Passport to Suez

Not a whodunit, but a programmer about foreign intrigue. That's not surprising since the year is 1943, and WWII's outcome still hangs in the balance. So, can the Lone Wolf (William) thwart Nazi plans to close the vital Suez Canal, the lifeline to Allied war efforts in North Africa. To find the spies, he's got a lot of characters to sort through, including a stylish Ann Savage, who's already showing why Detour's (1945) Tom Neal is fatefully attracted. And catch the weird technology the Nazis are using to communicate, like threads in a handkerchief. All in all, it's an entertaining hour with the aristocratic William in fine form, along with Blore as comic relief. I just wish William were better remembered today. He could command the screen like few others. In fact, his pre-Code films, (Employees Entrance {1933}, et. al), remain recognized classics. Probably, the actor died too soon after the war (1948) to establish himself in later films. Too bad. Anyway, the movie's a solid and sometimes stylish programmer without being anything special.

With a long bow to Casablanca Warren William as Michael Lanyard The Lone Wolf gets an espionage assignment of which we're never quite sure because the Nazis capture him and valet Eric Blore.

William has joined the war effort and the bad guys try to decoy him and the British authorities away from their actual purpose which is to bomb and disable the Suez Canal, lifeline of the British Empire. They've recruited no one less than Blore's daughter-in-law to be Ann Savage as one cool spy. Is there no end to their scheming?

The film is set in Alexandria and it tries to be a cut rate Casablanca with Sheldon Leonard as nightclub owner Johnny who runs a café like Rick's where intrigue is an appetizer on the menu. Leonard usually a villain, is William's stalwart friend as the spies come real close to making a fool out of him.

This was the last of Warren William's films starring him as the Lone Wolf. But the best was definitely not saved for last.

In his ninth and last appearance as retired jewel thief Michael Lanyard-aka The Lone Wolf-the peerless Warren William again finds himself overseas helping to battle the Third Reich. This time, he and loyal valet Jamison (the priceless Eric Blore) arrive in Egypt, where Lanyard is promptly blackmailed into stealing vital documents that the Nazis need.

A decent Lone Wolf entry finds our hero sent in a wild goose chase by nazi spies, and gets involved with a femme fatale, thread in coded message, informers, and devious villains and that in an exotic locale. It's familiar and standard, yet really fun, thanks to the smooth plot, Eric Blore and the debonair Warren William who makes smooth and dashing a work of art.

The other user comment misses the point of this film entirely; Passport to Suez is not supposed to be a serious historical examination of what might have happened had the Nazis gained control of the Suez Canal, but a spy/mystery/adventure with some comedy laced in.

Warren William's final turn as Michael Lanyard is a real winner, thanks to a complex and witty script and the direction of the great Andre De Toth. The Lone Wolf films are always entertaining (with the exception of The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt, which was nearly ruined by Ida Lupino) but Passport to Suez has a classier feel than any of its predecessors. The camera-work in the film is moody and atmospheric, William's first meeting with Mr. X is very memorable, and one murder scene that takes place on an Alexandrian street is positively stunning, something Hitchcock needn't have been ashamed of. The mystery is intricate and well-meshed, and the script features a memorable array of colorful characters--Gavin Muir's friendly and urbane Nazi operative, Sheldon Leonard's slick nightclub owner, Anne Savage's femme fatale, Sig Arno's eccentric stool pigeon, Frederic Worlock's uptight British intelligence officer, Jay Novello's sleazy spy, and especially Lou Merrill's phlegmatic but deadly double-agent.

William himself handles the atypical seriousness of the plot perfectly and reins in his usual enjoyable hamminess, while Eric Blore provides impeccable comedy relief(his reaction to the mysterious phone caller at the beginning of the picture is hilarious--I feel that way with certain telemarketers).

The propaganda in the film is mercifully minuscule; it has none of the protracted speeches that popped up in the earlier Lone Wolf film Counter-Espionage. Aside from Warren's remark to Muir about the "New European Order having no room for sentiment," propaganda is bypassed for sheer entertainment.

A worthy finale to William's illustrious stint as the Lone Wolf.

The importance of the Suez Canal in World War II cannot be overstated, except in this movie where it seems grossly understated. Correspondent/spy Valerie Blore (as played by Ann Savage) correctly appraised the situation when she says: "Whoever wins Africa wins the war." The Suez Canal was pivotal to the shipping of petroleum from the oil rich nations to Germany, which required fuel both for production and for keeping its armor moving and its airplanes flying. Control of North Africa meant control of the Suez. Even more so, it would solidify the grandiose plan of physically linking Japan with Germany, a plan not likely to be effectuated. Still, this movie loosely addresses the problem of Axis control if certain secret information is leaked to the enemy.

As a film, if never quite stresses danger, with most of the action related to incidental elements: the engagement of Donald Jameson (Robert Stanford) to Valerie King, the bar owned by Johnny Booth (Sheldon Leonard), and the silly activities of the three counted-spies, whose movie names just happen to be Whistler, Rembrandt, and Cezanne. Most of the time the acting seems preoccupied with something other than what is happening. All in all, it seems a typical Lone Wolf movie where the danger of a nazi submarine lurking to get secret information is only slightly more important than the flowers in the hotel room. A major saving grace for this film is the acting of Eric Blore (as Jameson) who putters around as a sort of mini Winston Churchill.