La sospecha

The strangest of coincidences haunt newly-wed Joan Fontaine (Oscar-winning) in this sleight of hand from Alfred Hitchcock. She starts to believe that husband Cary Grant may be too good to be true. It appears that he may be a heartless murderer who may be targeting her as his next victim. Hitchcock, the undisputed master of suspense, does not let the audience off easy here. The film's twists and turns will keep you glued until the stunning final act. Not without flaws, but still another winner from Hitchcock. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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!

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.

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.

Hitchcock's 'Suspicion' starts off as a slow moving silly romantic comedy before switching to a thriller. Hitchcock's style of narrating the story as the events unfold is brilliant as usual. Cary Grant turns on the charm button but it is Joan Fontaine who steals the show. Lina's increasing suspicion, confusion and despair as she discovers Johnnie's deadly secrets are skillfully displayed. Hitchcock maintains the element of suspense and increasing tension very well. However, it is the ending that is a let down and the only reason I can think of why such a closing was chosen was to fulfill the Hollywood 'happy ending' standard. 'Suspicion' could have been an excellent dark thriller had the ending been more plausible and made sense of all the preceding events. Yet, it remains a good job mostly because of the crafted way Hitchcock builds tension throughout the movie.