Yellow Canary

British, made in 1943, which tells you the ideological basis of the film.

It's a well-worked story of deception and counter-deception, mostly set in Halifax, NS. Evil Nazi agents and heroic British agents, with Richard Greene looking handsomer than ever in the van, mount operations against each other. Anna Neagle plays a double agent, which means she has to act acting, a test of ability which she carries off very well.

Margaret Rutherford has a stormer of a cameo role, shamelessly stealing every scene she's in. Her line "Wouldn't it be nice to do something violent?" is a classic.

Well above average example of routine genre.

Anna Neagle ("Sally") is quite efficient as the supposed Nazi sympathiser who abandons her family in a frequently bombed London and heads to the safety of Nova Scotia. En route, she attracts the attention of both the suave Polish officer "Jan Orlock" (Albert Lieven) and of the apparently hapless British one - Richard Greene ("Garrick") on the boat. On arrival, she befriends the mother of "Orlock" (Lucie Mannheim) and our story of espionage and counter-espionage begins in earnest. Nobody is exactly - or even remotely - whom they say they are and Herbert Wilcox manages to keep us guessing for much of the film, helped by three decent lead performances and quite a good story. Margaret Rutherford has some fun, in her very typical fashion to add a bit of light comedy (and sheer bloody mindedness) to the mix too and all told, this is a gently engaging tale of courage and bravery that is just about plausible.

Sally Maitland leaves behind her family, for a new life in Halifax, Canada. Having lived in Germany for some time, Sally is seen as a Nazi sympathiser, mistrusted even by her nearest and dearest. Sally is watched throughout her journey.

It's an enjoyable enough spy thriller from the 1940's, what makes this film all the more interesting, is the fact that it was made in the middle of the second world war, so it's somewhat different to the films that were made at the end of the war.

It's well made and well acted, it's a very attractive looking film, and definitely an interesting story, the burning question you'll have going in, is Sally a Nazi sympathiser or not, it doesn't take too long to work it out.

Anna Neagle and Richard Greene are both excellent, a hugely glamorous duo, both of whom had a real screen presence, both were excellent, I can't help but think the film was stolen however, by Margaret Rutherford, a small role, but a hugely effective one.

7/10.

This is a very clever thriller for its many fascinating details, its splendid dialogue and its total unpredictability. Anna Neagle makes a performance to go down in history, if all her other films will be forgotten, this one will not. Richard Greene also makes one of his best contributions, but the major male actor here is Albert Lieven as the Polish officer, who also makes probably his best performance. He was later to play the lead in "Beware of Pity" (on Stefan Zweig's famous and only novel) but is rather bleak there in comparison with this fascinating character; but this film is full of double characters, as if the major theme of the story and film was just that: double role play.

Herbert Wilcox, director and producer and Anna Neagle's husband, made his mark by witty innovations and brilliant dialogue, which places this spy thriller on a higher level than most, especially of the period. The intrigue is fascinating all the way, as you never can guess what will happen next, the film actually starts off with a profound mystery, as a man is found dead where someone just has been signalling to the Nazis bombing London in the 1940 Blitz, a mystery which leaves you hanging, and it's not until late in the film when you almost already have forgotten it that it is resolved.

The very introduction to the film is also worth a remark. Like in "Hamlet" two watchmen are chatting in the fog at night when the Blitz comes, but what they are discussing is Shakespeare. The other says Bacon, and there is an argument about it, until the second quotes Doctor Johnson: "If Bacon didn't write Shakespeare, he certainly missed his chance."

The scene is London and Canada, that is Halifax in Nova Scotia, and you reach the other scene exactly half way into the film, where Anna Neagle is stranded as a suspect spy or as a security risk placed under constant surveillance, while there is much more to it than that, as the action will prove.

Lucie Mannheim also makes a fascinating performance as the old lady Orlock, but the real original treat is Margaret Rutherford as one of her many delightfully eccentric old ladies - she dominates every scene she is in and gives a special relish of refreshment to the whole film.

In brief, this is and remains a timeless treat for everyone who would enjoy being intrigued.

The U. S. version of this film (and also a Spanish-subtitled version on Amazon, apparently) is missing around 11 minutes near the beginning. The minutes are rather important, because they include a scene at the protagonist's home that is helpful for later developments. Those minutes also include Nova Pilbeam, who plays the protagonist's sister. This is the version shown on TCM. However, there is a seemingly complete version currently (2021) available on youtube, and the viewer should watch the first quarter-hour there. I thought I was alerted to this fact here on IMDb, and I wanted to thank the user, but I can't find the note. It must have been two reviewers of the Spanish-subtitled version on Amazon. Enjoyable film, more enjoyable with the minutes included. Happy to see Richard Greene, because I always used to watch him in Robin Hood when I was a child. Margaret Rutherford is terrific in her small parts, and Anna Neagle is very good too.