Le crime était presque parfait

The Unsuspected (1947)

Another Michael Curtiz gem (think of "Casablanca" and "Mildred Pierce") but with a story that is less compelling and, oddly, more complicated. The film is gorgeous, filmed with lush intelligence. And Claude Raines is terrific as the leading man throughout. Perhaps the rest of the cast is too routine to lift the film out of the ordinary in other ways. But I still found it striking and interesting all through, even the second time.

For his final film on his Warner Brothers contract Claude Rains got a starring role instead of being in support of one or two of Warner's name contract leads. Rains plays Victor Grandison the host of a radio mystery show where he narrates crime stories. He's a most popular host with good Hooper ratings I'm sure. Hooper by the way was the equivalent of the Nielsen ratings for television.

Rains lives well courtesy of his niece Joan Caulfield who has some large inherited wealth. There's another niece Audrey Totter who lives with them and her husband Hurd Hatfield, but not happily.

One of Rains's aides at the radio station is murdered. Then Caulfield is reported missing at sea. Before she's found Ted North arrives at the estate claiming to be her husband, but she can't remember getting married.

A couple of more deaths occur and always Rains is The Unsuspected one. What he is is a master manipulator of people and events.

The key to it all is North who is definitely not what he seems. Also Constance Bennett is around who works at the radio station. I liked her, but she's got a most ill defined role. And we never do learn why the first aide is killed.

Nevertheless Claude Rains is really giving a performance that they ought to show in acting classes. So many emotions, so subtly conveyed.

For Claude Rains fans everywhere.

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.

I liked this bit of film noir. The story is a bit confusing and it lacks a solid foundation for introducing and developing characters. Unlike most films, this film might have been over edited. Another 10-15 minutes of character development might have helped.

Now having said all that, what I truly liked about this film is that it is set during the golden age of radio. Its nice to have a contemporary view of this now lost and long forgotten world. We get to see a production of an "old time radio" program. We see how sound was recorded before taping became practical. Claude Rains' character is a narrator of a spooky, murder mystery radio show very much along the lines of popular radio programs such as "The Whistler" or "Suspense" or "Lights Out." Rains was perfectly cast in this role. His "radio voice" hearkens back to the day when "the Man in Black" or "the Whistler" kept millions of Americans entranced by the glowing dial in their darkened den or bedroom.

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.