The Yellow Canary is a 1963 American thriller film directed by Buzz Kulik and starring Pat Boone and Barbara Eden.

It was adapted by Rod Serling from a novel by Whit Masterson, who also wrote the novel that was the basis for Orson Welles' Touch of Evil.

[citation needed] Andy Paxton (Boone) is an arrogant, obnoxious pop idol who is about to be divorced by his wife Lissa (Eden) and constantly abuses his staff, including his bodyguard – ex-cop Hub, his manager Vecchio, and his valet, Bake.

The ransom note has the code word "canary" and they summon the police, led by Lt Bonner (Klugman).

A second message arrives demanding $200,000 ransom, which Andy manages to raise, and the money is delivered to an isolated beach, but nobody comes to meet him.

Hub takes Andy to a lonely inn and tortures a woman into giving them the address of a man who might have been in touch with the kidnappers.

After Bake is found murdered, Andy receives further instructions by telephone from the kidnapper, and realizes that Hub is one of the few people who know their unlisted number.

[3][4] With a star and writer of that caliber, the film was originally estimated to have a budget between $1.5 and 2.0 million and be shot over 10 weeks.

Serling, Boone, Forrest, and Eden were all play-or-pay contracts, so... [Fox] preferred to play instead of paying off the commitments.