The Suspect (1944) watch online HD

Charles Laughton stars in director Robert Siodmak's excellent 1944 suspense thriller as a middle-aged shop manager in turn-of-the-century London who's driven to murder his shrewish wife when he falls in love with a beautiful young woman, and is then pursued by both a determined Scotland Yard detective and a blackmailing neighbor.

Laughton gives one of his most subtle, controlled performances as a basically good man who turns murderous when his nagging wife threatens to expose his "friendship" with beautiful Ella Raines. Miss Raines is very appealing as his heart's desire, and looks quite beautiful in the period costumes. Rosalind Ivan, who has a similar role as Edward G. Robinson's emasculating wife in Fritz Lang's 'Scarlet Street,' 1945, is excellent as the nagging wife. And Henry Daniell and Molly Lamont also offer top support as Laughton's no-account neighbor and his abused wife.

An excellent story of murder and blackmail that will appeal to fans of both Hitchcock-like thrillers and the marvelous Charles Laughton.

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.

Well, I won't bother to summarize what unfolds in this excellent suspense film starring the incredibly talented Charles Laughton, since other reviewers above have done so quite nicely, and have also touted the film's good qualities. I just watched my old VHS copy (taped off TV) last night (sort of fuzzy, but better than nothing). Why on earth Universal Pictures does not release this little gem on DVD, which it richly deserves, I will never understand. I am sure many discerning film buffs and Laughton fans would buy it in a New York minute. And, I mustn't forget to comment on how marvellously Rosalind Ivan portrays the wife from hell.

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 when hope then springs from an unlikely source. The moral shadings here are most intricate, Laughton's Philip Marshal is a completely sympathetic and fascinating character, the makers deftly toying 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 because Siodmak has a keen eye for suspense and 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 it 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

The one great "crime passionale" of British murder cases is the 1910 murder of Cora "Belle Elmore" Crippen, wife of the American born "Dr." Hawley Harvey "Peter" Crippen. The couple had been married from the early 1890s, and moved from the United States to England, settling in London. Crippen was the possessor of a degree from a small medical college in the midwest, but he really was on shaky ground as a physician under British standards (or the standards of a major American city for that matter). In fact, he was a seller of patent medicines, and practiced some opthalmology and dentistry under questionable auspices. But he was a good businessman, and made a comfortable living. Cora had pretensions of being an opera singer, and trained her voice. She did have some performances at various music halls, but her career was mediocre at best. She also treated the long suffering, mild Crippen as dirt, making him clean up her lover's shoes when they slept over at their home. Crippen hired a secretary, Ethel Le Neve, and they fell in love. In January 1910 Belle disappeared. Her friends became concerned, and Crippen told them she had left him. Later he told them that she died in Los Angelas. But when Le Neve was seen wearing her jewelry they became suspicious. Contacting Scotland Yard about their suspicions, the Yard sent Inspector Walter Dew to see what was going on. At first Crippen seemed plausible, but then he and Le Neve fled. The remains of Belle were found in the basement. She had been poisoned. Crippen and Le Neve (disguised as his son) fled by ocean liner to Canada, followed by Dew, who arrested them off Quebec. They were taken back to England, where both were tried. The Doctor partly tied up his defense by insisting on protecting Le Neve. As a result he was found guilty and she was acquitted. The Doctor was hanged in November 1910.

A movie was made, with Donald Pleasance as Crippen, and there have been films based on the story such as WE ARE NOT ALONE with Paul Muni. But this film with Charles Laughton is considered the best. Laughton captures the basic decency of the central figure, who made a bad marriage to a shrew, and fell for a decent woman too late. There are differences in the story. Rosalind Ivan (playing the "Belle" character) is not poisoned (like Flora Robson in the Muni film) but dies in an apparent accident falling downstairs. Laughton has a son who one suspects will marry the Le Neve figure after the film ends. And Laughton never even gets to see Canada, but gives himself up in England to save a neighbor suspected of killing her husband (a blackmailer Laughton has killed - another plot innovation not involved in the actual crime). But the film moves well, and one constantly feels for Laughton's character. Finally the fine Stanley Ridges gives a typically good performance as the counterpart of Inspector Walter Dew, who ended up sympathizing with the man whom he captured.

