Critic Reviews
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Variety Staff, Variety
Alfred Hitchcock's trademarked cinematic development of suspenseful drama, through mental emotions of the story principals, is vividly displayed in Suspicion.
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Everyone concedes that this 1941 Hitchcock film is a failure, yet it displays so much artistic seriousness that I find its failure utterly mysterious.
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Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Despite a silly cop-out ending (imposed by RKO), a gripping domestic thriller.
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Bosley Crowther, New York Times
Mr. Hitchcock is probably the most artful sophist working for the films -- and anyone who doesn't think so should see Suspicion.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The Hollywood-style happy ending was imposed on Hitchcock by the studio.
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Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
The disappointingly neat coda has led to the dismissal of the film as second-tier Hitchcock, but up to that ending, the critique of marriage is so provocative, the imagery so powerful, and the acting so good that it's extremely enjoyable to watch.
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Grimly powerful.
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Eric Lurio, Greenwich Village Gazette
Great classic Hitch.
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John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
The problem for the audience is accepting the possibility that Cary Grant, the always delightful big-time movie star, could ever, in a hundred years, actually play a murderer.
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John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
...a middle-tier Hitchcock product, not really as suspenseful as it should be and never as romantic or humorous as it could be.
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Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
The director does some wonderful things with the picture up until the ludicrous ending. Still you can't help feeling a vague disappointment with the whole enterprise.
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Tony Medley, Tolucan Times
Slow but interesting.
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Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
There's an excellent 21-minute documentary about the film, which draws on film historians and others.
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Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
The film isn't close to Hitch's best, but it's a critical part of his canon that shouldn't be missed.
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Nell Minow, Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
Watch out for that glass of milk!
Read all 15 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
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Ok, so I didn't care much for the ending but then all that was missing was a wink or a wry smile. In a way, it was a great set up for Hitchcock's films to come. What is great about this film is the fantastic performances by Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine. Grant oozes charm and… More
Ok, so I didn't care much for the ending but then all that was missing was a wink or a wry smile. In a way, it was a great set up for Hitchcock's films to come. What is great about this film is the fantastic performances by Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine. Grant oozes charm and arrogance in equal measure, you're not supposed to always like what he does but you can't help but like him. Joan Fontaine is stunning, even when she fluffs her lines a little (and she does on two occasions) she carries on in style. Nigel Bruce is a great supporting actor too, his lines are brilliant as is the script in general. A great Hitchcock film although not necessarily in the style he's best remembered for but then he did make Saboteur less than a year later.
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A bookish young woman rashly marries a charming playboy but mounting circumstantial evidence of wrongdoing leads her to fear for her life. In this early project by the master of suspense, Hitchcock takes the formula of the breezy screwball romance and turns it on its head. The early… More
A bookish young woman rashly marries a charming playboy but mounting circumstantial evidence of wrongdoing leads her to fear for her life. In this early project by the master of suspense, Hitchcock takes the formula of the breezy screwball romance and turns it on its head. The early scenes could be from any other romantic comedy from the golden age, but he uses his usual tools of misdirection, doubt and paranoia to slowly build the suspense until the sweet and innocent Joan Fontaine becomes convinced that her new husband is a murderer intent on killing her for her inheritance. There are some classic Hitchcock moments, the highlight being the way he manages to make a glass of milk menacing and it deals with one of his favourite subjects, namely psychology. To a modern viewer, it seems obvious that Johnny is manic depressive. Cedric Hardwicke is on hand to supply some comic relief in his trademark affable old duffer persona and it's all very watchable. It doesn't rank amongst his best however, as Grant is far more comfortable as charming romantic lead than suspected assassin and the conclusion is resolved far too quickly and conveniently making the similar Rebecca a more satisfying experience as a whole.
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One of many pairings between Hitch and Grant. This one sees Cary play against type as a scheming playboy who sweeps Joan Fontaine's wealthy wallflower named Lina off her feet and into an initially nice romantic marriage. However, she soon becomes suspicious and begins to think… More
One of many pairings between Hitch and Grant. This one sees Cary play against type as a scheming playboy who sweeps Joan Fontaine's wealthy wallflower named Lina off her feet and into an initially nice romantic marriage. However, she soon becomes suspicious and begins to think that her husbands reputation of being a gold digger might be true, which obviously would make her his next target.
