The Unsuspected
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''The Unsuspected'' is a 1947 American
mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...
film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...
directed by
Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...
and starring
Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man'' (1933), he appeared in such highly regarded films as '' ...
,
Audrey Totter Audrey Mary Totter (December 20, 1917 – December 12, 2013) was an American radio, film, and television actress and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s. Early life Audrey – some sources indicate "Audra" – Totter w ...
,
Ted North Ted North Jr. (born Edward Ernest Steinel) (November 3, 1916 – November 22, 1975) was an American film actor of the 1940s, sometimes credited as Michael North. The son of tent show operator Ted North, he was born in Topeka, Kansas, and gra ...
,
Constance Bennett Constance Campbell Bennett (October 22, 1904 – July 24, 1965) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress and producer. She was a major Hollywood star during the 1920s and 1930s; during the early 1930s, she was the highest-paid ...
,
Joan Caulfield Beatrice Joan Caulfield (June 1, 1922 – June 18, 1991) was an American actress and model. After being discovered by Broadway producers, she began a stage career in 1943 that eventually led to signing as an actress with Paramount Pictures. In th ...
, and
Hurd Hatfield William Rukard Hurd Hatfield (December 7, 1917 – December 26, 1998) was an American actor. He is best known for having played characters of handsome, narcissism, narcissistic young men, most notably Dorian Gray in the film ''The Picture of Dori ...
. The film was based on a novel by
Charlotte Armstrong Charlotte Armstrong Lewi (May 2, 1905, in Vulcan, Michigan – July 18, 1969 in Glendale, California) was an American writer. Under the names Charlotte Armstrong and Jo Valentine she wrote 29 novels, as well as short stories, plays, and screenpl ...
. The screenplay was co-written by
Bess Meredyth Bess Meredyth (born Helen Elizabeth MacGlashen, February 12, 1890 – July 13, 1969) was a screenwriter and silent film actress. The wife of film director Michael Curtiz, Meredyth wrote ''The Affairs of Cellini'' (1934) and adapted ''The Unsuspec ...
, who was married to director Curtiz.


Plot

In Victor Grandison's suburban New York home, a shadowy figure murders his secretary, Roslyn Wright. He leaves her body hanging from a chandelier. It is reported as suicide. Cut to the studio a week later, where Grandison, who hosts a popular "true crime" radio show called The Unsuspected, is broadcasting. At his home his niece Althea is throwing a surprise birthday party for him. She hopes it will take his mind off the combined loss of his secretary and his wealthy
ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...
, Matilda, who reportedly perished in a sinking en route to Portugal some weeks earlier. Oliver, Althea's husband, is drinking heavily. He and Matilda were engaged before Althea married him. Althea is shocked by the arrival of a mysterious Steven Howard, who claims to be married to Matilda. After the broadcast Victor returns home, and is underwhelmed by events there. Homicide Detective Donovan stays after the party to share a thick file on a hatchet-murder case with Victor and witnesses Victor's first meeting with Steven. With Matilda's multi-million-dollar estate to be settled, Victor asks Donovan to investigate. Meanwhile, in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, Matilda boards a
Pan American Pan-American, Pan American, Panamerican, Pan-America, Pan America or Panamerica may refer to: * Collectively, the Americas: North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean * Something of, from, or related to the Americas * Pan-Amer ...
plane. Victor is dictating a script (to a
phonograph record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...
). His producer, Jane Moynihan, asks what's wrong; he seems to have lost his zip. He responds that he has had a premonition. Donovan reports back that Steven checks out, and indeed is very rich. A cable arrives. Althea is making a play for Steven when Victor delivers the news that Matilda is alive and well and arriving the next day. Press, a killer whose identity Victor uncovered but kept secret, tries to kill him but is thwarted when Victor plays a copy of the confession he recorded at the time. Victor threatens that the police will hear it if he is killed. Press then becomes Victor's henchman. Steven meets Matilda at the airport. She claims to have no memory of him or their marriage, despite compelling evidence unfolded for her. The next day, Steve takes the early train to town; Victor searches and finds a picture of Roslyn in Steve's wallet. In the city, Jane meets Steve. They have been working together to prove that Roslyn was murdered. Steve goes to Donovan, who takes him to Victor's to investigate and show Victor their new evidence that it was murder. Althea, who had been on the phone with Roslyn at the time of the murder and concealed it from police, already suspects the extravagant Victor. She kept quiet because she, too, depends on Matilda's money. Victor records a quarrel between Althea and Oliver and kindly encourages Oliver to leave. He confesses to Althea that he killed Roslyn because she had discovered his misuse of Matilda's estate. Then he shoots Althea dead. With Matilda and Steven as witnesses, Victor uses the recordings to frame Oliver and sets the police on him. The alcohol-impaired Oliver dies in a car crash when the brakes Victor had sabotaged fail. Jane brings Steve and Matilda together. He explains that he had known Roslyn all his life, and expected to marry her, but for being called away to war. Matilda dismisses his warnings about Victor. Victor prepares to kill Matilda, pretending to need her help writing down lines for his radio show. The dramatic lines, now written in longhand by her, are actually text that he can use as her suicide note. He summons Press. Steven finds the recording that Victor used to frame Oliver and calls Donovan to tell him, but hangs up when Victor opens the door after leaving a brief coded message. Victor destroys the record. Press knocks Steve out and stuffs him into a trunk, then careens away in his pickup to dispose of it. Victor gives Matilda drugged wine. She regains consciousness, sees the note and the open bottle of pills Victor has strewn over it, but cannot make it past the door. Donovan and others arrive, thanks to the interrupted call from Steve, and revive her. They track Press to the yard of a trash
incinerator Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-energy facilities. Incineration and other high ...
where he has dumped the trunk, which is perilously close to being dumped into the fire pit. Donovan stops the incinerator employee just before the trunk is destroyed. Victor introduces his broadcast as usual but is thrown off when Donovan enters the control booth and police surround the auditorium. Matilda and a badly bruised Steven are ushered into the audience. Victor confesses to the murders on air, ending with: "I am The Unsuspected, your genial host, Victor Grandison." The last scene is a
long shot In photography, filmmaking and video production, a wide shot (sometimes referred to as a full shot or long shot) is a shot that typically shows the entire object or human figure and is usually intended to place it in some relation to its surrou ...
of Victor and two policemen, silhouetted against moonlit pavement, walking toward the yawning gates of a prison.


