (although the script has some interesting characters who are particularly well-acted, the plot is wholly predictable and thus almost completely lacking in suspense); and by the casting of Gail Russell in a pivotal role. She is 100% inadequate, and is not too flatteringly photographed either.

All the same, Farrow does what he can: the introductory scenes of the film are put across in short snappy takes, but the scene in which Don Beddoe tells Ladd of Cunningham's death is handled very effectively in one long take with the camera almost stationary except for a short pan at the beginning and end of the scene. Other long takes follow - the scene in the morgue, the scene at police headquarters, but there is less reliance on this device than usual, as Miss Russell was unable to retain her lines without the use of an idiot board.

The sets are impressive, but they do not come up to the exotic standard of those in Saigon.

On the other hand, Miss Duprez does make a fabulous second lead.

My biggest complaint about Calcutta is it was way too long. I suspect Paramount knew this, which is why it sat on the shelf for two years. I am a huge Alan Ladd fan, but to be honest this is not one of his best efforts. The best of all is Gail Russell as a femme fatale. I know there are some who posted who thinks she is too nice to be so evil, but think of the line from the song Secret Agent: "A Pretty Smile Can Hide An Evil Mind." The movie is about Ladd as a pilot trying to figure out who murdered his friend, and of course Russell was one of those responsible. One interesting thing is a Russian played but June Duprez was good while the American played by Russell was bad ( very unusual). One person who was wasted was William Bendix who this time was on Ladd's side ( unlike The Glass Key ( a much better movie)). Spoilers ahead: Does Ladd win and end up with June Duprez? Of course he does but it takes too long to get there. I would recommend seeing The Glass Key instead of Calcutta. Why? A better story (again with Ladd trying to solve a murder), more concise, and oh yes, it has Veronica Lake). Anyway 6/10 stars in between fair and good and ruined by the film's length.

I have read the negative reviews, both concerning the overall impression of the movie and individual performances, and there may be some truth with them.

But look at this view of my feeling of Gail's performance. This acting might be both an indication of John Farrow's ability and talent in knowing how to direct an actress with Gail's temperament so excellently, and Gail's own capability in understanding this directing.

We first see Gail leaning over the stair railing, calling out to Alan Ladd if he is looking for her. Her posture here, her body language seems to me to show a personality of confidence and self-assurance. This demeanor of hers is bolstered, I feel, with a tone and articulation of voice adding to her firmness of mind.

In every scene and conversation with Ladd, Gail's character, I feel, shows us a guiltless innocence in tone and manner, betraying no emotion but simply, slyly, and slowly winning Ladd over, conning him. And she almost succeeds as Ladd says, "...you really got under my skin..." and "If I live too long I may get too crazy about you." In the end our hero saves himself from the sly seductress, though.

Gail's calm, self-confident, and subdued manner is apparent in every scene and always deliberate and intended to be that way. Her delicate, gentle looking face and tone is an excellent facade. For, we find out that she is the "fatal woman" of a big criminal organization. And who better to play this part than a sweet talking, innocent looking and sounding con artist and back stabbing woman who, "would have hated to kill you," as Gail's last words to Ladd are as she is lead away by the police.

Other examples of Gail's duplicitous behavior can be seen throughout the movie, and, I feel all very effectively accomplished with the helping hand of John Farrow's excellent direction.

"Calcutta" is a strange sort of film. Although it's set in Calcutta, very little of the movie looks Indian! Heck, you mostly seem to see white folks and Chinese people running about in this weirdo Hollywood version of the place! So, at the outset the film loses a few points and the whole India angle is oddly missing...and incidentally, William Bendix plays a guy named Pedro!

Early in the film, two pilots, Neale and Pedro (Alan Ladd and William Bendix) learn that their buddy had been murdered when they were out flying. Both vow to find out who it is and the picture follows Neale in his search. It first lands at the feet of Gail Russell--a girl the dead man was gaga about just before he was killed. They instantly hate each other and Neale doesn't trust her. Inexplicably, later they are in a clinch--which makes no sense in light of Neale's demeanor nor her just losing a boyfriend due to murder.

What follows is never particularly interesting. I agree with another reviewer that the film mostly rests on Ladd's shoulders to carry, as the writing and production was otherwise pretty dull stuff. Not a bad movie but in no way would I consider this a good movie either due to the indifferent writing. In many ways, the film is actually a ripoff of the plot from "The Maltese Falcon"....without any of the interesting characters or twists.

Calcutta, 1947. Viewed at Egyptian Theater, Hollywood, during film noir week. Another Ladd wartime programmer is "Calcutta" with always dependable beefy support from William Bendix. In this one both are military pilots flying missions over the Himalayas from Calcutta to Chungking. The "calcutta" location is obviously a studio set and the story quickly segues from a military setting to a noir drama in civilian clothes as Ladd and Bendix seek to track down the killer of their best pilot buddy. Ladd smokes a cigarette in nearly every scene emitting the smoke deftly through his nostrils and sports a wardrobe of white suits that is truly elegant. In a way this picture is more of a sartorial and cigarette promotion than a murder mystery. Ladd is more wooden than usual but looks great and that is really all that mattered to his fans of the time. The acting of the female lead, Gail Russell, is preposterously amateurish. When she delivered the line "you know how I feel about you" to a credulous Ladd it sounded so ridiculous it evoked unintended laughter from the sophisticated Egyptian audience.