''Yellow Canary'' is a 1943 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Herbert Wilcox Herbert Sydney Wilcox CBE (19 April 1890 – 15 May 1977) was a British film producer and director. He was one of the most successful British filmmakers from the 1920s to the 1950s. He is best known for the films he made with his third wif ...

and starring

Anna Neagle Dame Florence Marjorie Wilcox (''née'' Robertson; 20 October 1904 – 3 June 1986), known professionally as Anna Neagle, was an English stage and film actress, singer, and dancer. She was a successful box-office draw in the British cinema ...

Richard Greene Richard Marius Joseph Greene (25 August 1918 – 1 June 1985) was a noted English film and television actor. A matinée idol who appeared in more than 40 films, he was perhaps best known for the lead role in the long-running British TV series ' ...

and

Albert Lieven Albert Lieven (born Albert Fritz Liévin; 22 June 1906 – 22 December 1971) was a German actor. Early life Lieven was born in Hohenstein, East Prussia (Olszynek, Poland). His father was the head physician of the Tuberculosis sanatorium Ho ...

. Neagle plays a British Nazi sympathizer who travels to Halifax, Canada, trailed by spies from both sides during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Neagle and director/producer Wilcox collaborated on a number of previous film projects.Neagle 1974, p. 119.

Plot

In the Second World War, Sally Maitland appears to signal Nazi planes to bomb England after murdering an innocent citizen in his home. The next morning, Sally boards a ship bound for Canada. Two of her fellow passengers, Jim Garrick and Polish officer Jan Orlock, seek her acquaintance, despite her long-time and well-known admiration for

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. It soon becomes common knowledge that Jim is a British intelligence officer. Sally rebuffs his advances, but welcomes Jan's attention. Sally is, in fact, a deep cover British agent on a secret mission shadowing her quarry: Jan. Unbeknownst to Sally, Jim has been assigned to help and protect her. The ship is stopped in mid-ocean by the German heavy cruiser ''Prinz Eugen'', and a boarding party takes Jim prisoner. To the puzzlement of the ship's captain, the cruiser allows the ship to continue on its way. It turns out that the Germans have captured an impostor, when Jim emerges from hiding. When they reach Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Jan introduces Sally to his invalid mother, Madame Orlock. Jim uses his contacts to have Sally appear to be a true Nazi sympathizer by having Canadian government men expose her and warn the Orlocks to stay away from her due to her Nazi leanings. Sally pretends to try to break off their relationship to avoid trouble for them. Jan reveals that he is working for the Nazis and recruits Sally into his spy ring on the night of their greatest exploit. Sally has been waiting for this chance to find out who his fellow conspirators are, especially their leader. To Sally's surprise, the leader turns out to be Madame Orlock, who is not Jan's mother and is not an invalid. The others are people she met at her hotel (who have been covertly observing her), and even include a port immigration officer. The leader reveals that one of the ships of an incoming convoy has been secretly replaced by another filled with explosives, which is to be detonated when they reach Halifax, wrecking the vital port; a plan inspired by a devastating accident of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. At this point, Jan reveals he is anxious to make up for a recent bungled secret mission to bomb British royalty which failed due to his contact man sending incorrect landmark signals to the bombers. This explains the opening sequence: Sally killed the Nazi agent and thwarted that mission. Sally finally learns that Jim is assigned to her, when she catches him breaking into Jan's study to try to uncover evidence, just as she has. Later, after being caught unawares when Orlock sneaks into her room, she thinks fast to explain her friendliness to Jim. Orlock believes she is a double agent, but she claims she is tricking the enemy and avoids being summarily executed. She then slips Jim a note written in lipstick advising him to wait at headquarters for information and heads off with Orlock. Orlock orders Sally to telephone Jim and tell him that an attempt will be made to sabotage the ''Queen Mary'', scheduled to sail later that night, and that all available agents should be immediately sent to stop it. Sally is able to warn Naval Intelligence of the actual plot; RCMP officers are dispatched to the house. RCAF bombers are sent to bomb and destroy the ship. Jan shoots Sally before Jim can rescue her; the bullet is stopped by a cigarette case which he gave to her earlier. Sally and Jim are married, and with Sally's cover now blown, they return to London to meet her family.

Cast

As appearing in ''Yellow Canary'', (main roles and screen credits identified):"Credits: Yellow Canary."
''Turner Classic Movies.'' Retrieved: 6 January 2013. *

as Sally Maitland *

as Lieutenant Commander Jim Garrick *

as Jan Orlock *

Lucie Mannheim Lucie Mannheim (30 April 1899 – 17 July 1976) was a German singer and actress. Life and career Mannheim was born in Köpenick, Berlin, where she studied drama and quickly became a popular figure appearing on stage in plays and musicals. Among ...

as Madame Orlock *

Nova Pilbeam Nova Margery Pilbeam (15 November 1919 – 17 July 2015) was an English film and stage actress. She played leading roles in two Alfred Hitchcock films of the 1930s, and made her last film in 1948. Early life Pilbeam was born in Wimbledon, Sur ...

as Betty Maitland * George Thorpe as Colonel Charles Hargraves *

Marjorie Fielding Doris Marjorie Fielding (known as Marjorie) (17 February 1892, in Gloucester, Gloucestershire – 28 December 1956, in London) was a British stage and film actress. Marjorie Fielding was the second daughter of John & Ellen Fielding (née Miles). ...

as Lady Maitland *

Franklin Dyall Frank Poole Dyall (3 February 1870– 8 May 1950), professionally known as Franklin Dyall, was an English actor. In his early years he was a member of the companies of the actor-managers George Alexander, Ben Greet, John Martin-Harvey and ...

