La dame sans passeport

History repeats itself, again and again. Cuba was a magnet for people running away from Europe, before and after WWII. The country was a stepping stone for entering legally, or illegally, in the United States. At that time Cubans lived somewhat placidly in their land, but as things changed there, they are the ones trying to escape from the horrible conditions in that country.

We are taken along to Havana by an Inmigration officer trying to find who is behind the smuggling of illegal refugees into America. This officer gets to know soon after his arrival the connection is Polinov, a shady character who has a pretty thing going operating from his Gulf Stream bar in the old section of town.

Joseph H. Lewis directed this MGM film that has a look of being a B type picture, even though Hedy Lamarr was the main attraction going for it. Ms. Lamarr was totally wasted in the movie. As Marianne, the gorgeous woman who wants to get to America, she shows hardly any emotion and is, in general, a bland addition to the film. John Hodiak shows some intensity and speaks with a heavy accent. George Macready is the evil Palinov.

The film shows a few scenes taken in Havana in all its beauty.

Not the best film that Hedy Lamarr has been in, but certainly another chance to enjoy this incredibly beautiful and talented actress. She made this semi-documentary film noir after Samson and Delilah. Supposedly, she got paid some big bucks as she was a hot property at the time.

The story takes place in pre-Castro Cuba, but it is basically the same as today. It was a jumping off spot for refugees from Europe who wanted to come to the US. Hedy plays a Buchenwald concentration camp victim that has been bouncing around, is broke, and only 90 miles from her dream.

She runs into an INS agent (John Hodiak) that is working undercover to find out about the smugging into the US. Director Joseph H. Lewis was more familiar with westerns, and you can see that here as Hodiak ends up playing Dudley Do-right and rescuing Nell (Lamarr) from Snidely Whiplash (George Macready, who plays a great cultured bad guy).

A quality story, it's not, but. hey, we came here for Hedy.

Hedy Lamarr is the Lady Without a Passport, stuck in Havana and looking to get to the USA by any means necessary. George Macready is willing to help for a hefty price. John Hodiak is an immigration cop who is undercover investigating Macready's activities. Both have taken an interest in Lamarr and who could blame them for that.

Hedy's career had been sliding downhill until her film just prior to A Lady Without a Passport. She had just come off Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah which was a comeback film for her.

So from a mammoth multimillion dollar Cecil B. DeMille film, Hedy went into this? Don't get me wrong, A Lady Without a Passport is a good low budget crime drama. But I would have thought Hedy must have gotten better offers after Samson and Delilah.

Anyway though it's worth a look. George Macready is always one of the most fascinating villains the screen has ever produced.

It almost feels "A Lady Without Passport" shot today could be a comedy: John Hodiak playing half the film with a Cuban accent, Hedy Lamarr, the ice-cold Jewish princess often seeming not the least bit interested... but, it's meant serious and has a solid feel. Not badly directed by Benny Lewis' brother, Joseph, shot mostly on Lot 3 doubling for pre-Castro Havana, S. Florida and the Everglades (the swamp buggy was authentic, the café sequence, a set), the location work with doubles in Florida and Cuba cuts smoothly with principal photography, though the miniature work is a little choppy. David Raksin's atonal score pulls together the films dark 50s moods of terror and careful optimism.

The lady from the title refers to Hedy Lamarr. However, although her character is referred to in the title of the film, she really is not the star of this picture. Instead, John Hodiak is the star and he does a very nice job playing dual roles--an American immigration agent as well as a stateless Hungarian.

When the film begins, a man is accidentally run over when escaping from someone. Why folks are chasing him isn't certain...and you learn more about this as the film progresses. It seems that this unknown dead man is an illegal alien...and clues on his body point to his having just been in Cuba. So, Peter (Hodiak) goes down to this island nation to investigate...with the help of the local police. The trail then leads to a smooth but deadly jerk, played very well by George Macready (he played snake-like characters very well). So how is pretty Hedy involved? Watch the film.

I think for Ms. Lamarr, this film was a letdown and didn't do a lot for her career. Now it isn't because it's a bad film at all...it's very good. But she isn't given a lot to do but look pretty...even, inexplicably, during a trek through the Everglades near the end of the film...and her makeup and hair look superb!!! I live in Florida and even if this had been in the middle of winter, she sure COULDN'T have looked that perfect! Well worth seeing...and an interesting and unusual plot.