0
0
Rating: 4.75 out of 5
Have you ever wondered about someone that you are with or your friend? I’m talking about having a major suspicion about them because they say one thing and then do something completely different. They tell you they are a high-ranking person in the company only to be something else. How about they have a lot of money only to be dead broke. How about a person that loves to gamble, and no matter what, they seem to pawn or sell everything they have, believing they will hit it big? Everyone has a suspicion about someone. The legendary director Alfred Hitchcock comes along and makes a film about a romantically inexperienced woman who marries a charming playboy after initially rejecting him. The playboy turns out to be as he seems and lies about everything. Soon her world changes as she believes he is attempting to kill her. Dun dun dunnnnnnnnn!
While traveling alone by train to the countryside of England, repressed, shy Lina McLaidlaw (Fontaine) is sitting in a first-class car while reading child psychology. By a chance encounter, she meets handsome, irresponsible playboy Johnnie Aysgarth (Grant), who crashes into her car. He doesn’t leave an impression on her as he has a third-class ticket and asks her to pay the difference. While in the countryside, Johnnie persuades Lina to go for a walk as he comes on her really hard. Lina turns him down and goes home. Overhearing a conversation between her parents talking about her, they assume she will never marry. Hurt by this, she kisses Johnnie and immediately falls in love with him. The pair get married, and after a highly expensive honeymoon and purchase of an expensive, Lina discovers that Johnnie is not what he seems. He is a broke-ass, penniless gambler who tries to think of get-rich schemes and borrows heavily from his friends to live in a high standard. Lina soon catches Johnnie in lie after lie, learning from his old friend and partner in a real-estate business, Beaky (Bruce). As the lies and debts mount, Lina believes that Johnnie has come up with a new plan to live lavishly. That he is going to kill her to obtain her life insurance money. Dun dun dunnnnnnnnnn!
I want to say this first. What is the deal with shy, innocent women falling for handsome playboys who are no good? This is the second movie I saw with this concept. Men preying on innocent women and sweet talking them. What a shame, but hey, it makes for a good premise. The story didn’t become good until one of Johnnie’s friends died. First off, the story revolved around Johnnie and his marriage to Lina. We see under the smile and charm that Johnnie is a gold-digging man. He is dead broke and has no shame about it. He rather lie and sell things that are not his. He seems to always be on the hustle to think of a quick money scheme. Lina hates this because she has little money, and Johnnie’s grand plan is to cash on her inheritance and live the high life.
The story turns when Lina’s father dies and only leaves a giant painting of himself to Lina. Johnnie doesn’t like this as his meal ticket seems to have vanished. This is when he thinks of a scheme with Beaky to make a hotel on the beach. When Lina questions, he snaps. At this point, I don’t know why Lina stayed with this punk ass bitch. She should’ve left his lying, cheating ass on the corner. Things really get crazy when Beaky suddenly dies. He doesn’t die just out of the blue. He dies the same way that Lina’s friend’s murder mystery book was written. I’m telling you, those are beyond red flags. When the police say that Johnnie was with Beaky when he died, that should’ve raised some major red flags. When an insurance agent tells Lina that Johnnie came by to borrow against her life insurance, homegirl should’ve packed her shit and bounced.
I want to give props to Alfred Hitchcock. The man is known as the “Master of Suspense,” he sure did make some in this film. He displayed a subtle buildup of tension until the climax. That is when he let his full display of mastery come out. When Johnnie and Lina were driving down a twist and turn highway, Johnnie seemed to go crazy, and the camera made sure to show the terror in Lina’s eyes. Oh, the fear was simply outstanding. At this moment, you didn’t know if Lina was going to die or not. Now is this one of his best works? Nope, but it’s a wonderful display of directorship.
As far as the two stars go. Cary Grant, as Johnnie Aysgarth, was a playboy who was a fast talker and charming. He seemed to have no worries even though. Grant changed his expressions and mannerisms as the stress of making Lina happy increased. I will say this, Grant has the smile and smooth talking skills to make anyone believe him. Dude rolled up into a party just because he could.
The true star of the film was Joan Fontaine as Lina McLaidlaw Aysgarth. Here is a movie fact about this film. Fontaine is the only person to have an Oscar-winning performance in a Hitchcock film. That is big time as there have been many Hitchcock films. Fontaine was great as she was so sweet and innocent. When she started to believe Johnnie was going to kill her, you saw the fear in her eyes and the tension rise in their relationship.
Suspicion is a good Alfred Hitchcock mystery film, but it’s not an all-time great. Joan Fontaine must be applauded as she is the only person to have an Oscar-winning performance in a Hitchcock film. This movie is a slow build that leads to a chest-beating moment but isn’t like other Hitchcock films. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed this film.
