The Unsuspected

Nice atmospheric thriller with excellent black and white photography and with chilling use of shadows! The film is inspired by both "Rebecca" and "Laura", and maybe "Suspicion" i suspect... The murderer is obvious but it is still entertaining with a good script!

Loveley performances by Hollywood pros like Claude Rains, Constance Bennet and the underrated Audrey Totter always worth seeing!

This was my first Joan Caulfield movie, apparently a starlet at the end of the 40s, a good actress but a bit forgettable. I love these film noirs from the golden age of Hollywood. Golden age of filmmaking, actually...

Bravo, TCM, for showing this. I haven't seen it since I was in my teens thirty years ago. It is similar but in many ways superior to Laura. The major flaw of Laura is that it is impossible to believe that Clifton Webb has a great, overriding physical passion for Gene Tierney. There is no such nonsense in The Unsuspected. This is a highly atmospheric, evocative and literate noir set in the sophisticated world of radio and literary circles. We have a powerful, understated performance from Rains alternating between the likeable and sinister. He was one of the very few actors who could pull this kind of thing off (i.e. Notorious, Deception).I take great exception to a previous comment here about a "throwaway cast." Throwaway? Audrey Totter? Constance Bennett? Hurd Hatfield? The too little seen Fred Clark? Hardly throwaway! Totter's performance is etched in acid and this, with her job in Tension, is the best of this fabulous lady's career! She and Bennett here play both sides of the bitch coin. Totter is the nasty side, Bennett the amusing and brittle side. Both of theses dames bring life to dialogue that even on paper would be smart. If you love Warner Brothers, Rains, Totter, Bennett, or noir in general, this is a tasty treat.

'The Unsuspected's' main attraction was the cast, especially the rarely, if ever, less than great Claude Rains who is reason enough to watch any film on his own. Also the director Michael Curtiz, responsible for directing two of my favourite films 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' and particularly 'Casablanca'.

Loved 'The Unsuspected's' concept, the sort of film that has always been right up my alley, and it looked like it would be a little gem. Although it was not quite a gem, 'The Unsuspected' has a lot going for it and is a very good film sadly undervalued today, it deserves much more than relatively unknown status. It could have been better, but it is far from a waste of potential and the things that made me watch it in the first place don't disappoint.

It's not perfect. It does try to do too much in the plot, meaning that some parts are over-stuffed and convoluted. This sometimes hurts the plausibility.

Joan Caulfield also seemed a little bland to me in a slightly colourless role, but that is partly down to that the rest of the cast are stronger and their characters more interesting.

Especially true to this are Rains, who is as commanding and urbane as ever, and Audrey Totter on deliciously acidic form. Constance Bennett has the right touch of brittle and it was interesting to see Hurd Hatfield.

Curtiz directs with ease and control, never letting the pace let up, so the film is never dull and always absorbing despite some story flaws, and with great direction of the actors. It is a lavish-looking film and is rich in atmosphere and evocative mood. The action sequences are deft, especially the climax, the noir-ish suspense is nail-biting and the workings of radio aspects are very insightful. The script is always clever and literate, which is a big plus.

All in all, very good but could have been great. 7/10 Bethany Cox

To answer the question, "Who is the unsuspected?" the viewer must wait until the very end of the film. In reality, the unsuspected is revealed toward the beginning of the movie. So though there aren't any real surprises--this is not a mystery--there is a big helping of suspense and thrills along the way. The viewer also gets a glimpse of old time radio just before television took over. Victor "Grandi" Grandison (Claude Rains) is a big time radio personality whose main claim to fame is telling creepy, murder stories, read from a script he helped write, to a large radio audience. Several scenes take place during the broadcast inside the radio studio. The viewer gets to see all the hand signals and day to day activities involved in a live broadcast in those days. Many radio shows were transcribed (recorded on huge record discs) both for posterity and for possible re-broadcasts. Grandi makes these for nefarious purposes also. How they are made is shown in great detail.

With lines such as "We missed you while you were dead," this is one of the best film noir screenplays of the 1940's. One of the great femme fatales of the era, Audrey Totter as Althea Keane, gets some of the wittiest lines, which she delivers with élan. So listen carefully when she speaks. She dominates every scene she's in. The only one in the cast who comes close to her acting talents is Claude Rains. In some ways his part closely resembles the character he played the year before in the Hitchcock classic "Notorious," the master spy Alexander Sebastian. While Althea's husband, the tipsy Oliver (Hurd Hatfield), also shines, his role is fairly cut and dried with only brief appearances. The others in the cast are more than adequate, in particular Jack Lambert as Mr. Press, a violent, shady character who is blackmailed into doing dirty work for Grandi.

Michael Curtiz knowingly directs in noir fashion with crisp black and white photography surrounded by rainy, spooky nights making the audience believe that danger lurks in the shadows. Curtiz makes sure the film is fast-paced. There is even an exciting chase at the end involving Jack Lambert recklessly driving through traffic in a pickup truck, attempting to destroy evidence at the city dump before the motorcycle cops catch up with him.

The music blends in with the story. For example, when Grandi comes home unsuspected, his birthday party is in full swing. The piano man fills the room with "Someone To Watch Over Me." Grandi is unnerved by the tune and makes a snide remark to Matilda Frazier (Joan Caulfield) to the effect that he would like to fire the piano player. Neglected for years, critics and noir fans are just now discovering this intriguing movie.

One of the fine mystery thrillers from 40's and near the top of the film noir lists. The Unsuspected is a showcase for one of Hollywood's real accomplished actors of that era, Claude Rains. Though more widely remembered for "Casablanca", "Notorius", and "Mr. Skeffington," Rains gets to show off his versatility in a starring role. As the charming but malevolent lead, Rains comes up with a very professional turn as the respected radio announcer and suspect. Pairing with him is a "femme fatale" from that time, Joan Caulfield. The bosomy, sexy blonde is more convincing here than in the light comedies she played during her career. This film dates well and will keep your interest. It's one I would like to see once more. Any readers know where a VCR copy can be purchased?