Yellow Canary

It's 1940. Observers notice a possible signal to the German bombers up above but Sally Maitland (Anna Neagle) escapes leaving behind a dead body. She is suspected of being a Nazi sympathizer as she boards a ship to Halifax in Canada. She is approached separately by Jim Garrick (Richard Greene) and Polish officer Jan Orlock (Albert Lieven). Apparently, no one is who they appear to be or even pretend to be.

I actually like this movie while they are on the boat. It's fascinating to figure who's who and what's what in a contained location. There is a sense of claustrophobia and a lack of escape. They're trapped. When the Nazis get on board, it elevates the situation but then it goes flat. I start losing the thread of the characters. I don't know why the Nazi would just leave. They should at least execute a few of the passengers. The ship is a vastly better location for a thriller. Once the movie switches to Halifax, the sense of danger lowers. It's not a scary place even if the plot demands it to be important. The most compelling reveal is the truth about the opening scene. This is fine but the second half is a bit flat.

Love a good spy picture, especially those involving double agents and counter spies, and this is one of them. Richard Greene is at his most appealing as a pesty passenger/spy and Anna Neagle is a Nazi sympathizer/ counter spy who meets a Polish national onboard a ship to Halifax who is actually a Nazi operative. Great stuff when you put it all together and add a sinister Nazi espionage plan (is there any other kind of Nazi plan?).

Richard Greene is essential to the main plot, and don't go to the fridge during the passage to Halifax or you will miss a clever bit of deception involving Greene's character, as well as scenes with Margaret Rutherford, who is as delightful as always. "Yellow Canary" is well worth spending the 85 minutes running time. It is entertaining and contains the necessary moments of suspense and excitement that make movie-going so worthwhile.

Anna Neagle stars with Richard Greene, Albert Lieven, Nova Pilbeam, and Margaret Rutherford in the British film "The Yellow Canary" from 1943,

Anna Neagle is Sally Maitland, a woman from a good family, estranged from them, who is a known Nazi sympathizer. She is forced to move to Halifax, Nova Scotia. On the ship, she meets a Polish aristocrat, Jan Orloch (Albert Lieven) and is also chased around by a British naval intelligence officer, Jimmy Garrick (Richard Greene). Once on dry land, she agrees to meet Jan's mother (Lucie Mannheim) who was blinded when the Nazis bombed their home.

Garrick, meanwhile, is supposed to watch her every move.

Enjoyable spy movie, with Neagle, the hugely popular British star, in fine form as a glamorous and somewhat snobby woman in this film, which has many twists and turns.

Handsome Richard Greene was signed by 20th Century Fox, but went back to England during the war and served in the Royal Armoured Corps of the Twenty-Seventh Lancers, rising to Captain. His career never got off the ground again, but he is best known by us old-timers in the states for being Robin Hood in the British TV series, which made him filthy rich and well known. After that, he became a country gentleman, raising thoroughbreds. Here he is pleasant and earnest.

Nova Pilbeam, who worked with Hitchcock, plays Neagle's mother in a small role.

The smallest role is Margaret Rutherford, who is a riot and a real scene-stealer.

If you see this is going to be on TCM, try and catch it.

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.

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.