FirstWitch
A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
Kaelan Mccaffrey
Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
Justina
The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
classicsoncall
As other reviewers have noted, the veiled references to "Casablanca" are evident to the discerning movie fan. Michael Lanyard (Warren William) and his pal Johnny Booth (Sheldon Leonard) convinced me of that when they both uttered at the same time - "The last time I saw Paris..." Leonard's character had me going for a while, I thought he might have been one of the villains of the piece, he had that reserved, suspicious look going for him most of the time.Besides that, Johnny Booth might have had a little bit of clairvoyance going for him as well. When Donald Jameson (Robert Stanford) showed up with his 'fiance' (Ann Savage), he introduced her to Lanyard and Booth as Valerie, but immediately after, Booth called her Miss King - how did he know that? The story has a cool espionage/intrigue angle going for it with a Nazi plot to take over the Suez Canal. The Lone Wolf Lanyard is recruited by the bad guys as a distraction, but even if you're following the story closely it gets a bit muddled. Never fear though, The Lone Wolf is on top of things, even while Booth's cohorts Cezanne (Jay Novello) and The Whistler (Sig Arno) are summarily dispatched.As usual, Eric Blore provides the well timed comic relief in the story as Lanyard's assistant Jameson. I don't know if it was ever revealed in a prior film, but at least I learned in this one that his first name was Llewelyn. Unfortunately, Jameson went missing for a good part of the story because he was simply tied up. Still and all, he came through splendidly whenever it was required, but I did take exception with one of his boss's duties - why couldn't Lanyard put on his own shoes?
Spondonman
A very good film for Warren William to end his Lone Wolf career on; after a break Eric Blore soldiered on as valet for a few more films. This outing has an interesting plot, fascinating characters and relationships, inventive photography and Fritz and Karl had to suffice as the only links to the unmentioned Nazis.The Baddies are out to get the plans of the Allied fortifications for the Suez Canal to eventually control the region and then the world ... How they go about it, get it and lose it is as ingenious as it is ridiculous but as it's the McGuffin it's not that important anyway. The similarities to Casablanca are striking but this is a good film in its own right - the inter-relationships of everyone (all slow, sly or slinky) and especially everyone to Rembrandt, Whistler and Cezanne and vice versa are engrossing to behold and is perhaps the film's strongest point. The badinage between Blore and William was perfect, hardly any serious exchange between them throughout, except when Blore was either tied up or being untied. Lloyd Bridges was wasted in this one.All in all well worth watching as a non-serious potboiler, heavy political commentary will not be found here! William only made a few more films after this before he died of cancer in 1948, which makes Blore's hopeless look at the camera at the end with "Here we go again!" all the more poignant.
Barney Bat
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.
dexter-10
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.
