Suspicion

Cary Grant plays a real creep in this film, a guy who sponges off others and who is allergic to telling the truth. He marries a "spinster" (Joan Fontaine, uh...), the daughter of a wealthy man, but seems to have darker ambitions than simple gold digging. Hitchcock is masterful in building up our dislike of Grant's character over the film, and despite it being a quiet kind of film, he maximizes suspense in several scenes. I loved the little touches like the dinner party with the murder mystery author and her family, and the affable friend "Beaky" played by Nigel Bruce. Unfortunately the ending is just awful, which is a real shame since there were several other possibilities. Half a tick off for that, and frankly the deduction could have been more.

Favorite lines: Johnny (Grant): What do you think of me by contrast to your horse? Lina (Fontaine): If I ever got the bit between your teeth, I'd have no trouble in handling you at all.

And as a side note, never marry a man who:

• Sneaks into first-class and when caught, mooches off you (a stranger) to pay for him
• Constantly calls you monkeyface
• Touches your ucipital mapilary (I confess I just wanted to say "ucipital mapillary")
• Brags about having been with 73+ women
• You don't know diddly about, e.g. what his plans for making a living are
• Practically chokes on the idea of getting a job, and wants to borrow from others instead
• You catch lying to you more than once
• Sells your prized possessions to go gambling (I mean those family heirloom chairs, c'mon)
• Humiliates you in condescending ways with his buddy
• Has an excessive interest in your father's wealth
• Also has an excessive interest in non-traceable poisons

...even if he is Cary Grant.

The first time I saw this movie, I was kind of undecided. I had taped an Alfred Hitchcock marathon on TV and I only watched it for the sake of watching another Hitchcock film. The second time though, was in the back seat of a conversion van on a LONG road trip and I had a lot of time on my hands, so the more movies I had to watch, the better.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. Having read about the movie, I knew that the ending wasn't Alfred Hitchcock's first choice, but I thought the final shot was very beautifully filmed, and the ending was ok with me.

Of course, the whole movie is beautifully filmed in brilliant sunlight. I think the only really dark scene is the milk one. However, the theme of a woman suspecting that her husband is a murderer is indeed dark.

The movie is about Lina McLaidlaw (Joan Fontaine) who marries the rascally Johnnie Aysgarth (Cary Grant). She slowly begins to suspect that he is plotting to murder her for money, and it certainly doesn't help when his best friend dies under mysterious circumstances. Fontaine is excellent in her role and she certainly deserved her Oscar.

The movie is really quite entertaining. Many people consider Rebecca or Notorious Hitchcock's best movie of the 40's. I like both films a lot, but something about Suspicion makes it my personal favorite of the decade.

This is a must-see for Hitchcock fans. Full of classic performances and of course, suspensefully directed!

A timid, attractive young girl named Lina(Joan Fontaine) falls in love with John(Gary Grant) an adventurer, wealthy man. Her parents( Dame May Witty and Sir Cedric Hardwicke) are opposed about the relationship. However, they early married ,living in Sussex . Then she gradually realizes and suspects that her hubby is allegedly a murderer and that she is the intended victim . Lina fears may be next on his list.

After ¨39 steps¨ and ¨Jamaica Inn¨ Hitchcock was encouraged to go to America and promptly won Oscar to best picture for his first film there, titled ¨Rebeca¨. Later,R.K.O, Radio Pictures offered him the direction of ¨Suspicion¨. The picture packs tension , thriller,suspense and excitement. The film is one of the splendid thrillers with 'imminent danger' as its theme, achieving the maximum impact on the audience and containing numerous exciting set pieces with usual Hitchcock touches . The movie is full of lingering images as the glass(Hitch put into the object a light) of milk and shot of the characters upstairs pacing up and down with shades on the walls.

