Three buddies, who are commercial pilots based in Calcutta, regularly fly cargo across the Himalayas between India and China. When one of them is murdered, the other two set out to find the killer. Beginning with a suspicious bank deposit and a carved diamond pendant, the pair uncover the victim's mysterious fiancé, a suitcase full of jewels, and another murder. Set in an exotic location on Paramount Studio's back lot, director John Farrow's "Calcutta" looks fabulous and has a competent cast, but the story is little more than a routine whodunnit, highlighted by John F. Seitz's rich black-and-white cinematography. Despite a few colorful supporting characters along the way, the plot develops without surprises, and viewers will guess the villain and the outcome long before the hero does.

Not the most expressive of actors, Alan Ladd plays Alan Ladd in the guise of Neale Gordon, the pilot who investigates the murder of his friend; Gordon, who is already involved with a Russian singer, becomes intrigued by his buddy's fiancé, played by Gail Russell. Gail Russell is not all that expressive either, and Pedro Blake, the third pilot, is William Bendix as William Bendix. Fortunately, the parts are undemanding, and the emphasis is on action and unraveling the plot.

Nominated for seven Academy Awards over his career, Seitz lensed such classics as "Sunset Boulevard," " The Lost Weekend," and "Double Indemnity." Seitz made movie stars glow like movie stars, and, in this film, he lavished his attention on Alan Ladd's blonde good looks and, to a lesser extent, on Gail Russell's dark beauty. Ladd even whips off his shirt to give audiences a look at his trim abs, although he radiates his handsome best while dressed in a white dinner jacket. Fans of Alan Ladd will relish "Calcutta" and savor the opportunity to freeze-frame several glamor shots of the star that are literally breath taking. While the film is not bad, just predictable, "Calcutta" is passably entertaining and a sturdy vehicle for Paramount's reigning star of the 1940's, Alan Ladd.

Alan Ladd and William Bendix are airline pilots based in Calcutta, flying the hump into China. They're surprised when fellow pilot John Whitney tells them he's going to get married. At first it looks like it's going to be a modern-dress version of GUNGA DIN. However, when they return to Calcutta, they find out Whitney is dead, with fiancee Gail Russell saddened by the news, and in possession of an $8,000 gem she says he gave her. He also had $35,000 in the bank, which is preposterous. With an assortment of exotic characters in the fringes and the police investigating, Ladd begins to poke around on his own.

It's a Maltese-Falcon sort of story, shot cheaply and accurately by John Farrow to appeal to Ladd's profitable audience -- so long as the budget didn't get out of control. It's shot mostly on interior sets, with one long shot of Ladd driving through the Paramount backlot, made up to look like Hollywood's idea of India.

Ladd always looks a little odd in these movies. His suits fit him, but seem to swim on him, and he keeps his lines short, clipped and just this side of surly, expressionless and with his lips barely moving, as if he were a ventrilogquist. The rest of the cast is filled out with minor names, although the crowd scenes are well stocked with extras. Seton Miller's script is serviceable, and it's another movie well turned out for all hands.