"The Suspect" is a taut suspenser, grandly acted by Charles Laughton and fine cast, and beautifully produced. But who can see it? Unfortunately, for some strange reason, the film was never brought out on video format. This comment is written to hopefully create some interest in helping to rectify this void. With all the less capable films on video, this is one omission which needs to be seriously addressed. ###

Unlike the grim dramas of Fritz Lang Edward G. Robinson played in (Scarlet Street and The Woman In the Window) Charles Laughtons' character of a genteel middle aged and middle class Englishman of the early 20th Century seems to be a figure of strength and solidity. The only thing to ruin this is a classic harridan of a wife at home. A loveless marriage that has produced a son the only point of agreement this couple has agreed to in the two decades + of this anchor on Mr. Marshall's soul. Then comes the heavenly disaster of love in the form of newly unemployed Ella Raines. No Joan Bennett sexpot/wench as in Woman In the Window,but a Good and proper English girl down on her luck who meets the kindly Mr. Marshall who at first is only doing the Good Deed that has earned him the respect of his neighborhood. But when you have the Nag from Hell(played to the nines by an icy shrewish Rosiland Ivans) and Henry Daniells as your pseudo-Gentleman stumblebum in the area Deep Trouble for the Good Man awaits. Add in Stanley Ridges performance as a Scotland Yard Inspector who Sherlock Holmes would respect as an equal,and you have a very distinct and classy journey down the Boulevard of Bad Choices for Good Reasons. Daniell's realization (too late)that Mr. Marshall has steel in his backbone is Movie Cool.

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.

I love a good suspenseful movie--particularly one where you find yourself rooting for the murderer! Charles Laughton plays a humble little man with a shrew for a wife. She is just plain mean and rotten and really needs to be killed! Any way, Laughton meets a nice young lady but does not cheat on his wife--they are just platonic friends at this point. You seem to understand that Laughton WANTS to make take this relationship to a deeper level, but his sense of decency prevents him from cheating on his wife--even if she is meaner than Godzilla. The shrew finds out about this friendship and delights in announcing she will use ALL her energy to destroy this decent woman. At this moment, Laughton has finally been pushed too far and he kills her (hooray).

The police do not suspect foul play and Laughton seems to have gotten away with it--and the viewer will find themselves pulling for him! However, the evil neighbor stumbles upon the truth and blackmails Laughton. So, you grow to REALLY hate this neighbor and when Laughton subsequently poisons him, once again you are cheering for him to get away with murder! I won't give away the very end of the picture, but I like that Laughton's inherent decency comes through. Two murders and BOTH seem very justified---now that's a creative twist!

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.

I finally got to see The Suspect one of the few Charles Laughton films I had not yet seen. I was totally bowled over by what he did in this film. It's really what film acting is all about, every breath, every nuance, every gesture is carefully delineated and brought to the screen. Laughton had a reputation for driving some of his directors a little nuts with his perfectionism and maybe he did to Robert Siodmark here. I prefer to think the two of them collaborated on a masterpiece.

The setting is Edwardian London in 1902. From outward appearances Laughton is a happy man, making a good living with a wife and a grown son. But he is married to one shrew of a woman he's put up with for over 20 years. He's ripe for a midlife crisis and ripe to stray. But a friendship he develops with pretty young Ella Raines recently hired at Laughton's office drives wife Rosalind Ivan up a wall. Later on Ivan dies as a result of a fall down the house stairs. Nobody can prove one way or the other whether it was murder. Scotland Yard's Stanley Ridges is up a wall with it.

Laughton and Ivan have a couple of neighbors, married couple Henry Daniell and Molly Lamont. When Ridges confides in Daniell during the course of the investigation, he inadvertently sets the stage for tragedy. Daniell himself says he's a 'total rotter' and proves it the audience's satisfaction.

The Suspect is one of many films based on the famous Dr. Crippen murder which was also in the same period. The only fault with the film is that the rest of the cast is fairly one dimensional in their characters next to Charles Laughton. But if you are a Laughton fan, this film is an absolute must.

The capturing of Dr. Crippen was one of the most sensational stories of the day (1910). The suspected wife killer had booked a passage to Canada along with his pretty secretary and mistress (who was disguised as a young man). Through means of the Marconi wireless and morse code the police were able to apprehend them while at sea. According to a documentary that I saw, witnesses at the time said that while Dr. Crippen was a nice quiet man, his wife was an overbearing harpie. "The Suspect" is a retelling of the Dr. Crippen case with Charles Laughton playing to perfection the meek and kindly shop manager married to a complete harridan (Rosalind Ivan was excellent and very scary in the part).

The movie created great suspense by the questions that were not answered - did Phillip Marshall kill his wife?? - the act wasn't shown and the murder that Phillip actually committed posed the question, will he get away with it and find true happiness?? Whatever happened the audience is on Phillip's side all the way!!

