Passport to Suez (1943)

Memorable, crazy movie

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Warren William as Michael Lanyard, the Lone Wolf, tries to keep the Nazis from getting control of the Suez Canal in "Passport to Suez," a 1943 film, and William's last as the Lone Wolf.As with many of this type of film, the mission is a mcguffin in this well-directed mystery that is filled with humor and atmosphere. The cast is particularly good - besides William and Eric Blore as his butler, Anne Savage is the femme fatale, Sheldon Leonard a nightclub owner, and the cast is rounded out by Jay Novello as a spy, Frederic Norlock as an intelligence officer, Sig Arno, and Lou Merrill.Most of the humor comes from Blore, and he starts the film off with some great comedy over a phone call. William takes his assignment seriously; this is a slightly more sober Wolf. A fitting ending to a great run.

**SPOILERS** The "Lone Wolf" Michael Lanyard, Warren William, does his bit here in "Passport to Suez" for the allied, or good guys, cause. Lanyard prevents a plot by the Nazis to take over the rich oil fields in the Middle and Far East in an elaborately planned Pearl Harbor-like sneak attack.It's the Nazis plan to make a back door attack from the North on the Iraq Iran oil fields by invading natural Turkey! Thus outflanking the British 8th Army who's holding off Rommel's Afrika Corps at the Egyptian border in the South. The one thing that can make the Nazi plan successful is getting vital information on where the British 8th Army's armored and infantry units are stationed on the Egyptian/Libyan battlefront. Even more important is to get their hands on the layout-or map-of the minefields that the British had planted in the Western Desert in order to prevent an 8th Army counter-attack!Called on a secret mission to Alexandria Egypt by top British counter espionage man Sir. Robert, Frederick Warlock, Lanyard and his good friend the bumbling Bozo-like Jameson, Eric Blore, are told that the Nazi's plans for the conquest of the Mddle and Near-East will go into effect as soon as they get their hands on the secret plans, of British troop movements and minefield layouts, from the British Naval Admiralty in the city. It becomes very obvious to Lanyard that there's a Nazi spy, or spies, high up in the British foreign office here in Egypt! It's only later that Lanyard finds out that the spy is a lot closer to both him and Jameson then he could have ever thought!Somewhat more exciting "Lone Wolf" movie then what you would have expected with the smooth as silk and brainy Lanyard using his fists in him throwing devastatingly short left hooks, that could floor a Joe Louis or Billy Cann, instead of his wits to take on a gang of Nazi spies. Lanyard also gets to show off his flying skills by hopping on a WWI biplane and chasing and finally gunning down the fleeing Nazis. That's before they can make it back to preordained spot outside Alexandria Harbor, with the secret plans they stole from the British Admiralty, and be rescued by an awaiting German U-Boat.***SPOILERS*** It was the Nazis sinister plan to get to Jameson's son British Naval Officer Donald Jameson's, Robert Stanford, to unknowingly have him get the secret plans for them. Using Nazi Agent Valerie King, Ann Savage, posing as a British foreign correspondent to get romantically involved with Donald worked up to a point until Lanyard smelled a rat in their not so perfect "Perfect Plan": Valerie's forged passport!Knowing that time is very short with the Nazis about to put their invasion plans into action Lanyard together with Jameson now made to look by the Nazis as being in bed with them, due to young Jameson affair with Nazi spy Valerie King, have to work fast before the sh*t, the Nazi invasion, hits the fan! Lanyard & Jameson have to prevent not just the Nazis, who set them up, from carrying out their invasion plans but also keep the British Army, who have been given orders to shoot on sight, from shooting the two for being Nazi spies!

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.

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.