Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

In 1932, Charles Laughton appeared in a thriller called "Payment Deferred" where he is a suspect in the murder of his wife over his feelings towards a much younger woman. The wife in that film was soft spoken and gentle compared to the shew here, played with hateful bitterness by Rosalind Ivan to the 100th degree of hamminess. Laughton is soft spoken and gentle, but the moment their son leaves the house (to an abundance of cackling happiness by the unforgiving Ivan), Laughton moves into the now empty bedroom, simply responding to his wife's demands to know why that the answer might frighten her. At his office, Laughton shows compassion to a young boy runner who has been pinching coin for sweet treats and a young woman (Ella Raines) who is despondent over her personal situation. But even a milquetoast like Laughton has his breaking point, and if there's ever been a wife who has crossed a line, it's the miserable Ivan. The light in Laughton's eyes comes back as he spends time with Raines, ignoring his unhappy home life. The demise of Ivan is played out subtly (offscreen) yet giving doubt to the audience whether Laughton was responsible or not. The truth is up to Scotland Yard detective Stanley Ridges, as shrewd as Ivan the Terrible was shrewish. Considering that Edward G. Robinson got the Ivan treatment in "Scarlet Street" right afterwards, I'm surprised that the British stage vet didn't pin a clause with her agent for no more harpy wives. The 1902 London atmosphere is beautifully captured, most subtly without the excessive cockney accents and overabundance of eccentrics. As directed by Robert Siodmark, this is a rare period film noir with a touch of Gothic thriller as well. The details into every major character is perfectly laid out, with small little hints even in Ivan who is hypocritically moral in denying her own failures with her marriage to Laughton. Only a few well filmed scenes of fog add onto that cliché. This is one of the superb unsung classics that deserves to be regarded as a near masterpiece.

Although this classic is not easy to find, it's well worth the time taken to track it down. It's a nicely made suspense thriller from Universal, produced during the war years, and it contains some very strong and mesmerizing performances. As the story goes, Charles Laughton plays a henpecked husband who meets the lovely and much younger Ella Raines. He is quickly charmed by her and will do anything to ensure that he is able to spend the rest of his life with her. So in a moment of utter desperation to escape his life of misery, so that he can be with Miss Raines, Laughton's character contrives to murder his wife and make it look like an accident. It may seem routine as these plots go, but the Hitchcockian story has flair and style thanks to Laughton's outstanding work.

When I give a movie a 10 rating, it's because the film is so good I would watch it again and The Suspect is one of those films that never lets me down. This is a very well turned out period melodrama, and the strength is in the performances. There are not many stories where you feel sympathy for the murderer, as you do for Charles Laughton's portrayal of the humble, henpecked husband. Laughton's performance is fascinating to watch, pure genius. Rosalind Ivans is perfect as his forever spiteful nagging wife. Ella Raines is delightfully lovely as the decent girl Laughton falls in love with. Henry Daniels is perfectly cast as the blackmailing neighbour, who ultimately seals Laughton's fate. The ending of this story is both very compelling and touching for the moral character Laughton plays. I will not give a synopsis for this top notch, underrated suspenseful film, as I encourage the reader to watch for themselves and be thoroughly entertained.

I saw this film for the first time today (21/9/10) mainly to see one of my American film heroines, Ella Raines.As other reviewers have observed this film does not appear on DVD, at least I have not seen it before and I regularly check availability of 1940s films which are my speciality.I finally saw it on "Youtube.com".Ella had a unique, genuine & generous quality, which comes through in all her films which I have seen and which no amount of acting can disguise.This quality is almost a blueprint which is with you for life and film producers must have noticed this quality in Ella when casting her in roles.Two examples, see "Impact" & La Dama Desconocida".The plot and similarities with the celebrated Dr. Crippen trial of 1910 have already been outlined by other reviewers.Of course the wretched moral code was in force in 1944, but the producers at least left one in some doubt of the denouement and great sympathy for Charlie Laughton's character.My only criticism was the obvious use of American actors playing British parts which rather grates on me.Bear in mind this was 1944 and us Brits were doing useful things like helping to win the war.At the time American actresses like Gwyneth Paltrow, Renee Zellweger & others were not around who could do convincing British accents.That is why I prefer to see Ella playing American characters on her home ground and why I awarded this film 6/10, as above average