Overview
Suspicion (1941) RKO Classics
On the heels of directing the comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Alfred Hitchcock returned to his wheelhouse with this adaption of Francis Iles’s novel Before the Fact, which popularized a genre of novels where criminals and not detectives become the focus—a nice fit for Hitchcock. Charming scoundrel Johnnie Aysgarth (Cary Grant) woos wealthy but plain Lina McLaidlaw (Joan Fontaine), who elopes with him despite the remonstrations of her father (Sir Cedric Hardwicke). After their marriage, Johnnie's risky financial ventures cause Lina to suspect he's becoming involved in some shady, shady stuff. When Johnnie’s dear friend and business partner, Beaky (Nigel Bruce), dies under suspicious circumstances, she fears her husband might be coming after her next for her money. Fontaine won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance, the only actor to receive an acting award in a Hitchcock film.
Free for ND, SMC, and HC students.
Sponsored by the Meg and John P. Brogan Endowment for Classic Cinema.
