Passport to Suez (1943)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I think when you go into a film and see that there aren't many actors you recognize you immediately think.."Uh-Oh". This is one of those films.A well known American person (or spy) gets a call and goes to North Africa. He's suppose to talk to some important people there but gets kidnapped and told if he doesn't co-operate they will kill his butler. He does but the kidnappers (who are nazi's with pretty amazing non-German accents) already know he will tell his superiors so they work out a plan to get what they want (the plans for the minefields in the Suez Canal) in reverse. Throughout all this we get a butler who constantly gets kidnapped and harassed and spies that, if you aren't blind or stupid, you figure out pretty early on. Will they get the plans before they get caught?This one wasn't terrible but wow was it pretty easy to see who the double agent was. I mean very early on you see in span of 5 minutes 2 separate incidents that show no other perpetrator but 1 and throughout the film your suppose to be guessing who the culprit is. The fact that it had a young Lloyd Bridges didn't really help cause his role is very minor. The casting for the 3 main leads was good and were noted character actors but the leftovers weren't really that impressive. For a mild B-grade film it was fairly entertaining because of the Casablanca feel it has to it but it's still just a nothing special type of film.The butler is the highlight for me. Also watch for the heavy who looks painfully like William Conrad of Jake and the Fatman fame. If you've got a spare 71 minutes then try this one and see some mild WWII spy intrigue.

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.

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.

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.