Phillip Marshall is married to a nagging shrew and when his son leaves because his mother has deliberately burned some documents, for him it is the last straw and he moves to a different bedroom. The same day he meets Mary Gray (beautiful Ella Raines) when she comes seeking work, she is taken by his kindness to one of the junior clerks but, unfortunately, there is no work for her. On his way home Phillip finds Mary crying in the park, she is destitute and needs a job. After taking her to a cafe he finds her a job and so begins the start of a beautiful friendship which blossoms into love - they go to the music hall, ballet etc and Phillip suddenly finds life worth living again. Of course his wife refuses to divorce him and after a particularly vicious quarrel where she threatens to drag Mary's name through the mud, the next morning she is found dead. It seems to be a case of accidental death but suddenly Scotland Yard Detective Huxley (Stanley Ridges, who was excellent in "Black Friday") is snooping around.

Phillip has always tried to be a friend to his long suffering neighbour Edith Simmons (Molly Lamont is just marvellous) who is married to the despicable Gilbert (Henry Daniell) who is not above knocking her around. When vile Gilbert tries his hand at a little blackmail, he has no proof that Phillip did kill his wife but he says he will lie to the police unless Phillip starts giving him money whenever he requests it. When Phillip goes into the kitchen and spies the sleeping medicine Gilbert is history but......

There are some parts that are hard to believe. Phillip hides the body behind the sofa and convinces his now wife Mary that Canada is the place to start a new life but before they can sail is persuaded to give himself up as Edith has been arrested for her husband's murder. As Huxley says "he is too much of a gentleman and fine person to allow her to take the blame"!! Why was Huxley hounding him then and how come the body was found in the river??? How would a very out of condition Phillip be able to get the body down there??? Another jarring moment to me was that I thought Ella Raines was just too young and beautiful to be attracted to Charles Laughton's character in any but a friendly, fatherly way. The fact that Ella Raines makes her character's feelings completely believable is a real tribute to this very under rated actress. Those were just a few, slight quibbles with what was an overall superlative film.

The big news of the moment is that new DNA evidence has come to light to suggest Dr. Crippen is really innocent of killing his wife.

And it was a very good try, too. It had many of the elements of a Hitchcock movie that make them so enjoyable. Plus, this one starred Charles Laughton, one of the best, although I can't picture him working for Hitchcock. I would think there would be the inevitable clash of personalities which would prevent such a matchup.

"The Suspect" is about a milquetoast married to a shrewish wife who hounds him until decides to take drastic measures. In the meantime, he meets Ella Raines. She is unemployed, he is smitten. (Put two and two together here). The milquetoast is played to perfection by Laughton, and his wife is played in the same manner by Rosalind Ivan.

Now comes an UnHitchcock-like development in the person of the Scotland Yard detective, played with an extremely heavy hand by Stanley Ridges. After introducing himself to Laughton, he immediately reenacts a supposed murder scene without even taking off his coat. He continues his seemingly unmotivated investigation for the rest of the picture, culminating in a completely far-fetched and disappointing ending.

That said, the picture is completely absorbing, made even more so by Laughton and by a terrific job in support by Henry Daniell, Laughton's alcoholic neighbor. I just think a better ending would have helped this movie to an even better final rating.

This is one of my favourite Charles Laughton movies. Playing a mild mannered man, very much loved by his peers for his gentleness and kindness to all around him. The only problem is his home life. The mother of his only son is a sour, vicious, complaining woman who doesn't want anybody to be happy including herself. She drives her son away from the family home and finds out that her husband (even though he's not sharing the marital bed) is having romantic liaisons with a young woman who recently enquired about employment as a "typist" wasn't much heard of in 1902, the year in which this is set. I totally understand why he has to do what he has to do and not the deed itself. You'll see for yourself the dilemma he has to face and may understand why I feel what he has done isn't really that bad.

In 1932, Charles Laughton appeared in a thriller called "Payment Deferred" where he is a suspect in the murder of his wife over his feelings towards a much younger woman. The wife in that film was soft spoken and gentle compared to the shew here, played with hateful bitterness by Rosalind Ivan to the 100th degree of hamminess. Laughton is soft spoken and gentle, but the moment their son leaves the house (to an abundance of cackling happiness by the unforgiving Ivan), Laughton moves into the now empty bedroom, simply responding to his wife's demands to know why that the answer might frighten her. At his office, Laughton shows compassion to a young boy runner who has been pinching coin for sweet treats and a young woman (Ella Raines) who is despondent over her personal situation.

