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Film Bulletin (04/Oct/1941) - "Suspicion" Another Good Hitchcock Suspense Drama

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"SUSPICION" ANOTHER GOOD HITCHCOCK SUSPENSE DRAMA

Rates ★★★ everywhere

RKO
99 Minutes
Grant, Joan Fontaine, Nigel Brace, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Dame May Whitty, Heather Angel, Auriol Lee, Isabel Jeans.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

This does not match Alfred Hitchcock's superb "Rebecca," but it is another taut, suspenseful film drama from the famed director It has some slow spots and the story carries on beyond its natural ending in an effort to squeeze out a bit more suspense, but the sheer cleverness of the masterful Hitchcock keeps the spectator rapt in his megaphone magic. There are the same elements in this show that made box-office successes of pictures like "Rebecca" and "A Woman's Face." It is not "pleasant" entertainment, but it is fascinating and completely diverting. The presence of Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine in the cast assures a fast start for "Suspicion" in all situations and grosses should maintain a high level with the support of favorable word-of-mouth.

Joan Fontaine, slightly veering toward spinstership, is swept off her feet by romantic Cary Grant. After their whirlwind honeymoon on the Continent, she is suddenly made aware of the fact that the cost of their home and the expenses of their trip was borrowed by Grant; that he is really broke and badly in debt. Suspicions grow in the wife's mind as she learns more about Grant's affairs. Many are ill-founded, but she does learn definitely that he has embezzled a relative's funds. When his best friend, with whom he was involved in a real estate venture, dies in France, Joan suspects the worst. When she then learns that he is seeking data on "perfect crimes" from an authoress friend, that he is corresponding with several insurance firms, she believes he has marked her as his next victim. He finally clears himself by a simple explanation and it is revealed that the whole mass of suspicion was conjured up in the mind of the wife.

Grant departs from the type of role that has made him so popular, but his performance is excellent and he grows in stature by it. Joan Fontaine was a good choice for the wife, similar as it is to the role she played in "Rebecca." The support is excellent, with such fine performers as Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Nigel Bruce and Dame May Whitty delivering their best work.

NONAMAKER.

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