Cast

*
Joan Caulfield Beatrice Joan Caulfield (June 1, 1922 – June 18, 1991) was an American actress and model. After being discovered by Broadway producers, she began a stage career in 1943 that eventually led to signing as an actress with Paramount Pictures. In th ...
as Matilda Frazier, Grandison's ward *
Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man'' (1933), he appeared in such highly regarded films as '' ...
as Victor Grandison *
Audrey Totter Audrey Mary Totter (December 20, 1917 – December 12, 2013) was an American radio, film, and television actress and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s. Early life Audrey – some sources indicate "Audra" – Totter w ...
as Althea Keane, Grandison's niece *
Constance Bennett Constance Campbell Bennett (October 22, 1904 – July 24, 1965) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress and producer. She was a major Hollywood star during the 1920s and 1930s; during the early 1930s, she was the highest-paid ...
as Jane Moynihan *
Hurd Hatfield William Rukard Hurd Hatfield (December 7, 1917 – December 26, 1998) was an American actor. He is best known for having played characters of handsome, narcissism, narcissistic young men, most notably Dorian Gray in the film ''The Picture of Dori ...
as Oliver Keane *
Ted North Ted North Jr. (born Edward Ernest Steinel) (November 3, 1916 – November 22, 1975) was an American film actor of the 1940s, sometimes credited as Michael North. The son of tent show operator Ted North, he was born in Topeka, Kansas, and gra ...
as Steven Howard (billed as Michael North) *
Fred Clark Frederick Leonard Clark (March 19, 1914 – December 5, 1968) was an American film and television character actor. Early years Born in Lincoln, California, Clark was the son of Fred Clark Sr. He attended Stanford University with plans to becom ...
as Police Detective Richard Donovan * Harry Lewis as Max * Jack Lambert as Press *
Nana Bryant Nana Irene Bryant (November 23, 1888 – December 24, 1955) was an American film, stage, and television actress. She appeared in more than 100 films between 1935 and 1955. Biography Bryant was born 1888 in Cincinnati, Ohio. She appeared in ...
as Mrs. White *
Walter Baldwin Walter Smith Baldwin Jr. (January 2, 1889 − January 27, 1977) was an American character actor whose career spanned five decades and 150 film and television roles, and numerous stage performances. Baldwin was born in Lima, Ohio, into a theat ...
as Judge Maynard * Ray Walker as Donovan's Assistant *
Barbara Woodell Barbara Woodell (May 25, 1910 – January 16, 1997) was an American film and television actress, born in Lewistown, Illinois. Selected filmography * '' Lady, Let's Dance'' (1944) * ''The Mysterious Mr. Valentine'' (1946) * ''Carnegie Hall'' (1 ...
(uncredited) as Roslyn Wright


Production

''The Unsuspected'' was originally a serial in ''
The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...
'', running from August 11 to September 29, 1945. It was subsequently published as a novel in January 1946. Warner Bros purchased the film rights prior to publication, and in May 1946, they announced that
Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...
would direct.
Ranald MacDougall Ranald MacDougall (March 10, 1915 – December 12, 1973) was an American screenwriter who scripted such films as '' Mildred Pierce'' (1945), '' The Unsuspected'' (1947), ''June Bride'' (1948), and '' The Naked Jungle'' (1954), and shared screenw ...
wrote the first screenplay. By then, Warner Bros had just signed a 14-picture contract with Michael Curtiz's production company, and ''The Unsuspected'' was the first of three movies under the new arrangement. Curtiz's wife,
Bess Meredyth Bess Meredyth (born Helen Elizabeth MacGlashen, February 12, 1890 – July 13, 1969) was a screenwriter and silent film actress. The wife of film director Michael Curtiz, Meredyth wrote ''The Affairs of Cellini'' (1934) and adapted ''The Unsuspec ...
, who was on the board of the company, was brought in to collaborate on the script. Charles Hoffman was assigned the job of producer.


