Wives Under Suspicion

I tuned in to catch that great patrician actor from the early 30's, Warren William. A commanding presence in every respect, too bad he's become so obscure. I expect his early death, 1948, has something to do with it. Then too, his best films-- Employees Entrance (1933), Skyscaper Souls (1932), Three On A Match (1932) -- were all pre-Code and as a result never turned up on censored TV for decades. Now, thanks to cable, they're run on outlets like TCM. So be sure to catch them if you haven't already.

Anyway, this programmer from Universal has a good premise, the humanizing of an egotistical DA (William), who counts his capital-case wins on an abacus that uses miniature skulls as a counter. Worse, he's sorely neglecting his patient wife (Jackson) who's slowly running out of patience, but he's too self-absorbed to care. But then the McAllen case comes across his desk and the ironies with his own life begin to intrude. Will his self-enclosed bubble now be enough.

Overall, the results are rather tepid despite the promising elements. Ten years later and the film would likely have gotten a noir treatment. Here, mood is largely missing, while suspense is slow to build, but does have one good unpredictable showdown scene that had me guessing wrong. Truth be told, I'm afraid many lesser performers could have handled the DA role, it not being one of William's showcases. In short, the DA is one of the typically conventional roles he was reduced to during the Code era. Also, the ethnic humor from the Butterfly McQueen-type maid reminds us that it's only a movie, after all.

Overall, there are gripping moments; however, the 70-minutes fails to come together in strong fashion despite the many promising elements. Too bad.

(In passing-- old time TV fans may recognize Milburn Stone as Doc from the classic western series Gunsmoke, along with Gail Patrick (Jackson) who successfully produced the prodigiously demanding Perry Mason series with Raymond Burr.)

I noticed one of the reviewers complained about Warren William's tendency to over-act. Well, as a fan of the actor, I tend to agree--he DID over-act--and I generally liked his bigger than life and devil-may-care persona. That is why I decided to see "Wives Under Suspicion"--I'd watch just about anything starring this now forgotten star. Sadly, however, this was not one of his better films and it isn't surprising--by 1938, William had moved from his very successful career at Warner Brothers to Universal (a must less prestigious studio at that time) and the budgets were clearly smaller and it showed.

The film begins with William as a gung-ho District Attorney. He lives to prosecute and convict people--and his marriage and personal life have suffered. All he really cares about is winning--and sending as many people as he can to death row. However, when the case of a man who murdered his wife in a fit of anger (Ralph Morgan) is given to him, eventually the parallels between this case and his own sad life became apparent.

I think the biggest problem with this film is that the cast was amazingly limp. Morgan and William were very competent actors, but here they were NOT at their best. In particular, Morgan has a scene where he is supposed to cry but it comes off very poorly--embarrassingly so. In addition, while the story idea is good, the direction and dialog is all either limp or overdone. Director Whale (who made quite a name for himself directing the first two Frankenstein films at Universal) had clearly seen better days and the film failed to impress. It really should have been a lot better given the neat story idea.

District Attorney Warren William works so hard he neglects wife Gail Patrick. He's ferociously prosecuting a case against Ralph Morgan, accused of killing his wife. Morgan's lawyer tells him it was temporary insanity and wants to bargain it down to manslaughter. Warren laughs at the deal. Then he comes to believe his wife is about to leave him for a lover.

Based on a play by Ladislas Fodor, director James Whale had already made this story as a pre-code, THE KISS BEFORE THE MIRROR. William plays this like he's playing Caesar for Demille. It's an uneasy set of volumes, playing it immense while cross-examining a defense witness, then minutely observing a small detail, then laughing amiably with his office staff. I think he and the director were trying for a manic-depressive character, but William was always deliberate and mannered in his performances. As a result, it's one of those movies that is fascinating to watch, even if it doesn't work. With Cecil Cunningham, Cnstance Moore, William Lundigan, Samuel S. Hinds, and Jonathan Hale.

Wives Under Suspicion from 1938 is a remake of a film called The Kiss Before the Mirror. Directed by James Whale, it's not his best.

This version stars Warren William, Gail Patrick, Ralph Morgan, William Lundigan, and Constance Moore.

William plays a hanging prosecutor, Jim Stowell - he has an abacus with skulls he moves over when he sends someone to the chair. He is not a pleasant guy. His wife Lucy (Patrick) feels alone, as he is dedicated to his work. He does love her and promises her a big vacation.

It doesn't happen because of a big case - a man (Morgan) who found his wife with another man and kills her. He tells the most pathetic story imaginable, and it's recorded. The minute he's taken away, Stowell laughs, dismisses his story as garbage, and plans on getting him the chair.

Lucy is extremely moved by the man's story and feels she doesn't know her husband any longer. Stowell becomes jealous of her platonic friendship with a young man (Lundigan). One night, he sees them talking and rage builds up inside him. He suddenly sees what he has become.

William is a favorite of mine; he always turned in a good performance. Beautiful Gale Patrick is lovely as Lucy - she of course became Gail Patrick Jackson, the producer of the Perry Mason series. Ralph Morgan was a very sympathetic defendant.

The performances helped to hold interest.

Warren William stars in this 1938 drama from Universal about a hard driving law and order District Attorney who gets a chance to reflect on his own attitudes and display the quality of mercy as the Bard put it. It's not an easy thing for him to do by any means.

His chance comes when he prosecutes shy and retiring political science professor Ralph Morgan who in a fit of jealous rage shot his unfaithful wife. William gets a confession out of him and goes full blast to give him the electric chair even with high priced defense attorney Samuel S. Hinds working for Morgan.

What brings him to a reassessment of the case and his attitudes is an Othello like episode in his own life. There's no Iago in the film egging William on, but he develops an almost insane jealousy about his wife Gail Patrick and a young neighbor William Lundigan. And unlike Morgan it's all in his own mind.

Some good attention should be paid for Cecil Cunningham as William's girl Friday assistant in his office who lives up to her character name of 'Sharpy' with some very devastating lines. But stealing the film whenever he's on screen is Ralph Morgan. Such a pitiable creature he is you can't conceive of someone like him going to the chair.

The film takes some interesting attitudes, not popular at this time about the death penalty. Wives Under Suspicion is a fine drama and comes highly recommended.