Passaporte para Suez

Enjoyable entry in the Lone Wolf series with ERIC BLORE supplying most of the humor with some clever lines and scene stealing tactics from WARREN WILLIAM, again playing the title role. It's a wartime espionage story with something about spies, mysterious laces, the glass on wristwatches and some '40s technology thrown in for good measure. All of it is highly improbable, as played here, and yet it's probably just the sort of escapist entertainment audiences wanted during WWII.

ANN SAVAGE is the femme fatale (as usual), but it's really Warren William and Eric Blore who share the spotlight beautifully, playing off each other with their usual dexterity.

SHELDON LEONARD has a good turn as a nightclub owner on the right side of the law and LLOYD BRIDGES again shows up in a brief supporting role.

Not bad, but not much above average either.

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.

I'm not familiar with the Lone Wolf series, but am happy enoufh to search out the others after this. I thought the cast a solid one, even if the lead sounds a little too Basil Rathbone as Holmes. The storyline about Nazi attempts to steal minefield plans was decent and I liked at least a couple of exciting scenes which I won't describe here. The finale was also well-handled and impressive.

Passport to Suez (1943)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Warren William is back as Michael Lanyard, aka The Lone Wolf, in his final entry in the series. This time out he's taking on a group of Nazis who decide to send him on a wild goose chase while they take care of the business they're really wanting to do and that's disable the Suez Canal. PASSPORT TO SUEZ isn't the best film in the Columbia series but I think there are enough good moments to where fans should remain entertained from start to finish. As with the previous entries, the main reason to watch the film is for the performance of William who was clearly in top form by this time in the series. As usual he has that cool, laid back style that works perfectly well for the material and he has no trouble bringing everything to life. Sheldon Leonard is pretty good in his part of the nightclub owner (a clear rip of CASABLANCA) and Eric Blore is back as the valet. We even have Lloyd Bridges showing up in the series yet again and playing yet another different character. The direction for the most part is pretty good as we get some nice style along the way and visually the film is quite good as well.