Suspicion (1941)

A rather conservative young woman (Joan Fontaine in an Oscar winning performance), who comes from a wealthy family, impulsively marries an irresponsible and penniless playboy (Cary Grant). But when she catches him in a series of lies, she begins to suspect the worst. Based on the novel BEFORE THE FACT by Francis Iles, the film is substantially different from the book. The novel is darker, a portrait of a murderer as seen through the eyes of his victim. Alfred Hitchcock's film is a film about unconditional love wrapped up in the guise of a thriller. The film appears to be going in one direction when suddenly we're left with a neat little phony ending. In spite of the almost disastrous ending, what leads up to it is very good and very well acted with Grant particularly good. Yet one can't help but wonder why we're supposed to be happy that the heroine ends up with a lazy, lying ne'er do well. Well, I did say it was about unconditional love, didn't I? Franz Waxman did the nice underscore. With Nigel Bruce, Cedric Hardwicke, Dame May Whitty, Leo G. Carroll, Heather Angel and Gavin Gordon.