In London in 1902, An unhappily married Charles Laughton
falls for a delightfully prim Ella Raines.
The result ― is MURDER.
At least that is the conclusion of the police force, in The
Suspect (1944), a faintly suspect film noir in its own right, and a movie which
relies heavily on the talents of the two leads, Charles Laughton and Ella
Raines.
It is in fact difficult to see what might be left to enjoy, were these two high quality talents were to be removed form The Suspect, and replaced with lesser mortals.
Charles Laughton was always a star, and enlivened any
production he appeared in, even if it were as pedestrian as this one. And Ella
Raines has her own star quality ― not just her grace and beauty, but
communicative skills which shine across the decades, giving her a uniquely
compelling quality ― unique because it is not based on either sex appeal, or
some lurking maternal quality.
And that is unique, and perhaps something to be celebrated.
Everybody who watches The Suspect and comments upon it, asks why on earth a lovely character like Ella Raines would fall for a grotesque like Charles Laughton. There is that!
But it is exactly these qualities which make such a match possible. Of course it is very noir indeed for a man to fall for a half dressed vamp, who is leaning suggestively over a bar ― but not all relationships are based on such impulses, not even it appears in film noir.
Most people will be here not for reasons of film noir however, but to see Charles Laughton. Laughton made such an art of acting that it is hard to imagine cinema without him, one of the greats of the great golden age.
Unlike the grim dramas of Fritz Lang, and we are thinking of those which feature Edward G. Robinson, such as Scarlet Street and The Woman In the Window) Charles Laughtons' character is a genteel middle aged and middle class Englishman of the early 20th Century, something much more reliable and not psychologically bound to a fatal flaw.
In fact, the strength and solidity in Charles Laughton's character is real, and so with this film noir we are perhaps more concerned with the dismantling of the past rather than its being trampled by new technological, moral and psychological imperatives.
The comparison between Ella Raines, who is staid, innocent and quite fun to be with, and Joan Bennett as the fatal attraction in The Woman In the Window is striking.
The traditional and perhaps more vaudeville aspect of this film then belongs to the nagging wife figure, a worse stereotype it is likely, and yet handled with gusto by an icy Rosiland Ivans in The Suspect.
His was a strange SECRET! Hers was a strange LOVE! |
Shadows and Fog in Olde London |
Mary: What is it Philip that you don't ever like to meet anyone?
Philip: Well, a chap my age has the right to a few peculiarities.
Despite leaning more towards drama than it does film noir,
The Suspect is directed by Robert Siodmak, who made many of your favourite film
noir titles. These include:
Christmas Holiday (1944)
The Suspect (1944)
The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945)
The Spiral Staircase (1945)
The Killers (1946)
Time Out of Mind (1947)
Cry of the City (1948)
The File on Thelma Jordon (1949)
Deported (1950)
*
Delving into the past, elements of the Crippen Case were still very much alive and relevant in the 1940s. There isn’t any background as to why the mild and delightful
Charles Laughton’s wife is such a hideous woman who doesn’t want to see anybody
being happy. She is played by Rosalind Ivan ― and she drives her son away from home
and then finds out that her husband is meeting a young woman, and not even
having an affair with her ― it is all entirely platonic.
“I walked through the forest and picked a crooked tree"
she says of him.
There is a particularly delightful twist in The Suspect however ―
because as viewers we find ourselves rooting for the murderer! This isn't something that would automatically spring to mind in consideration of someone like Dr Crippen
There is a firm suggestion that Laughton would like to make
take this relationship deeper, but his sense of decency prevents him from
cheating on his wife. The wife finds out and announces that she will do what
she can destroy this decent woman. Now, Laughton has finally been pushed too
far ― and he kills her. Although it happens entirely off screen, Laughton is so
good, and so suggestive as he chooses the murder weapon, we don’t need to see
any more. It is one of the best 'less is more' scenes of 1944!
So, at first it seems like Laughton has got away with the murder, until his evil
neighbour gets on board and figures out the truth. It means that when Laughton
subsequently poisons the neighbour, once again we cheer for him to get away with murder.
Even more amusingly, the morality and decency of the ending is superb, and unusual. Both murders seem justified in the eyes of the audience, and yet it is all about decency. Only Charles Laughton could have held this as well as he did. Only Charles Laughton could be so very DECENT about killing these awful people.
The result is at the same time rather conservative and melodramatic, while also subverting things rather amusingly as we root for the murderer against the bullying wife, and the blackmailing swine of a neighbour.
Robert Siodmak on Classic Film Noir