The film is rather slow burning, but it's a fairly solid mix of romance, mystery, and suspense. It takes a bit to get into it and really get involved, but once that happens, this is a really enjoyable film. The ending is kinda a mixed bag, but it's a fun ride nonetheless, especially since the film does a great job of towing the line between whether or not Lina's suspicions are true or not.
Add in some great production vlaues and special effects, and you've got yourself a winning film. I might be slightly inflating my grade on this one, but even then, this is still a strong movie that you should make a point to check out.
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Quite a disappointment for me, one of Hitchcock's worst films. I just felt it bumbled along and I didn't really get the suspicion. It didn't rub off on me enough so I didn't really care what happened.
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Hitchcock's tale of a spinsterish but well off lonely woman seduced by a charming ne'er-do-well is a mature rollercoaster ride as daddy's dire and unheeded prophecy comes true before her terrified eyes. Fontaine deserves her Oscar ... but Grant dazzles, becoming an… More
Hitchcock's tale of a spinsterish but well off lonely woman seduced by a charming ne'er-do-well is a mature rollercoaster ride as daddy's dire and unheeded prophecy comes true before her terrified eyes. Fontaine deserves her Oscar ... but Grant dazzles, becoming an ominous Mr.Hyde (w/o make-up dahlink!) in a second. Hitchcock shines in this tale of subtleties like a polished diamond in a coal field!
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Walter, this is another one where I wish I'd written the script. Maybe my favorite Hitchcock, but I have to agree with him when he says he'd rather have had it end with Grant murdering Fontaine -- the way the book it was based on ended. <p> As is, the… More
Walter, this is another one where I wish I'd written the script. Maybe my favorite Hitchcock, but I have to agree with him when he says he'd rather have had it end with Grant murdering Fontaine -- the way the book it was based on ended. <p> As is, the "happy" ending is a little too quick and not quite convincing, although given the constraints of having to have a "happy" ending, I think Hitchcock came up with a decent finish. <p> I really don't believe that Grant was checking out poisons that couldn't be traced because he wanted to kill himself due to his shame. The character really is without shame, and bordering on amoral. And to have Fontaine voice the realization of Grant's wanting to kill himself is just too unbelievable for me. <p>Still, the edge of your seat non-stop guessing game is masterful. Really one of Hitchcock's best jobs.
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In my opinion, this film would be ranked with other Hitchcock masterworks if it wasn't for the cop-out ending forced onto him by RKO Studios. Cary Grant at his most sinister and Joan Fontaine gives her best performance.
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Another great one from Hitchcock. Joan Fontaine is brilliant; she completely deserved her Oscar for Best Actress. See this one for her performance, and an out of the ordinary role for Cary Grant.
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Pretty good Hitchcock here.
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"If you're going to kill someone, do it simply."
Suspicion is aptly named. In fact, you could say that the entire movie is summed up in the title. In this Hitchcock thriller, the famed director once again tackles the subject of murder. Through a series of suspicious… More
"If you're going to kill someone, do it simply."
Suspicion is aptly named. In fact, you could say that the entire movie is summed up in the title. In this Hitchcock thriller, the famed director once again tackles the subject of murder. Through a series of suspicious events and her own intuition, Lina (Joan Fontaine) becomes suspicious that her loving but deceitful new husband (Cary Grant) is capable of murder. Will she end up dead as a means to an end to pay off his gambling debts, or will her imagination end up making her unfairly push away her loving husband?
Hitchcock does a good job of keeping the viewer in the dark about Johnnie's true nature until the end, and keeps the movie interesting, as a result. I liked Fontaine and Grant in this, they gave good performances. They didn't surpass their work with Hitchcock in Rebecca and To Catch a Thief, respectively, but I certainly didn't have any complaints. Grant is suitably ambiguous, and Fontaine portrays the see-saw emotions of her character well.
Overall, Suspicion didn't blow me away the way that my favorite Hitchcock movies did, but it was enjoyable. Even middle-tier Hitchcock is worth checking out, in my book.
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A must see movie for fans of HItchcock, Grant, Fontaine, and Hardwicke!
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Slow burning thriller but not one of Hitchcock's best. Full review later.
