Al di sopra di ogni sospetto

If the viewer can keep up with all the directions given in this nifty little spy vs. spy thriller, he is a better man than I Gunga Din. It's amazing that Richard Myles (Fred MacMurray) can remember all the details. The viewer may also be amazed that Fred MacMurray speaks such good German. MacMurray is one of those great Hollywood actors who never received his due, even though he almost matched the performances of Edward G. Robinson and Barbara Stanwyck in the film noir classic "Double Indemnity." He certainly keeps up with Joan Crawford in "Above Suspicion," although the two simply don't jell as a team. Barbara Stanwyck would have made a much better partner for MacMurray in this film.

All that aside, this is still a topnotch suspense movie from World War II. The flick is fast-paced and has worn well with the passage of time, since all the goings on are now just history to most viewers. Since director Richard Thorpe was an old hand at directing action pictures he lets the show get on the road and move along rapidly. He throws humor in from time to time to ease the tension the way Hitchcock would do in a more masterful way. Viewers used to seeing Basil Rathbone play Sherlock Holmes will enjoy seeing him play a dastardly Nazi stooge who receives his just desserts. In the opposite direction viewers may also enjoy seeing Conrad Veidt playing a good guy who assists the newlyweds Frances and Richard Myles (Joan Crawford and Fred MacMurray)in their dangerous mission inside Nazi Germany. Those who enjoy World War II espionage films, should find this one a winner.

I, more or less, agree with practically all the reviewers. I, too, have seen better spy thrillers and anti-Nazi movies, however, this movie, was, nevertheless, a good movie! Joan Crawford and Fred MacMurray were very good in the lead roles, although I thought the chemistry between them was not that good, whereas the chemistry between Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray in their movies together, especially "Double Indemnity", was fantastic! Bruce Lester, Reginald Owen, Richard Ainley, and, especially, Basil Rathbone all contributed very good supporting performances! Now we come to the actor for whom, like Mark.Waltz, this movie has a special place in my heart: Conrad Veidt! Conrad Veidt was not only an excellent actor, but he had a way about him that made him stand out in any movie, and this movie was no exception! Near the end of the movie, he danced a tango-smiling, and looking so happy, and that made me feel so good, and then I realized that this was his final movie before his early death at the age of 50! I felt so sad that he would no longer be giving his excellent performances!

Those wonderful movies of the past. The film's setting is in the days prior to the outbreak of the Second World War. Although it would have been highly unlikely that British Intelligence would have asked two non-Britishers and non-professionals to do a bit of spying for them which could turn very dangerous for them and give the whole thing away plus creating an international scandal (the World War had not yet started), yet it is always interesting to see how it would have developed. Good slick direction by Mr. Thorpe, excellent acting by Mr. McMurray and specially by Miss Crawford, excellent set design which does not forget the overcoats needed on the Brenner Pass between Austria (in the Film the country is called Southern Germany) and Itally (which did not get into the War until 1940). Good to see two decent people doing the right thing for the right cause endangering their own lives to get away from the Nazi and back to safety. Good work and fun to watch and don't forget the inimitable Mr. Veidt. He should have been in Hollywood a decade earlier.

Barzin Samimi

Tehran, Iran

Well, if Joan Crawford didn't know the end was near for her at MGM, she knew it when she was handed "Above Suspicion," based on the novel of the same name by Helen MacInnes. I read the novel years ago and confess I don't remember much of it.

The year is 1939, before war breaks out. Crawford plays a newlywed, and Fred MacMurray her American husband, who teaches at Oxford. The couple are asked by the foreign office to track down someone while honeymooning in Germany, a man who can help the Allies regarding a German secret weapon. This weapon is a magnetic water bomb that is pulled to a ship and explodes. At first, it's fun; then it becomes dangerous.

This is an entertaining film in part thanks to a good cast of Crawford, MacMurray, Basil Rathbone, and Conrad Veidt. There are some suspenseful sequences. There is also some real stuff of spy books and films - special hats, song codes, codes on maps and in books.

"Above Suspicion" doesn't seem very big budget and despite some Bavarian costumes and quaint German towns, it's all Hollywood set. Given the huge films Crawford took part in at MGM, this black and white movie must have seemed like a come-down. It was. Louis B didn't want over the hill actresses - i.e., those over 30. There's nothing special about her part, which could have been done by any MGM stock player. And at 38, for those days, she was a little old to be a bride. Better things were on the horizon for Crawford, though she couldn't have known it at the time.

Worth seeing.

American honeymooners (Fred MacMurray, Joan Crawford) are recruited by British government to spy on the Nazis just before WW2 starts. They have to contend with Nazi Basil Rathbone and a host of others who may or may not be on their side. Decent wartime thriller with some light comic touches. MacMurray and Crawford both do fine, though it doesn't seem like the part quite fits Joan. This was her last movie for MGM before departing for Warner Bros. Nice support from Rathbone and Conrad Veidt. It's the kind of movie that you feel could have been so much better in the hands of a different director and perhaps different leads. Joan reportedly wanted Alfred Hitchcock to direct. It does seem somewhat up his alley but he certainly would have had the script rewritten significantly. I'm sure it would have been a much better film with Hitch at the helm. As it is, though, it's an agreeable time-passer. I love Fred MacMurray's closing line.