Le Suspect

I'm converted to the YouTube cause. If it wasn't for YouTube I may never had seen this jewel, with a performance by the extraordinary Charles Laughton that is nothing short of magnificent. The tenderness of the man! Director Robert Siodmak creates a perfect noir without low blows or gimmicks. Ella Raines is lovely as the object of his affection and Rosalind Ivan is priceless as the awful wife. The last shot is pure Laughton and his personal struggle for integrity. Loved it.

The Suspect is directed by Robert Siodmak and adapted to screenplay by Bertram Millhauser and Arthur T. Horman from the novel "This Way Out" written by James Ronald. It stars Charles Laughton, Ella Raines, Dean Harens, Stanley Ridges, Henry Daniell and Rosalind Ivan. Music is by Frank Skinner and cinematography by Paul Ivano.

In 1902 Edwardian London, unhappily married shopkeeper Philip Marshall (Laughton) meets beautiful Mary Gray (Raines) and a tender friendship begins to form. But once Philip's wife discovers what is going on she threatens him with exposure and scandal, forcing Philip to take drastic action...

How delightfully off, that a film that features a wife murderer, an alcoholic wife beater, and blackmail, should be so restrained and actually beautiful. The Suspect in principal is about a decent man pushed to do bad things by his awful life, a man who then finds hope springs from a most unlikely source. The moral shadings here are most intricate, Laughton's Philip Marshal is a completely sympathetic and fascinating character, and so the makers deftly toy with our perceptions in the process.

There's no mystery element to drive the story forward, we are only really left wondering how the finale will play out. However, the lack of mystery is not a problem, for the astute and wily Siodmak has a keen eye for suspense and he knows how to use gaslight interiors and foggy streets to represent the psychological turmoil of Philip and his life that's now drastically changing. Murder as justifiable homicide? Ridding the world of bad people is OK? Rest assured that this is far darker than it appears on the surface.

Brilliantly performed by Laughton and Raines, and mounted with great atmospheric skill by Siodmak, The Suspect is a little seen gem waiting to be found by a wider audience. 8/10

Unhappily married to bitter woman who refuses to divorce him, an aging Londoner is eventually driven to kill his wife; he succeeds in staging the death as an accident, but a rugged detective declines to let the matter go in this Robert Siodmak thriller. The film features some great directional touches, such as how Siodmak refrains from showing us the murder, instead leaving everything implied by the protagonist simply grabbing a cane and looking up a staircase in deep thought. What really makes the film work though is Charles Laughton's measured lead performance. Through the gentlest of eye movements and subtlest vocal inflections, Laughton manages to render his character so human and down-to-earth that it is easy to root for him throughout, even when he commits unspeakable acts. His battle of wits with the detective are very good too, with Laughton positioned to bluntly state "why don't you arrest me?" after being hounded so relentlessly by the policeman. The supporting cast is not quite up to Laughton's level, with Rosalind Ivan very one-note as his wife in a performance that only requires her to be shrill. The film is also rather slow to warm up with around half an hour elapsing before the murder. Once the film gets going though, it never lets up. It is simply enthralling to watch and the suggestive final shot provides a pitch perfect note for the film to end on.

Philip Marshall (Charles Laughton) is trapped in a loveless marriage and his wife Cora (Rosalind Ivan) refuses to grant him a divorce. He meets Mary (Ella Raines) and they embark on a romance of friendship before he puts an end to it because of his married status. Meanwhile, Cora has discovered the secret and jumps to a wrong conclusion vowing to humiliate both him and Mary in both their workplaces and their social sets. Cora has an accident and dies. Phillip and Mary are now free to live together but Inspector Huxley (Stanley Ridges) suspects murder.

This is an atmospheric thriller where the viewer is in complete sympathy with the suspect. The cast are all very good with the exception of John Marshall (Dean Harens) and his annoying girlfriend. Why has he got an American accent when he is supposed to be English? Anyway, the rest of the cast give their characters real depth so that we dislike those that we are meant to - Rosalind Ivan as Laughton's wife and neighbour Gilbert (Henry Daniell) - and like the main characters of Laughton and Raines.....and you always think "Oh no" whenever Inspector Huxley appears on the scene.......if only he wasn't so inquisitive and determined.........It's a good film and Laughton is both funny and charming - the scenes between him and his wife are very entertaining.

An excellent domestic drama about a middle-aged man (Charles Laughton) who is trapped in an insufferable marriage. Laughton captures all the mannerisms of the situation, with a happy face for the neighbors masking his true torment. The story gets pushed along when he meets a younger woman (Ella Raines) and starts a relationship, which his devious wife (Rosalind Ivan) finds out about, sending him to the point of panic when she threatens him with social and financial ruin. The next door neighbor (Molly Lamont) is also trapped in an absysmal marriage to an alcoholic and abusive husband (Henry Daniell). One wonders why the writers didn't have Laughton and Lamont as the focus, as she's everything his wife isn't, instead of Raines. It would have saved the movie from becoming another police crime story. In any event, the chemistry seems to work pretty well, with Daniell and Ivan each in their own outstanding way supplying enough venom to propel the movie along, and Laughton excellent as a good man pushed into a corner.