But even a milquetoast like Laughton has his breaking point, and if there's ever been a wife who has crossed a line, it's the miserable Ivan. The light in Laughton's eyes comes back as he spends time with Raines, ignoring his unhappy home life. The demise of Ivan is played out subtly (offscreen) yet giving doubt to the audience whether Laughton was responsible or not. The truth is up to Scotland Yard detective Stanley Ridges, as shrewd as Ivan the Terrible was shrewish. Considering that Edward G. Robinson got the Ivan treatment in "Scarlet Street" right afterwards, I'm surprised that the British stage vet didn't pin a clause with her agent for no more harpy wives.

The 1902 London atmosphere is beautifully captured, most subtly without the excessive cockney accents and overabundance of eccentrics. As directed by Robert Siodmark, this is a rare period film noir with a touch of Gothic thriller as well. The details into every major character is perfectly laid out, with small little hints even in Ivan who is hypocritically moral in denying her own failures with her marriage to Laughton. Only a few well filmed scenes of fog add onto that cliché. This is one of the superb unsung classics that deserves to be regarded as a near masterpiece.

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.

....so says Cora Marshall (Rosalind Ivan) to her husband Philip (Charles Laughton) as she bewails the bickering state of their marriage. He happens to meet Mary (Ella Raines) and they begin a relationship which Cora finds out about and threatens Philip and Mary. Soon Cora is dead and the tension starts racking up until the last tense scenes. Is Philip a crooked tree or not? It is a good film, not particularly original, but engrossing.

Set in Hollywood's London where the fog billows around it looks good and Frank Skinner's musical score swirls around nicely too. Director Robert Siodmak knows how to make this kind of film. ('The Killers' of 1946 is his masterpiece) very well and this is no exception.

Laughton is excellent in his role as a kindly man caught up in a bad marriage who meets a younger woman and he holds one's sympathy right to the end. He underplays the role all for the better. Rosalind Ivan as his wife is wonderfully acid and Henry Daniell (Mr Simmons) is good too as a drunk who hits his wife, a rather pathetic but deeply selfish man. Molly Lamont who plays Daniell's wife also shines.

Well worth watching.

If you've never seen a Charles Laughton movie, The Suspect is a great one to start with. If you see him in Witness for the Prosecution or Advise and Consent, you'll get to see some great acting, but he's not particularly lovable. I always think of him as being very lovable, sensitive, and gentle, all of which are personified in his performance in The Suspect.

Charles is married to Rosalind Ivan, and they have absolutely no love for each other anymore. She continually browbeats him, and as a result, he's moved into bedroom down the hall and asked for a divorce. Then, when he meets the kind, sweet Ella Raines, he's even more motivated to rid himself of Rosalind. Ella is so different from his wife, and she makes him feel like he's getting a second chance. Their scenes together are so tender, it's easy to see why she falls for him, even though it might seem implausible at first glance.

While there are some twists to the story, it isn't the plot itself that keeps the audience riveted, it's tension inside Charles Laughton. He's incredibly calm and gentle, so much so that you trust him implicitly and want to leave him in charge of your small children. But, when certain things in the plot threaten his happiness, he very quietly simmers under the surface. This is one of my favorite of his movies and performances. Give it a watch, and then go rent The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

This review includes a plot synopsis that may spoil the film for those who don't want to know anything in advance.

Charles Laughton is simply wonderful in Robert Siodmak's morality tale, as a good man who is driven to crime by the wickedness of others. The ruthlessness with which he commits his crimes is only matched by the lengths to which he goes to in order to protect those he loves and to shield the innocent from harm.

I just saw "The Suspect" at a Film Noir festival. I loved the film, and found the conclusion heartbreaking and perfect.

There is something almost fairy tale-like about the story, and I was reminded, for some reason, of the Alastair Sim version of "A Christmas Carol." Unfortunately, "The Suspect" is not on DVD in the United States, and is hard to find, but I believe it would surely merit repeated viewings if it was.

When I give a movie a 10 rating, it's because the film is so good I would watch it again and The Suspect is one of those films that never lets me down. This is a very well turned out period melodrama, and the strength is in the performances. There are not many stories where you feel sympathy for the murderer, as you do for Charles Laughton's portrayal of the humble, henpecked husband. Laughton's performance is fascinating to watch, pure genius. Rosalind Ivans is perfect as his forever spiteful nagging wife. Ella Raines is delightfully lovely as the decent girl Laughton falls in love with. Henry Daniels is perfectly cast as the blackmailing neighbour, who ultimately seals Laughton's fate. The ending of this story is both very compelling and touching for the moral character Laughton plays. I will not give a synopsis for this top notch, underrated suspenseful film, as I encourage the reader to watch for themselves and be thoroughly entertained.

