Suspicion (Region B)

This movie was famously all set to be a scorcher but then comes that rushed and false looking ending. I won't say how it does end in case you haven't seen it, as the film is most definitely worth the watch, whatever you may think of the final five minutes, hence the 4 stars from me. Its production values, editing, continuity and flowing narrative are all classical Hitchcock, in other words, bloomin brilliant. There is suspense and mystery all the way through it...what a shame the director didn't get his way with the ending he had intended, as the movie was so carefully constructed with a different conclusion in mind and just looked right for it.Having said that, the ending we get is no disaster at all and does work as a narrative with all that's gone before - it sort of validates the title as well. It's just that we know this was not the original ending, or the original title, and we can't escape from the feeling of being made a fool of, or even being cheated. This of course was well within Hitchcock's capibility to do if he had so wanted, from the start, and several big films have since pulled similar tricks on purpose. So yes it does work in a way, but the thing should have ended that way with much more conviction than it did. The ending was so flimsily and quickly done that you almost sense a sulky Hitchcock deliberately did this in protest at the studio insisting on 'their' ending. Worth watching for an intriguing story of growing suspicion and fear, bringing a really meaningful performance out of Fontaine. Grant being slippery and not so likeable for once is also a bit of a joy and he seems to like it too.

Nowhere near Hitchcock’s best, or worst, this is still a very engaging film, from 1941, following Rebecca, which also starred Joan Fontaine.She won an Oscar for her role in this as a shy, trusting, bookish young woman who falls for worldly, feckless, and possibly homicidal Cary Grant, unsettling in a part that adroitly exploits the actor’s ability to look darkly dangerous or moodily thrratening. That Grant never won an acting Oscar is the most unforgivable of the many crimes of the Academy.This is less obviously suspenseful than, say, Notorious {a far subtler film} or Rear Window but it has its moments, one of them prime Hitch, involving a luminously white glass of possibly poisoned milk.The supporting cast is excellent, with Nigel Bruce as the lovably tactless ‘Beaky’, Grant’s best friend, much more bearable here than as Dr Watson.The ending is very different from the original novel’s darker denouement, and has long been a bone of contention, for its abruptness as much as its unlikeliness. But it just about works.Not top-rank Hitch, but still a good one, and essential for fans of the amazing Mr Grant.

I was very curious about this film (which I had never been able, or lucky enough, to see) for two main reasons: one was the couple, the other was the nature of the suspicion. To begin with the latter, and very differently from, say, 'Shadow of a Doubt', Hitchcock managed to keep the spectators uncertain as to the character played by Cary Grant. The suspicion survives the ending of the film. Hitchcock may well have been exploring a dimension of uncertainty, of suspicion, that he later fully developed in 'Birds'.As to the couple, portrayed by Grant and Fontaine, I could not imagine them living a love relationship like the ones at the heart of 'Notorious', 'To Catch a Thief' or 'North by Northwest'. And in fact the relationship is of a different nature, essential to the development of that kind of suspicion Hitchcock so cleverly explored in this film.

This is the sort of film the BBC used to show on Sunday afternoons. It has a plot and genuine suspense. On the negative side, for modern viewers, the acting is pure ham and the outdoor sets and matte paintings would embarass a village pantomime. This has always been a weakness of Hitchcock films e.g. the Birds, Marnie, Torn Curtain and Psycho. But in spite of that, it's an entertaining story with some nice twists and turns. For me the scene stealer is Nigel Bruce playing the huffing and puffing buffoon he does to perfection - mainly because it's the same part he always plays. Cary Grant is his usual charming self but with a dark side to his character. There is a B+W version and a colour version (how do they do that?). Lovers of B+W will be outraged that the movie is colorized but it probably makes the movie more acceptable to the younger viewer. For my money, though it is done well, the addition of colour makes some of the exteriors look even less convincing. It's always amusing that in films from this era everyone has a maid and a cook. Ah, those were the days.

A young woman meets a man on a train, falls in love, and marries him all too quickly. Not really having time to get to know him enough, she gets the wrong end of the stick on most things he does. However; the woman (Joan Fontaine) is not entirely to blame, since the man (Cary Grant) is untruthful with almost everything he tells her - and a string of 'coincidental' events do not help matters, and can only point in one direction... Eventually, the untruths lead to something more 'sinister' - but everything comes clear in the end.Though everybody raved about him, I was never a big fan of Cary Grant - either his acting ability - or his looks, though he's pretty good in this. I purchased this because it was a 'Hitchcock' movie - coupled with the fact that it also starred Joan Fontaine whose films were always pretty good.Lots of suspense in this!N.B. DVD includes both original Black and White and Colour versions.

I really enjoyed this film. It was good to see Cary Grant cast in a different sort of role. I really wasn't sure about him all the way through the film and the plot kept me guessing through to the very end. Frankly, it's hard to imagine not liking him in any role, but the story was intriguing and the supporting cast excellent. I found Joan Fontaine a bit melodramatic, but I suppose that's the style of acting back in those days. Would recommend.