The casting is frankly magnificent .Gary Grant, actually named Archibald Leach ( born in Bristol,1904) in his first Hitchock film is excellent. Joan Fontaine as the timid, shy bride consumed with fears is awesome and won a deserved Oscar to best main actress. First rate secondary cast constituted by Nigel Bruce ¨the famous Watson¨ who worked in ¨Rebeca¨ too ; Dame May Witty (The lady vanishes) ; Cedric Hardwicke(The rope)and Leo G.Carroll a habitual in Hitch movies. But to Hitch didn't like the film for the cutting out the ending, due to production's insistence to retain the sympathetic image Gary Grant, the most attractive of all Hollywood actors ; however Hitch will let ultimately to remake his movie .The motion picture is based on a novel titled : ¨Before the fact¨ and screen written by his familiar brain trust, his wife Alma Reville and Joan Harrison. Also shown in computer-colored version though best avoid it .It's remade in an inferior version by Andrew Grieve(1987)with Anthony Andrews and Jane Curtin.

That could have been Cary Grant's most chilling line in his long career.

*SPOILERS*

Except RKO didn't have the courage of its convictions. Having bought the rights to Francis Iles' novel, and despite Hitchcock's insistence on sticking with the original ending, neither preview audiences nor the studio were ready to accept Cary Grant as a murderer. So its present ending was hastily written and shot. It completely subverts all the fine work that's gone before.

Joan Fontaine was a brilliant actress and valiantly, passionately, breathlessly tries to make the shockingly amateurish dialogue in the final scene work -- "Oh, Johnny! You were going to kill yourself instead of me, like the audience and I have thought for the last 90 minutes! Oh, Johnny! It's as much my fault as it is yours! Oh, Johnny! I was only thinking of myself . . . ," etc.

Cary Grant does his best with this final abomination of a climax. "Lina! Lina! How much can one man bear! When you and the audience thought I was in Paris murdering Beaky I was really in Liverpool!" Etc.

Huh?

In other words, this beautifully produced, directed, acted and written psychological suspense thriller turns out to be about a charming lazy n'er-do-well who's sponged and embezzled his way through life, who marries a beautiful but neurotic aristocrat who, from day one, increasingly assumes the worst about her husband -- convincing herself (and us) that he's killed before and now is about to kill her?

"Just kidding," the tacked-on final scene says. "It was all innocent. You eating popcorn out there in the dark, and Lina, should be ashamed for even THINKING such things! Go home now."

It helps, out of self defense, to watch "Suspicion" with the original ending in mind. Yes, the milk is poisoned. Yes Johnny killed Beaky in Paris. Yes, he's a psychopath who lies, cheats, steals and kills. Yes, Lina believed him and loved him deeply -- the only man she's ever loved. Yes, her life is no longer worth living, now that she knows the truth about Johnny. Yes, she rightly suspects that milk is poisoned. So she writes a letter to her mother, telling the truth about Johnny's exploits, and that he is poisoning her as she writes -- and that she intends to die. She seals the letter and gives it to Johnny to mail. She drinks the milk. Johnny leaves and unknowingly drops Lina's letter into a mailbox, thus sealing his fate.

THAT'S a rewarding ending.

It also makes everything that's gone before (including writing, directing, performances and cinematography) plausible. It gives "Suspicion" a reason to exist.

But that's the novel's ending.

The film's "Lina and the audience are just paranoid" ending makes fools out of all the talent on display here. And of us.

Hold mentally to the original ending and you'll love it.

While in many respects one of Hitchcock's lesser films, "Suspicion" has some good performances and a degree of suspense that is as sustained as in any of his films. The movie gets quite a lot out of a relatively simple plot.

Joan Fontaine gives an excellent performance as Lina, a quiet young woman who finds herself swept away by, and suddenly married to, the charming but irresponsible Johnnie, played by Cary Grant. Not long afterwards, she begins to question his behavior and his intentions, and soon she is terribly afraid, both of what he might have done and of what he might do. Whenever she manages to overcome one of her fears, no sooner does she do so than her husband gives her a new reason for suspicion. There really isn't much more to it than that, but Hitchcock gets a lot out of this basic premise. The tension keeps building, and Fontaine's performance allows the viewer to feel all of her fear and anxiety. Not everyone likes the way that it all ends, but it is worth seeing and deciding for yourself what you think about it.

The rest of the cast have mostly limited roles, but give good performances that add to the portrayal of the main characters. Especially good is Nigel Bruce, who provides a few lighter moments as one of Johnnie's old cronies.

While lacking the complexity and excitement of Hitchcock's best pictures, "Suspicion" is still a good example of his ability to keep the audience in lasting suspense. Most Hitchcock fans will want to see it.