The Unsuspected

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The Unsuspected
Directed by	Michael Curtiz
Produced by	Michael Curtiz Charles Hoffman
Written by	Charlotte Armstrong (novel) Bess Meredyth (adaptation) Ranald MacDougall
Starring	Joan Caulfield Claude Rains Audrey Totter Constance Bennett Hurd Hatfield Ted North Fred Clark Harry Lewis Jack Lambert
Music by	Franz Waxman
Cinematography	Elwood Bredell
Editing by	Fredrick Richards
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	October 3, 1947
Running time	103 min
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Unsuspected (1947) is a film noir starring Claude Rains, Audrey Totter, and Joan Caulfield. The black-and-white film was directed by Michael Curtiz, based on a novel written by Charlotte Armstrong, and released by Warner Brothers.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Critical response 3 External links 4 References

[edit] Plot

The story involves a woman who is found dead hanging from a chandelier in a posh mansion occupied by Victor Grandison. Grandison, a popular "true crime" radio story host, has arranged for the murder and set it up to look like suicide. The police have no reason to doubt it, but a mysterious man arrives claiming to be the young woman's husband and immediately begins to investigate the killing.

[edit] Critical response

Critics compare the film to Laura and, though most reviews are positive, some find the film formulaic and predictable. Channel 4's review of the film states: "Lacking any real depth or complexity, the film relies on sterling performances from the cast, with Rains and his victim Caufield superb, and Curtiz's uncharacteristically quirky direction for its success."

Alain Silver and Elizabeth Ward's listing of the movie in the book Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style writes 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."^[1]

[edit] External links

• Channel 4's review of the film

[edit] References

v • d • e The films of Michael Curtiz 1910s The Last Bohemian • Today and Tomorrow • Captive Souls • My Husband's Getting Married • The Exile • The Borrowed Babies The Princess in a Nightrobe • Prisoner of the Night • Bánk Bán • Golddigger • One Who Is Loved By Two • Seven of Spades • The Strength of the Fatherland • The Karthauzer The Black Rainbow • The Wolf • The Medic • Mr. Doctor • Master Zoard • The Red Samson • The Last Dawn • Spring in Winter • Tartar Invasion Secret of St. Job Forest • Nobody's Son • The Charlatan • A Penny's History • The Fishing Bell • Earth's Man • The Colonel • Peace's Road Jean the Tenant • The Merry Widow • Magic Waltz • A Skorpió I. • The Devil • Lulu • Lu, the Coquette • Júdás • The Ugly Boy • Alraune (with Edmund Fritz) • 99 • The Sunflower Woman • Liliom • The Lady with the Black Gloves 1920s Boccaccio • The Star of Damascus • The Scourge of God • Miss Tutti Frutti • Good and Evil • Mrs. Dane's Confession • Labyrinth of Horror Sodom and Gomorrah • Young Medardus • Avalanche • Nameless • A Deadly Game • General Babka Harun al Raschid • Moon of Israel • Red Heels • Cab No. 13 • The Golden Butterfly • The Third Degree • A Million Bid • The Desired Woman Good Time Charley • Tenderloin • Noah's Ark • Glad Rag Doll • Madonna of Avenue A • The Gamblers • Hearts in Exile 1930s Mammy • Under a Texas Moon • The Matrimonial Bed • Bright Lights • A Soldier's Plaything • River's End • Demon of the Sea God's Gift to Women • The Mad Genius • The Woman from Monte Carlo • The Strange Love of Molly Louvain • Doctor X • The Cabin in the Cotton • 20,000 Years in Sing Sing • Mystery of the Wax Museum • The Keyhole • Private Detective 62 • Goodbye Again • The Kennel Murder Case • Female • Mandalay • Jimmy the Gent • The Key • British Agent • The Case of the Curious Bride • Black Fury • Front Page Woman • Little Big Shot • Captain Blood • The Walking Dead • The Charge of the Light Brigade • Stolen Holiday • Mountain Justice • Kid Galahad • The Perfect Specimen • Gold Is Where You Find It • The Adventures of Robin Hood (with William Keighley) • Four's a Crowd • Four Daughters • Angels with Dirty Faces • Dodge City • Daughters Courageous • The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex • Four Wives 1940s Virginia City • The Sea Hawk • Santa Fe Trail • The Sea Wolf • Dive Bomber • Captains of the Clouds • Yankee Doodle Dandy • Casablanca • Mission to Moscow • This Is the Army • Passage to Marseille • Janie • Roughly Speaking • Mildred Pierce • Night and Day • Life with Father The Unsuspected • Romance on the High Seas • My Dream Is Yours (with Friz Freleng) • Flamingo Road • The Lady Takes a Sailor 1950s Young Man with a Horn • Bright Leaf • The Breaking Point • Force of Arms • Jim Thorpe -- All-American • I'll See You in My Dreams The Story of Will Rogers • The Jazz Singer Trouble Along the Way • The Boy from Oklahoma • The Egyptian • White Christmas • We're No Angels The Scarlet Hour • The Vagabond King • The Best Things in Life Are Free • The Helen Morgan Story • The Proud Rebel • King Creole • The Hangman • The Man in the Net 1960s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn • A Breath of Scandal • Francis of Assisi • The Comancheros Short films Jön az öcsém (1919) • Sons of Liberty (1939) Productions Bright Lights (1935)