In Hitchcock’s Suspicion, Johnnie Aysgarth (Cary Grant) falls in love with Linda McLaidlow (Joan Fontaine) and, shortly into the film, the two marry. Though the opening scenes seemed to be jumping around quite a bit, it was necessary to show them falling in love and getting married rather quickly.
Regardless, after the two marry and go on a honeymoon, Johnnie shows Linda the beautiful house he bought for her. But she also learns that Johnnie had to take out a loan to buy the house. She urges him to get a job.
As the movie progresses, it seems more and more like Johnnie isn’t what he says he is. He gets a job working for his cousin and comes home one day with lots of presents for her, the maid and his old friend (Nigel Bruce). He says he won 2,000 pounds betting, but Linda (or Leena) learns that his cousin fired Johnnie because 2,000 pounds was missing.
With more little “coincidences” like this, Joan begins to suspect that something is amiss…
Joan Fontaine won the Oscar for Best Actress for this picture and she deserved every bit of it. Most of the movie consists of Leena (that is, Linda) thinking and deducing—all silently—and Fontaine performed masterfully. Grant, despite his sometimes monotone voice, gave a great performance as well, and Bruce supported the two excellently. Hitchcock worked the suspense up with his creative filming and camera angles and he leaves a bit of his imprint on it, though it is decidedly an early Hitchcock.
Hitchcock later claimed that he wanted a different ending, but the studio couldn’t let Cary Grant be portrayed as a murderer. However, Donald Spoto, in The Art of Alfred Hitchcock thinks the ending, as it stands, is strong.
A romantic suspense movie well worth watching, perhaps even better than Hitchcock and Grant’s later To Catch A Thief.
Regardless, after the two marry and go on a honeymoon, Johnnie shows Linda the beautiful house he bought for her. But she also learns that Johnnie had to take out a loan to buy the house. She urges him to get a job.
As the movie progresses, it seems more and more like Johnnie isn’t what he says he is. He gets a job working for his cousin and comes home one day with lots of presents for her, the maid and his old friend (Nigel Bruce). He says he won 2,000 pounds betting, but Linda (or Leena) learns that his cousin fired Johnnie because 2,000 pounds was missing.
With more little “coincidences” like this, Joan begins to suspect that something is amiss…
Joan Fontaine won the Oscar for Best Actress for this picture and she deserved every bit of it. Most of the movie consists of Leena (that is, Linda) thinking and deducing—all silently—and Fontaine performed masterfully. Grant, despite his sometimes monotone voice, gave a great performance as well, and Bruce supported the two excellently. Hitchcock worked the suspense up with his creative filming and camera angles and he leaves a bit of his imprint on it, though it is decidedly an early Hitchcock.
Hitchcock later claimed that he wanted a different ending, but the studio couldn’t let Cary Grant be portrayed as a murderer. However, Donald Spoto, in The Art of Alfred Hitchcock thinks the ending, as it stands, is strong.
A romantic suspense movie well worth watching, perhaps even better than Hitchcock and Grant’s later To Catch A Thief.
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