Calcutta (1947)

Neale and Pedro fly cargo between Chungking and Calcutta. When their buddy Bill is murdered they investigate. Neale meets Bill's fiancée Virginia and becomes suspicious of a deeper plot while also falling for her charms.

Director:

John Farrow

Writer:

Seton I. Miller (written for the screen by)

Stars:

Alan Ladd, Gail Russell, William Bendix

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Alan Ladd	...	Neale Gordon
Gail Russell	...	Virginia Moore
William Bendix	...	Pedro Blake
June Duprez	...	Marina Tanev
Lowell Gilmore	...	Eric Lasser
Edith King	...	Mrs. Smith
Paul Singh	...	Mul Raj Malik
Gavin Muir	...	Inspector Kendricks
John Whitney	...	Bill Cunningham
Benson Fong	...	Young Chinese Clerk

Storyline

Neale Gordon and Pedro Lake, commercial pilots who fly the hump between Chungking and Calcutta learn, when they reach Calcutta, that their pal, Bill Cunningham, has been murdered. Neales investigation leads him to the Chalgani Club, run by Eric Lasser. Marina Tanov, the club's Russian singer, in love with Neale, tells him that Bill was engaged to an American girl, Virginia Moore. Neale seeks out Virginia, who admits that Bill gave her the $10,000 necklace she is wearing. Knowing that Bill never had that kind of money, Neale checks up. He learns that Bill had actually bought and paid for it. Neale and Virginia are having a drink at the bar when Pedro shows Neale a valuable star-sapphire which he found in the hangar. The pilots then realize they have stumbled onto a smuggling racket. Neale is convinced that Virginia is not involved.

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Plot Keywords:

place name in title | deception | pilot | singer | russian | 

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Taglines:

Adventure In The Far East ! Battling Buddies Gunning For Trouble !

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 August 1947 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Calcutta

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed in 1945, but not released until 1947.

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Goofs

When Neale takes Virginia Moore out for drinks, he orders two gin slings with ice. When the waiter brings their drinks, he announces, "Brandy and soda."

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Soundtracks

This Is Madness
(uncredited)
Written by Bernie Wayne and Ben Raleigh
Sung by June Duprez

User Reviews

Lame

I like Alan Ladd but this is one of his weakest films. No plot. No excitement. Gail Russell is attractive but couldn't act if her life depended on it. She has the same facial expression throughout the film regardless of the scene. When she's told her fiancé has been murdered-no expression. When she's making out with Alan Ladd- no expression. If only Veronica Lake had been available. Ladd is always good. This was still at a time when they had him take off his shirt in every movie. And the Calcutta we see is entity on the Paramount backlot. Maybe with some decent writing, some villains, maybe a plot, this could have been something Quite a bore.