Passport to Destiny

I would have love to have known what Dr.Goebbels would have made of this incredible piece of wartime propaganda about a patriotic cockney cleaning lady from Camberwell who in a twist similar to 'DOA' is emboldened by the possession of a Magic Eye formerly in the possession of her late husband which she believes makes her indestructible, and thus sets off for Berlin to assassinate Hitler (where everyone conveniently speaks in English and she avoids exposure by passing herself off as a deaf mute).

As usual, Hollywood has strange ideas about the way the Nazi hierarchy functioned; and this version would have us believe that Himmler's office was located directly opposite Hitler's in the Chancellery, with Goebbels' cosily adjacent. William Joyce - as portrayed by the ever urbane Gavin Muir - according to this account has the run of the place, but seems to have little time for his Nazi minders nor they for him.

It's all complete nonsense, done on a shoestring; but it lifts the spirits to see the gorgeous Elsa Lanchester for her only time in Hollywood cast in the lead (she had starred in a few short silent comedies back in blighty fifteen years earlier) and she rises to the occasion with a gusto that amply makes up for the general shabbiness of the rest of the production.

To make a successful comedy/action movie about Hitler and Co, filmed in the midst of World War Two, requires the genius of a Lubitsch (i.e. "To Be Or Not To Be") rather than what we have here, namely Leo Mc Carey's kid brother with about a fifth of his elder sib's talent. It also does not help that the screenplay provides alarmingly few funny lines or interesting characters beyond Ms. Lanchester's indomitable janitor. So we are left with a decent performance by the usually hammy but this time blessedly more restrained Lanchester and comedy that is not all that funny and action that is not all that action-y. And I really could have done without the relatively benign treatment of Lord Haw Haw. Solid C.

Passport to Destiny (1944)

** (out of 4)

Bizarre "comedy" from RKO about Ella Muggins (Elsa Lanchester), a British woman who keeps with her a special glass eye, which her husband (photos of Charles Laughton are used) used to escape any bad harm. She decides to take this charm to Germany where she's going to work as a deaf and dumb house cleaner and she plans to get into Hitler's office and assassinate him. I'm really not too sure what RKO was thinking but this here is pretty much dead on arrival and if it weren't for the charm of Lanchester then we'd really have a disaster on our hands. This film is clearly just for fans of the actress since this here was her first and only leading role. I thought she managed to be quite charming here and especially during the scenes where she's pretending not to be able to hear anything going on. I'm sure some might take offense to this but the actress does a pretty good job in the part and she certainly helps keep the 65-minute running time moving at a decent pace. The one bit of trivia that might make this film appeal to some is that Lanchester was in BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN and co-star Lenore Aubert would eventually appear in the studio's ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN so perhaps Universal monster fans will want to see the two together. Gordon Oliver is also good in his supporting role. PASSPORT TO DESTINY is supposed to be a comedy but for the life of me I don't remember laughing a single time. The film manages to be mildly entertaining simply because of how strange the story is but it's just way too predictable and unfunny to really work.

Preposterous but fun film starring Elsa Lanchester as a British cleaning woman whose late husband (a photo of Charles Laughton) was saved from crocodiles by a glass eye he carried.

She believes this eye to have magic powers. She believes it will protect her against all eventualities, so she decides to go to Germany and kill Hitler.

I had a feeling I'd seen this film, and when I heard Lanchester's name in the film, Mrs. Muggins, I knew I had. I named one of my cats Muggins.

Pretending to be deaf and dumb, Mrs. M gets a job at Hitler's headquarters, though he's out of town at the time. She does, however, manage to pass information to an agent about the whereabouts of his girlfriend. What she doesn't realize is that the Nazis have actually let the woman leave prison and have followed her and the agent and know of Mrs. Muggins' involvement.

Though Lanchester was 42 at the time of this film, she doesn't look it and is quite pretty. She gives a lively performance and is very funny, though the humor comes out of the seriousness of her character and her belief in this magic piece. Seeing her order a Nazi to get her coat was too much, as was her rehearsal for murder in Hitler's office.

The rest of the cast is good, and despite the fact that it was done on a set, you really do think you're in London and Berlin somehow.

Short, and Lanchester is always a pleasure.

While I have seen a lot of wartime propaganda pictures, I must admit that "Passport to Destiny" is among the strangest of them! The story is about a very weird lady (Elsa Lanchester) who thinks her good luck charm will keep her from all harm. And, because of this, she is going to sneak into Germany and murder Hitler!!

The lady rather easily arrives in Germany and pretends to be deaf and unable to talk. Oddly, the Nazis hire her as a janitor to work in the very building where the top Nazis work...and her plan appears to be going quite well. So what's next? See the film.

The film never really makes much sense and if you are looking for realism, you had best skip this one. Lanchester's character rather easily gets into wartime Germany and gets out even easier! And, she very easily gets a job with access to top Nazis....something else that makes little sense. So, provided you can turn off your brain and just enjoy, the film is worth seeing--otherwise, it's a dopey little film, that's for sure!