Yellow Canary (1943)

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Anna Neagle

Sally Maitland

Richard Greene

Lieutenant Commander Jim Garrick

Nova Pilbeam

Betty Maitland

Albert Lieven

Capt. Jan Orlock

Lucie Mannheim

Madame Orlock

George Thorpe

Colonel Charles Hargraves

Marjorie Fielding

Lady Maitland

Franklin Dyall

Captain Foster

Margaret Rutherford

Mrs. Towcester

Claude Bailey

Major Fothergill

Sybille Binder

Madame Orlock's Attendant
(as Sybilla Binder)

Valentine Dyall

German Commander

Cyril Fletcher

And Introducing Entertainer

Grace Allardyce

Maitland's Maid
(uncredited)

Madge Brindley

Newspaper Seller at Railway Station
(uncredited)

Clifford Buckton

Ship's Captain
(uncredited)

Patric Curwen

Sir William Maitland
(uncredited)

Edgar Driver

Ticket Collector on Train
(uncredited)

Director
- Herbert Wilcox
Writers
All cast & crew
Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

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Trivia
"Put her into Brixton jail with all the other 18Bs", says an annoyed lady diner on seeing Sally. This references Regulation 18B of the Defence (General) Regulations 1939, which allowed for those suspected of being Nazi sympathizers to be interned; some indeed being housed in H.M.P. Brixton.

Goofs
The first time the cigarette case is opened, to signify the owner's Nazi sympathies, the engraved swastika is reversed, the open-ended bars pointing downward. At the end of the film when the same cigarette case is opened, the engraved swastika has been corrected. Obviously 2 separate cases were used - one correct, one not.

Quotes
Mrs. Towcester: Wouldn't it be nice to do something violent?
[Ship passenger moments before tripping a German Officer]

Crazy credits
The MPPDA seal appears on the opening RKO Radio logo on the American print instead of its usual place in the credits.

Connections
Referenced in The Falls (1980)

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.