Casting

In September 1945,
Robert Alda Robert Alda (born Alfonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo; February 26, 1914 – May 3, 1986) was an Italian-American theatrical and film actor, a singer, and a dancer. He was the father of actors Alan and Antony Alda. Alda was featured in a ...
was reported to be the film's star. In October 1946, it was reported that
Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...
was being "pencilled in to head the cast". A column that appeared on October 23, 1946, noted that Claude Rains was being sought instead of Bogart, suggesting that Bogart was originally being considered for the role of the villain, although the items are too brief to be certain of this, and he may have intended for the hero part. Eventually,
Dana Andrews Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts ...
was set to star as part of a package deal including
Virginia Mayo Virginia Mayo (born Virginia Clara Jones; November 30, 1920 – January 17, 2005) was an American actress and dancer. She was in a series of comedy films with Danny Kaye and was Warner Brothers' biggest box-office money-maker in the late 1940s. ...
and
Cathy O'Donnell Cathy O'Donnell (born Ann Steely, July 6, 1923 – April 11, 1970) was an American actor who appeared in ''The Best Years of Our Lives,'' '' Ben-Hur,'' and films noir such as ''Detective Story'' and '' They Live by Night''. Early life O'Do ...
. All three were under contract to
Sam Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor an ...
, who was lending them to Curtiz for $150,000 plus 15% of the profits. Claude Rains reported to work on December 26, 1947. Two weeks later, Andrews left the production after being dissatisfied with the size of his part in comparison to Rains' in which Curtiz refused to make changes. Michael North was hired to replace Andrews. North was given an "introducing..." credit, although he had been appearing in films for years. Curtiz had only agreed to take Mayo and O'Donnell in order to get Andrews, so his departure meant recasting their roles. On January 4, 1947, ''The New York Times'' announced that
Joan Caulfield Beatrice Joan Caulfield (June 1, 1922 – June 18, 1991) was an American actress and model. After being discovered by Broadway producers, she began a stage career in 1943 that eventually led to signing as an actress with Paramount Pictures. In th ...
was being borrowed from Paramount to play Matilda, the role intended for Mayo. On January 15, 1947, ''The New York Times'' reported that Curtiz had signed
Constance Bennett Constance Campbell Bennett (October 22, 1904 – July 24, 1965) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress and producer. She was a major Hollywood star during the 1920s and 1930s; during the early 1930s, she was the highest-paid ...
and
Donald Crisp Donald William Crisp (27 July 188225 May 1974) was an English film actor as well as an early producer, director and screenwriter. His career lasted from the early silent film era into the 1960s. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor ...
for "two major supporting roles". Crisp ultimately did not appear in the film. To fill the role intended for Cathy O'Donnell,
Audrey Totter Audrey Mary Totter (December 20, 1917 – December 12, 2013) was an American radio, film, and television actress and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s. Early life Audrey – some sources indicate "Audra" – Totter w ...
was borrowed from
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...
.
Eve Arden Eve Arden (born Eunice Mary Quedens, April 30, 1908 – November 12, 1990) was an American film, radio, stage and television actress. She performed in leading and supporting roles for nearly six decades. Beginning her film career in 1929 ...
was named for a "leading role" in November 1946, but was not in the cast.


Reception


Critical response

''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' film critic
Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...
wrote:
"There is reasonable ground for suspicion that the people who made ''The Unsuspected'' thought that they were fashioning another ''
Laura Laura may refer to: People * Laura (given name) * Laura, the British code name for the World War I Belgian spy Marthe Cnockaert Places Australia * Laura, Queensland, a town on the Cape York Peninsula * Laura, South Australia * Laura Bay, a bay on ...
'', popular mystery of a few years back... But, beyond a brisk flurry of excitement and wickedness at the start, it bears little showmanly resemblance to that previous top-drawer effort in this line... (T)he yarn gets away temptingly. Once launched, however, it starts leaking, pulling apart at the seams, and generally foundering in a welter of obvious contrivances and clichés... Claude Rains is intriguing as the fashionable radio ghoul and Michael North, a new young actor, looks good as the lad who 'breaks' the case. However, the rest of the performers... are as patly artificial as the plot."
Film historians Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward write that the film is impressive because of its emphasis on style: "Jack Lambert as the blackmailed killer lies in bed smoking. The radio is on and Alexander Grandison is detailing the story of his particular crime. The only source of the illumination in this dingy hotel room comes from a partially obscured flashing neon sign. The letters that are visible through the window seem to echo the thoughts of the uncomfortable murderer as it keeps blinking "KILL...KILL...KILL."


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Unsuspected, The 1947 films 1947 crime films 1947 mystery films American black-and-white films American crime films American mystery films Film noir Films scored by Franz Waxman Films about radio people Films based on American novels Films based on works by Charlotte Armstrong Films directed by Michael Curtiz Films with screenplays by Bess Meredyth Films with screenplays by Ranald MacDougall Warner Bros. films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films