STUFF YOU GOTTA WATCH

SUSPICION

(1941)
With Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine, Nigel Bruce, Cedric Hardwicke, Dame Mae Whitty
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Black and White
Reviewed by JL

Most assessments of Alfred Hitchcock's SUSPICION tend to read the same: a decent film until its studio-imposed copout of an ending. According to the familiar version of events, RKO refused to allow Cary Grant to be cast as a killer, forcing Hitchcock to tack on a hastily rewritten denouement. Recent research, however, has revealed that the studio made its demands before a first draft of the screenplay was even completed, meaning that the film's ending was in place from day one. (It's true that Hitchcock would have preferred a darker conclusion with Grant exposed as a murderer, but the film was never conceived around such an ending.) Frankly, I don't know what all the fuss is about because the ending as it stands is perfectly logical. Joan Fontaine is excellent in an Oscar-winning performance as a slightly more self-assured version of her REBECCA character, but Grant is even better in one of his most complex roles as the mysterious Johnnie Aysgarth, a man with two contradictory personalities. Yet despite its memorable characters and outstanding performances, as well as Hitchcock's continued growth as a technician and storyteller, SUSPICION is a somewhat flat film that really should be better than it is. But don't blame the ending. I don't, anyway. ½ - JL