Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Jenna Walter The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

st-shot 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.

hwg1957-102-265704 ....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.

GManfred 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.

Alex da Silva 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.