Suspicion (1941)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Samson Raphaelson (screenplay) &
Joan Harrison (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

14 November 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Love in his Heart . . . Tragedy in his Mind ! The stars of "Penny Serenade" and "Rebecca" in this most thrilling mystery . . .

Plot:

A shy young English woman marries a charming gentleman, then begins to suspect him of trying to kill her.

Plot Keywords:

Poison | Honeymoon | Business | Train | Fear

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Cary Grant	...	Johnnie
Joan Fontaine	...	Lina
Cedric Hardwicke	...	General McLaidlaw (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
Nigel Bruce	...	Beaky
Dame May Whitty	...	Mrs. McLaidlaw
Isabel Jeans	...	Mrs. Newsham
Heather Angel	...	Ethel - Maid
Auriol Lee	...	Isobel Sedbusk
Reginald Sheffield	...	Reggie Wetherby
Leo G. Carroll	...	Captain Melbeck

Also Known As:

Before the Fact (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Spain:13 | UK:U (tv rating) | Brazil:16 | Canada:PG (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1986) | USA:Approved (certificate #7113)

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

The dog in the movie is a Sealyham Terrier named "Johnnie" and Alfred Hitchcock's own dog. The main male character is also named "Johnnie" and this name was Hitch's original idea for the movie title. Alfred Hitchcock kept Sealyhams for many years. In his movie The Birds (1963), Hitch walks out of the pet store with Sealyhams on a lead.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Lina looks at Isobel's book while Johnnie is on the telephone, there is a large tear in the book jacket above Isobel's photo. In the next scene, when Lina takes the book on her visit to Isobel, the book jacket is undamaged.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Johnnie Aysgarth: Oh, I beg your pardon. Was that your leg? I had no idea we were going into a tunnel. I thought the compartment was empty.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Touch of Pink (2004)

Soundtrack:

Voices of Spring

Suspicious Minds

This is a Hitchcock thriller from 1941, early in his American period, and earned its star, Joan Fontaine, an Academy Award for Best Actress. She's excellent in the leading role, though her performance isn't quite so fine-tuned as the one she gave in the previous year's Rebecca, which this one in many ways resembles. As her gregarious and engaging gambler of a husband, Cary Grant overwhelms her in the acting and charisma departments. This is more or less Fontaine's movie, but Grant steals it with his charm.

The story is is old one about a woman who marries a mysterious and handsome gentleman who's up to his ears in dark secrets. There's not much more to it than that, aside from the little issue of whether or not he's going to murder her for her money. When a close friend of the husband dies under mysterious circumstances, the wife's suspicions begin to literally enshroud her, enveloping her in a haze of nervous expression. Hubby's strange behavior and dark glances don't help matters.

Adapted by Anthony Berkeley and Samson Raphaelson from a novel by Francis Iles, the movie suggests rural England better than most American films; and the supporting cast, which includes Dame May Witty, Cedric Hardwicke, Leo G. Carroll and especially Nigel Bruce, are all fine. Bruce plays Grant's old school twit of a friend, and the scenes of the three of them,--Grant, Fontaine and Bruce--have a rare intimacy, as we really believe that these characters care for one another. The movie's ending was controversial at the time, for a number of reasons. It works well enough for me, but then again Hitchcock generally does.