A Lady Without Passport (1950)

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The title character of "A Lady Without Passport" is Marianne Lorress (Hedy Lamar), a Viennese ex-patriate who has waited years to immigrate to the U.S. where her father lives. She is stuck in Cuba due to American regulations and is down on her luck. There she meets Pete Karczag (John Hodiak), an INS agent who is trying to bust a smuggling ring.An ex-pat in a way station, waiting to leave but held back by the authorities. Where have we heard that before? Yes, this is undoubtedly another of the films inspired by the success of "Casablanca" (1942). But it lacks the intensity or charm of the Bogart vehicle. The set for the hotel in this film looks like the set from "To Have and Have Not" (1944), another film about ex-pats trying to get away.But let me focus on the positive aspects of the film. First, there is John Hodiak. The character he plays is clever and street smart--traits that Hodiak pulls off quite well. Secondly, there are the Havana location shots that add an authenticity and the little bit of charm that the film possesses. Lastly, the (B&W) photography shows some originality and adds to the mood of the narrative. The music feels inappropriate at times, but first-rate at other times. Ms. Lamar falls short of being the woman who drives the story and who inspires a man to risk his life.

**SPOILERS** Film about a smuggling ring operating out of Havana Cuba getting fake papers and passports for people desperately trying to enter the United States. It becomes apparent to the US Immigration Service that something is not right in Miami when Ramon Santez, Charles Wagenheim, is killed in a car accident in NYC. Having just arrived from Cuba Sentez was in possession of a half $1,000.00 bill when he was killed. We earlier saw that Santez was scared by this stranger who approached him in a car and threatened Sentez about something that he had going with this guy named Palinov, Geore Macready. That threat had him running for his life and head first into a moving automobile! who's the heck is this Palinov?It's later fond out by the INS, Immigration and Naturalization Service, that Sentez was in the country illegally. It's also found out that he was supposed to pay the person who scared him into practically killing himself the other half of the bill that he had on him. Sending Hungarian/American INS agent Pete Karcgaz, John Hodiak, to Havana Cuba to check on the late Satnez connections there Pete decides to go undercover as an Hungarian national. Pete masquerade's around as the snobbish and self-centered Josef Gombush who's trying to enter the United States. This act on Petes part is to get to the bottom of the story that leads him straight to the mysterious Palinov.It's Palinov who approaches Gombush, the undercover INS agent Karczag, not the other way around and invites him to his café the "Gulf Stream" in downtown Havana to talk business. Needing $1,000.00 to get the papers in order for Gombush to enter the US Palinov felt that the guy is loaded and $1,000.00 feed can easily be doubled or even tripled by him.It just happens that Palinov is also working on the papers of beautiful Buchenwald Concentration Camp survivor Marianne Lorress, Hedy Lamarr, who doesn't have the cash, $1,000.00, but sure as hell has the looks to get him to get her into the United States. Gombush/Karcgaz also notices the gorgeous knock-out Marianne at the café which almost causes him to lose both his composure as well as his fake Hungarian accent.Gombush/Karcgaz really over doing it by acting like some high class jerk get's Palinov suspicious of his intentions. He later has a number of his boys break into Gombush's hotel room and work him over. It's then found out that Gombush is actually Pete Karczag American INS agent which completely blows his cover. Knowing that the heat is on Palinov starts to work fast to check out of Cuba but makes a point to point out to the exotic and alluring Marianne that her boyfriend Gombush, he didn't take long to make a move on her,is really American INS agent Pete Karczag! This has her drop Karczag cold and leave together with Palinvo, who's also crazy about her, and a number of other illegal refugees on a chartered plane to Florida.With the US military and local police having an all points bulletin out in looking for him Palinov has his pilot James ,Bruce Cowling, crash land in the wetlands of the Florida Everglades It's then that Palinov takes off with James and of course the captivating Marianne by rubber raft for the open sea in a boat that he had hidden in the swamps.Tracked down by INS agent Karcgaz and his boss chief Westake, James Craig, Palinvo ends up losing his pilot James to an attack by a poisonous water-moccasins. Palivo now on foot makes it to the boat only to run into Karcgaz who made it there first. After trying to shoot and miss both Karcgaz and, I guess he didn't love her anymore, Marianne Palinvo helplessly sails into the fog to Key West. With all his plans now shot to pieces Palinvo is then picked up by the awaiting US Coast Guard as he become stranded, because of agent Karcgaz sabotaging his boat, in the Caribbean Sea.

Hedy wanted to go back to her old studio, MGM with some pride after her great success in Samson and Delilah. Mayer wanted her so badly, he first offered her the role of Poppea in Quo Vadis with her old co star Robert Taylor from Lady of the Tropics. Fortunately she refused that role. Then Mayer offered her this role when it was originally titled "Visa". She didn't think much of it either, but she was quite satisfied as bleeding Mr Mayer of $90000.00 for the role. He wanted to capitalize on her 'comeback' and he reluctantly agreed. Getting money out of him was like getting water out of a rock. It was quite a feat for Hedy. It was a very high price for an actress at that time. Today, even starlets get that amount. But it turned out to be a nice little film, mainly because of her beauty. Hodiak was not the ideal leading man. Mcready was his typical nasty self and very good.

Before they went wide screen MGM, had a brief period of taking on likely action movie directors and pouring more money into their work than they or the audience were used to. Anthony Mann benefited with BORDER INCIDENT. John Sturges got THE PEOPLE AGAINST O'HARA and Joe Lewis scored this sweaty thriller, where the character people who enlivened his Columbia work can be seen milling round behind Metro's contract leads.The director was demoted to B movies after this, rather unjustly, as it's not only probably his most ambitious outing but also a very efficient entertainment. Lewis' handling breaks through the Metro gloss occasionally - the facing profiles of the death struggle, McCready firing into the fog after Hodiak has tricked him. The immigrant smuggling story adds surprising elements like the professionalism of the bad guys. "If he is killed he will be replaced - probably by a smarter man." One of the best aspects is the film's picture of Cuba, with Hodiak squiring Hedy's double round the real city along with studio construction which runs to a functional tramway, art director interiors and back projection. The seedy, fading opulent hotel the leads share is particularly evocative. While the process work occasionally shows, the model plane crash is a considerable set piece. The glamour shots of Hedy reveal the studio input, not altogether to the film's advantage. She acts well enough and looks mature-appealing with the hints of having been around enough to accept McCready's protection. Surprisingly sympathetic treatment of aliens "A little thing like an accent, a foreign name will set you apart" relates to the Dore Schary era multi culturalism of BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK or BORDER INCIDENT again.