as Captain Foster *

Valentine Dyall Valentine Dyall (7 May 1908 – 24 June 1985) was an English character actor. He worked regularly as a voice actor, and was known for many years as "The Man in Black", the narrator of the BBC Radio horror series '' Appointment with Fear'' ...

as officer on German cruiser rinz Eugen ? *

Margaret Rutherford Dame Margaret Taylor Rutherford, (11 May 1892 – 22 May 1972) was an English actress of stage, television and film. She came to national attention following World War II in the film adaptations of Noël Coward's ''Blithe Spirit'', and Oscar ...

as Mrs. Towcester *

Aubrey Mallalieu Aubrey Mallalieu (8 June 1873 – 28 May 1948) was an English actor with a prolific career in supporting roles in films in the 1930s and 1940s. Mallalieu began life as George William Mallalieu, the son of William Mallalieu (c. 1845–1927), a ...

as Reynolds *

Sybille Binder Sybille Binder (5 January 1895 – 30 June 1962) was an Austrian actress of Jewish descent whose career of over 40 years was based variously in her home country, Germany and Britain, where she found success in films during the 1940s. Career Bi ...

as Madame Orlock's Attendant

Production

Although never identified as

Unity Mitford Unity Valkyrie Freeman-Mitford (8 August 1914 – 28 May 1948) was a British socialite, known for her relationship with Adolf Hitler. Both in Great Britain and Germany, she was a prominent supporter of Nazism, fascism and antisemitism, and belo ...

, the central character played by Neagle has some obvious similarities to the pro-Nazi British dilettante who had a great deal of notoriety in pre-war times.Pryce-Jones 1977, p. 121. In production during 1943, while the United Kingdom was still fearful of Nazi spies, ''Yellow Canary'' was obviously made as wartime propaganda, with the aim not only of keeping up morale but also of warning the British public to be on their guard. ''Yellow Canary'' co-stars Richard Greene and Margaret Rutherford went on to further success in other films. Rutherford was especially adept at scene-stealing in the film.Absalom, David
"Dame Anna Neagle (1904–1986)."
''britishpictures.com.'' Retrieved: 5 June 2011. Greene was in the armed forces at this time, and had interrupted his successful acting career to serve in the Second World War in the

27th Lancers The 27th Lancers was a British Army cavalry regiment from 1941 to 1945. History The regiment was raised in June 1941 from a cadre of personnel taken from the 12th Royal Lancers. It was assigned to the 11th Armoured Division as the divisional re ...

, where he distinguished himself. After three months, he went to Sandhurst and was commissioned. He was promoted to captain in the 27th Lancers in May 1944. He was relieved from duty in 1942 to appear in the British

propaganda film A propaganda film is a film that involves some form of propaganda. Propaganda films spread and promote certain ideas that are usually religious, political, or cultural in nature. A propaganda film is made with the intent that the viewer will ad ...

s ''

Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

'' and ''

Unpublished Story ''Unpublished Story'' is a 1942 British black-and-white war film directed by Harold French and starring Richard Greene and Valerie Hobson. It was produced and co-written by Anthony Havelock-Allan. The film served as a propaganda film during Wor ...

''. In 1943, Greene appeared in ''Yellow Canary'' while on furlough. Although set aboard a ship in the early scenes, the majority of the principal photography for ''Yellow Canary'' took place at the massive lots at

Denham Film Studios Denham Film Studios was a British film production studio operating from 1936 to 1952, founded by Alexander Korda. Notable films made at Denham include ''Brief Encounter'' and David Lean's ''Great Expectations''. From the 1950s to the 1970s th ...

(D&P Studios), located near the village of Denham, Buckinghamshire. All of the location sequences of Halifax were strictly "B" roll, but did provide a realistic, "atmospheric" look at wartime conditions in the busy Canadian military and civilian port. After production had wrapped, Neagle and Wilcox made their professional relationship a personal one as well when they married on 9 August 1943.

Reception

Although the leading actors in ''Yellow Canary'' were well received by critics, the convoluted storyline was considered implausible when reviewed by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

''. More recent reviews were more favourable, commenting on the production values and acting as "better-than-average."Schwartz, Dennis
"A better-than-average wartime melodrama."
''Ozus' World Movie Reviews,'' 26 July 2006. Retrieved: 23 March 2012.

References

Bibliography

* Aldgate, Anthony and Jeffrey Richards. ''Britain Can Take it: British Cinema in the Second World War''. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2nd Edition, 1994. . * Barr, Charles, ed. ''All Our Yesterdays: 90 Years of British Cinema''. London: British Film Institute, 1986. . * Neagle, Anna. ''Anna Neagle Aays, 'There's Always Tomorrow': An Autobiography.'' London: W. H. Allen Books, 1974. . * Parish, James and William Leonard. ''Hollywood Players: The Thirties.'' New York: Arlington House Publishers, 1976. . * Pryce-Jones, David. ''Unity Mitford: An Enquiry into Her Life and the Frivolity of Evil.'' New York: Dial Press, 1977. . * Skinner, James. ''Growing Up In Wartime Uxbridge''. Stroud, UK: Tempus Publishing, 2008. .

External links

* * * * {{Herbert Wilcox 1943 films British spy films British World War II propaganda films 1940s spy films British black-and-white films 1940s English-language films Films directed by Herbert Wilcox Films scored by Clifton Parker Films set in Nova Scotia Films set in Liverpool Films set in London Seafaring films