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My least favorite Hitchcock/Grant team up, but itâ??s still a really good movie. Itâ??s a lot more of a comedy than a thriller, but it does have some elements of suspense thrown in. I really love the first act of the film, I think it really has the most personality and interesting… More
My least favorite Hitchcock/Grant team up, but itâ??s still a really good movie. Itâ??s a lot more of a comedy than a thriller, but it does have some elements of suspense thrown in. I really love the first act of the film, I think it really has the most personality and interesting shots. The second act is slightly goofy, but it finishes with a fun twist ending that is appropriate. Cary Grant really makes the movie as good as it is because of his charisma and mastery of dialogue. Itâ??s certainly different from what you might be expecting, but itâ??s great none the less.
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often considered to be one of hitchcocks early greats, i really liked this film a lot but i found it to be just a tad too slowly moving. i loved the end of the film and as always hitchcock brought in an effective level of suspense, but the first 30 minutes were dry and it took too… More
often considered to be one of hitchcocks early greats, i really liked this film a lot but i found it to be just a tad too slowly moving. i loved the end of the film and as always hitchcock brought in an effective level of suspense, but the first 30 minutes were dry and it took too long to warm up to the characters. overall a solid film that i recommend but not one of hitchcocks best.
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Unsettling to see Cary Grant in such a dark role, which was surely Hitchcock's reason for casting him in the first place.
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"suspicion" is hitchcock's second collaboration with joan fountain after the breath-takingly enthreal "rebecca"...also an ideal showcast for cary grant to demonstrate his acting scale of enabling to emit a blurred sense of sinisterness which differentiates his… More
"suspicion" is hitchcock's second collaboration with joan fountain after the breath-takingly enthreal "rebecca"...also an ideal showcast for cary grant to demonstrate his acting scale of enabling to emit a blurred sense of sinisterness which differentiates his usual comic touch.
fountain is a spinister-alike uptight debutante who is secretly smotheringly passationate. with her emotions sealed under her nerdy frigid appearance until she meets playboy cary grant who is capable of nothing except womanizing, gambling and squandering. she gallopes to his bosom to repel against her parents' predication of her foredoomed celibate for life. after their sudden marriage, she discovers all his vices, and there's some perilous duplicity in him coated with his attentive thoughtfulness. her doubts toward him stack up after she finds out his over-enthusaism of studying murder cases as well as his eagerness to obtain the chemical formula of the un-tracable poison. how shall fountain do to survive over this sweetly handsome devil?
the scene of grant delivering a glass of milk to fountain is particularly creepy since it shimmers with omnious gleam in the dark that is resulted from hitchcock's whimiscal invention of setting a shining light bulb in the milk to constrast the background dimness, with a worrisome fountain lying upon the bedside frowning. what an atmostpheric scene.
the original story of "suspicion" actually encloses with the husband successfully disposes of the wife over the cliff road then acquires her insurance policy. but rko company demands hitchcock to alter the ending due to grant's romantic debonair image which populates in most flicks they invest upon him. so "suspicion" has two versions of endings, of course, ultimately hitchcock chooses to play it safe, and also it sorta fits into the moral sequence he often lectures in his flick, the trustful cord of marrital harmony, but usually hitchcock would bare you the betraying condemnation instead of ideal blossoming.
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Awesome film, but could have been better had they not tacked the happy ending onto it.
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Flawed but certainly worthwhile Hitchcock. Suspicion sets up a tale of marital danger, as over the course of their relationship, Joan Fontaine's character becomes increasingly worried about the possibility of her husband being a murderous social-climber.
Though we are in… More
Flawed but certainly worthwhile Hitchcock. Suspicion sets up a tale of marital danger, as over the course of their relationship, Joan Fontaine's character becomes increasingly worried about the possibility of her husband being a murderous social-climber.
Though we are in familiar Hitch territory, the film does not quite grip to his usual levels, something that may be attributed to the general fanciful nature of the first act, which makes you question if this is going to be a flat-out romance movie with a slightly slimy male lead. But with perseverance, Hitch triumphs by illustrating the 'suspicion' late in the game, into which Fonatine's fear of dying a spinster accentuates the likelihood of her man's indiscretions.
As a result, irregardless of the monkeyed ending (Hitch's intentional ending was never shot), the third act is remarkably tense, getting the heart racing like so few could emulate today. It's also worth mentioning that Fonatine's performance is the only Hitchcock-directed Oscar winner.
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You've kind of got to be in the mood, but it's really good.
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I prefer Gaslight for building suspense and ending more appropriately.
Read all 20 featured audience ratings
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