Passport to Suez (1943) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Karl threatens to kill Lanyard's valet Jamison unless Lanyard cooperates with the Nazi spy ring. Although Lanyard is initially taken to meet Karl under the pretense of seeing the British spymaster, the kidnapping forces him to reluctantly capitulate. Karl explicitly reveals that he expects the Lone Wolf to try to trap him, indicating this was part of his plan all along.

• karl
• lone wolf
• jamison
• kidnap
• coercion
• spy ring

Lanyard discovers microfilming equipment and the ashes of the defense plans in Karl's secret laundry, along with shards of a distinctive watch crystal like the one Valerie wears. He deduces that the Nazis transferred the stolen plans to King's watch, which serves as a microfilm container. This explains how the plans were smuggled out despite the raid.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, Cézanne reveals that the lace King was knitting contained a secret message, establishing her role as a spy.

• valerie king
• watch
• microfilm
• suez canal
• defense plans
• clue

Cézanne is killed by Rembrandt inside Booth's private office after revealing that the lace Valerie King was knitting contained a secret message. Rembrandt eliminates Cézanne to prevent him from sharing more intelligence with the Lone Wolf. Cézanne dies at King's feet in the nightclub, a public killing that shocks everyone present.

• cezanne
• rembrandt
• murder
• nightclub
• lace message
• spy network

Karl orders Lanyard to break into a safe at British Intelligence and steal documents, making it appear as though the Lone Wolf is committing treason. However, it becomes clear that Lanyard's role was merely a distraction, the real plans had already been stolen. This setup allows the Nazis to frame the Lone Wolf while executing their actual scheme.

• karl
• distraction
• frame
• british intelligence
• documents
• treason

During the raid on the laundry, Lanyard finds Whistler's body and a shard of a distinctive watch crystal, which matches the one Valerie King wears. Combined with the discovery of microfilming equipment and the ashes of the defense plans, Lanyard deduces that the plans were transferred to her watch. When Valerie calls, Lanyard pretends to be Karl to confirm her location.

• lone wolf
• watch crystal
• microfilm
• laundry
• deduction
• valerie king

After Lanyard's assignment to steal documents from British Intelligence becomes known, Wembley orders his arrest for treason. The spymaster initially resisted involving the Lone Wolf, calling him an amateur, and the apparent theft of classified documents appears to confirm his suspicions. However, Lanyard escapes custody to continue investigating the real spy ring.

• wembley
• arrest
• treason
• british intelligence
• lone wolf
• frame

Donald Jamison, a British naval officer and Jamison's son, is being used by Valerie King to extract information about the minefields and defenses of the Suez Canal. He is later found unconscious and revived by the Lone Wolf and Jamison during their raid on the laundry. This reveals the Nazis targeted Donald specifically to obtain the canal defense plans.

• donald
• jamison
• valerie king
• british naval officer
• suez canal
• minefields

After Rembrandt kills Valerie and takes the watch to Karl, the two villains flee toward a submarine. Booth provides Lanyard with an armed aircraft, which he pilots to intercept the speeding car. Lanyard guns down both Karl and Rembrandt, preventing them from reaching the submarine and completing their escape.

• karl
• rembrandt
• aircraft
• submarine
• chase
• defeat
• allied victory

Lanyard grows suspicious of Valerie King when he encounters her at Booth's nightclub with Donald, her naval officer fiancée. His experience as a master thief and spy makes him sense she is not who she appears to be. This intuition proves correct, Valerie is actually a Nazi agent working to extract Suez Canal defense information from Donald.

• valerie king
• suspicion
• double agent
• donald
• spying
• suez canal

Whistler sells Lanyard the lace Valerie sent to a laundry, which contains a hidden message indicating the Nazi operation is to be finished by midnight. This deadline creates urgency for the Lone Wolf to stop whatever scheme is planned, whether it's the sabotage of the Suez Canal or the transfer of stolen plans to the Nazis.

• whistler
• midnight
• deadline
• lace message
• nazi operation