A Lady Without Passport

By the time of "Lady Without a Passport," Hedy Lamarr had seen better days. Of course, having seen better days for Hedy Lamarr would be any other beautiful woman's ultimate moment. She was one of the great film beauties. She never was one of the great film actresses, however, although she's pretty good in this post-war film about immigrants trying to get into the U.S. illegally with the help of the always oily George Macready. Immigration operative John Hodiak is sent to Havana, where he poses as a Hungarian trying to get into the states. He falls in love with Lamarr along the way.

John Hodiak, who facially has always reminded me of Martin Landau, does a very good job. There is some magnificent Havana scenery to behold. For me the film bogs down in the protracted ending as everyone is tracing a plane, but picks up again in scenes filmed in the Florida everglades.

The movie is black and white and very atmospheric.

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.

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.

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.

Good film noir with Hedy Lamarr and John Hodiak. I think John Hodiak was a weak choice for this film; but I think that piece of casting was due to the low budget of this film; Hedy was reputedly paid $90,000, because of 'Samson and Delilah' This film could have obviously been better. However, I am a big Hedy Lamarr fan, and I thought 'Lady Without Passport, A' was a good film.