He is married and stuck for life with a monster when he meets the ideal candidate for a life's companion. It's a thriller of great suspense, and your sympathies are with Laughton all the way as he is pestered by a nosy inspector and the worst possible immediate neighbour, who manhandles his wife and blackmails him. The conclusion is devastating and leaves you with a permanent impression of the deepest sadness and pity. At the same time, it leaves you mercifully hanging in the air.

Objections could be made to some turns of the tale. The inspector is a bit too sharp for credibility, and Laughton is a bit too fast in his sudden decisions, but that's the flaw of Mr. Marshall's character. Nevertheless, the actors are all perfect, especially the women, and it is beautifully filmed. A perfect film to get upset by for the shortcomings of human nature.

I saw this film for the first time today (21/9/10) mainly to see one of my American film heroines, Ella Raines.As other reviewers have observed this film does not appear on DVD, at least I have not seen it before and I regularly check availability of 1940s films which are my speciality.I finally saw it on "Youtube.com".Ella had a unique, genuine & generous quality, which comes through in all her films which I have seen and which no amount of acting can disguise.This quality is almost a blueprint which is with you for life and film producers must have noticed this quality in Ella when casting her in roles.Two examples, see "Impact" & La Dama Desconocida".

The plot and similarities with the celebrated Dr. Crippen trial of 1910 have already been outlined by other reviewers.Of course the wretched moral code was in force in 1944, but the producers at least left one in some doubt of the denouement and great sympathy for Charlie Laughton's character.My only criticism was the obvious use of American actors playing British parts which rather grates on me.Bear in mind this was 1944 and us Brits were doing useful things like helping to win the war.At the time American actresses like Gwyneth Paltrow, Renee Zellweger & others were not around who could do convincing British accents.That is why I prefer to see Ella playing American characters on her home ground and why I awarded this film 6/10, as above average

Although this classic is not easy to find, it's well worth the time taken to track it down. It's a nicely made suspense thriller from Universal, produced during the war years, and it contains some very strong and mesmerizing performances. As the story goes, Charles Laughton plays a henpecked husband who meets the lovely and much younger Ella Raines. He is quickly charmed by her and will do anything to ensure that he is able to spend the rest of his life with her. So in a moment of utter desperation to escape his life of misery, so that he can be with Miss Raines, Laughton's character contrives to murder his wife and make it look like an accident. It may seem routine as these plots go, but the Hitchcockian story has flair and style thanks to Laughton's outstanding work.

An unhappy husband has an affair with a young woman, but what will he do when his wife finds out?

Simple tale of greed and murder that fails to plumb the depths. At first I thought there was a clever misdirection on who would turn out to be the villain, but no - this just coasts along in an understated way, with little intrigue or complexity. There is one suspenseful scene involving a cat, but that's about it.

Other reviewers praise the restraint of the director in the murder scenes, and I'm fine with that, but what seemed to leave room for ambiguity turned out to be nothing more than self-censorship. In fact the second scene was a little confusing, leaving unintended doubt as to whether the victim was dead.

Laughton gives a good performance, but even he couldn't provide a flash of insight into this character. As for the other actors, there really wasn't much for anyone to work with. It's a shortish run time and quite underwhelming. Only thing to praise is the sets.

Overall: Sober and forgettable melodrama.

Leave it to Charles Laughton to garner more sympathy than his victims while wishing the police would not do their job in The Suspect, a turn of the twentieth century cat and mouse that has you in the killer's corner.

Successful, respected merchant Philip is married to Cora, a contemptuous harridan to both father and son. When the son moves to Canada Philip meets a younger woman but honors his vows until the hateful Cora stretches him to the limit and he offs her free of blame by all except Scotland Yard's detective Huxley who doggedly pursues. When an unctuous wife beating neighbor blackmails him he strikes again.

The Suspect is an outstanding low key thriller that has you siding with the "villain" given his situation and the venal opponents he faces. Even the investigator has an unctuous intrusive way that offends especially when dealing with the total gentleman and well respected man Philip is. Laughton gives a beautifully measured and restrained performance that evokes great sympathy for a murderer; much of it with silent expressions and glances as well as stretch the part from pathetic to cocksure, tender to hateful. It is one of Laughton's finest and most underrated performances. As the dissipated neighbor poor man's George Sander's, Henry Daniell gives one of his finer efforts especially in the scene where he is spouting cynicism into the next world.

For his part, director Robert Siodmak rightfully deserves comparison to Lang and Hitchcock as he delivers half a dozen intense moments with his impeccable display of film language displaying nothing of a grisly nature but only inferring. He also works in some timely comic relief to lift matters and give Philip and us some breathing room as we hope he makes it to

the steamship bound for Canada on time.