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.

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

The team of Alan Ladd and William Bendix, as good friends off the screen as is shown on the screen in Calcutta, is the only real reason to watch this potboiler of an adventure story. The version I saw had several minutes cut out of it that were crucial to the plot.Ladd and Bendix play a pair of pilots ferrying cargo and passengers from Chungking to Calcutta and back over the 'Hump' which is what the pilots in wartime called the Himalayas. The native people there more picturesquely called the mountain range, 'the roof of the world'. It was a dangerous run and these guys decided to keep doing it and make some money after World War II. You can see the flag of Nationalist Kuomintang China on their flight jackets.Anyway a third buddy of there's John Whitney greets them in Calcutta after a dangerous run in which cargo had to be dumped and announces he's getting married. Ladd who has a loose relationship with June Duprez, and Bendix both don't think terribly much of the idea, but congratulate him anyway.The next day Whitney is strangled in the streets of Calcutta and Ladd and Bendix like in The Blue Dahlia the previous year are on the trail of the culprit. The first stop is Whitney's fiancé, pretty Gail Russell, who knows a lot more than she's telling. Let's just say that a whole lot of pilots are being made out to be saps.Tremendous events were going in both India and China at the time that Paramount was making Calcutta on their sound-stage yet from the story you would never know it. No hint at all is made about the Communist insurgency in China and in India you would think the British Raj was going to last another hundred years. Not one word about it in this potboiler of a plot which the Films of Alan Ladd says resembles Terry And The Pirates.Probably Calcutta would have been a lot better had we seen more of Bendix in the film. That's always good for any picture. However he gets to try and earn a living for the two of them while Ladd stays in Calcutta to solve the mystery. However it's Bendix who hears something from merchant Paul Singh that he tells Ladd about that starts the whole thing to unravel. Later on Bendix runs some interference with the British police that allows Ladd to stay free and solve the case.Calcutta is so typical of the potboiler films Ladd did and carried on the strength of his personality. It hasn't much else to recommend it.

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.