THE SUSPECT: Blu-ray (Universal, 1944) Kino Lorber

Charles Laughton gives a towering performance of subtle strength and character – two, uniquely undervalued characteristics in today’s world – in director, Robert Siodmak’s The Suspect (1944). That Laughton’s benevolence is tainted by the dark act of murder is all to the good, as Bertram Millhauser and Arthur T. Horman’s screenplay, based on James Ronald’s novel, This Way Out affords his otherwise basically kind-hearted and accomplished alter ego to resort to the basest of all human endeavors to achieve what compassion and understanding cannot. It ought to be pointed out that Charles Laughton – in life – was a very odd fellow. Decidedly witty and a stellar artiste, he nevertheless agonized with insufferable bouts of anxiety, usually to drive his directors and fellow actors batty. Laughton’s highly moral nature appeared at odds with his embraced bisexuality. For the rest of his life, he struggled to reconcile his extracurricular activities with young men and his open marriage to noted actress, Elsa Lanchester, whom he met in 1927 and wed in 1929. The couple would remain man and wife until Laughton’s death in 1962, from renal cancer. There is also something to be said of the proverbial ‘fat man’s’ complex. Laird Cregar, a similarly brilliant actor, suffered from it. And Laughton, openly acknowledged he possessed none of the traits to be considered outright ‘attractive’ by the Benzedrine-driven megalomania of glamour-guided Hollywood. Thus, he assuaged his physical shortcomings by studying hard to become an accomplished thespian. And make no mistake – Laughton in his prime was as in much demand in pictures as Clark Gable and Gary Cooper. The roles he was offered were richer too for his lack of ‘stud’ quality. In The Suspect, Laughton’s Philip Marshall is a gentle store manager, alas, ridden to wild distraction by his harridan of a wife, Cora (Rosalind Ivan), who, at the outset of our story, drives their only son, John (Dean Harens) from the house in a fitful rage and thereafter takes every opportunity to emasculate her husband, despite his devotion to her and respectability elsewhere in his dealings with the general public.

Philip is also sensitive to his neighbor, Edith Simmons (Molly Lamont) whose husband, Gilbert (Henry Daniell) is an uncaring brute, having left his drunken mark upon her forehead. Managing a fashionable tobacconist’s shop, Philip is introduced to Mary Gray (Ella Raines) – a young woman looking for a sales job. And while Philip is quite unable to employ her, he proves instrumental at finding the amiable young lass more suitable employment as a stenographer elsewhere.  It isn’t long thereafter. Philip begins to monopolize Mary’s time. He takes her to the theater, the races, and other social outings. In point of fact, and despite the chasm between their years, Mary grows fond of Philip who also begins to fall in love with her. Alas, Cora suspects an infidelity and, after Philip moves into their son’s former room to spend his nights, Cora threatens to expose the scandal of their affair, thus to derail Mary’s success and happiness. To shield Mary’s reputation, Philip breaks all ties. Tragically, Cora’s venom will not be subdued. A short while later, Cora takes a tumble down the stairs at home. And while the death is ruled as accidental, Scotland Yard’s Inspector Huxley (Stanley Ridges) presses onward, believing Philip has murdered his wife. Huxley’s investigation hits a dead end when he discovers Mary has wed Philip, thereby preventing a wife from testifying against her husband.

However, Gilbert operates by no such legitimacy or Queensbury rule. In fact, he believes he can blackmail Philip by dangling the threat of ruining his respectability for good, inventing an argument between Philip and Cora on the night of her death. Such a claim would corroborate Huxley’s suspicions of murder. To prevent this, Philip poisons Gilbert with an overdose of anodyne drops from a bottle Edith shared with him. Philip and Mary now make their plans to immigrate to Canada to be with John in his new life and position abroad. Learning of Gilbert’s demise, Huxley sets a trap to deliberately frame Edith for the murder, knowing it will flush out Philip who, at his core, remains an honorable man, whose integrity in friendship to the widow now will not allow her to be hanged for a crime she, decidedly, did not commit.  Boarding the ship for Canada, at the last possible moment, Philip tenderly kisses his wife and son goodbye, disembarking – presumably, to turn himself in to Huxley for Gilbert’s murder.

The Suspect is a wonderfully engaging whodunit, greatly buoyed by Charles Laughton’s central performance as the man who cannot live with dishonor, though might have been able to endure the stigma of remaining a closeted murderer. Clearly, the circumstances by which Philip Marshall’s crime was committed are justifiable. Hell, they might even be considered as philanthropy, as murdering Gilbert spared the gentle Edith from a terrible and tragic life with an abuser. Apart from Laughton, the other rewarding performance in the picture is owed Ella Raines – a protégé of director, Howard Hawks. And while her stardom seemed justly assured in the early 40’s, by the end of the decade she was almost forgotten, a suicide attempt following her divorce from Franchot Tone doing much to hasten her retreat from the public spotlight. Intermittently to appear on television thereafter, Raines never did find marital bliss. She died of in 1988 – 67 years young. In The Suspect, she sells us completely on the notion a beautiful young Miss, with her feet firmly on the ground, could fall in love and marry a middle-aged fellow of unprepossessing physical stature, but otherwise good nature, and love him sincerely for who he was (or, at least, who she thought him to be) and not pursue him merely for the position or money to be derived from such an alliance. Rosalind Ivan makes us thoroughly hate her as the unsympathetic Cora, while Henry Daniell is up to his usual mean-spirited tricks as one of the cinema’s irrefutably dependable baddies from this golden age of sneering, archetypal villains. Set in 1904, The Suspect also has some of Universal Studios’ best craftsman toiling behind the scenes to recreate this gilded period from scratch: John B. Goodman and Martin Obzina’s production design, Russell A. Gausman and E.R. Robinson’s set decorations, and Vera West’s plush costumes conspiring on a lush and lovely production. Skewing toward ‘character study’ rather than a bona fide noir thriller, The Suspect is an all-around excellent entertainment.

Were that anyone at Universal would take notice. Alas, no – the studio farming out a careworn video master, likely produced for the DVD age, to Kino Lorber, who have slapped this one to disc with all the baked in shortcomings of another Uni flick given little consideration beyond making it available to sell. The image here sports anemic contrast. The main titles are very soft. We lose much fine detail in long and medium shots thereafter. These appear quite soft and generally out of focus. Close-ups are more impressive, though here too the results are not quite as crisp or deeply refined as one would expect. Age-related artifacts are generally not the issue as Uni has, at some point, scrubbed the image, occasionally to veer into ever-so-slightly waxy image quality, further degrading Paul Ivano’s original cinematography. The first two reels of The Suspect are a soft and murky affair. Curiously, things marginally improve after that, but never to a point where one can entirely forgive Uni its shortcomings. The 1.0 DTS mono is occasionally muffled. Dialogue, on the whole has been competently rendered. Not great, by any means, but serviceable nonetheless. Extras are limited to an audio commentary from film historian, Troy Howarth. It’s okay, but not comprehensive. And Howarth meanders too, leaving out some necessary background, while making short of some points and belaboring others. We also get a slew of trailers for other like-minded fare Kino is hoping to market to the avid collector. Bottom line: The Suspect is a solid B-picture. The Blu-ray is a B- to C+ in terms of quality. Judge and buy accordingly.

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

4

VIDEO/AUDIO

2.5

EXTRAS

1