DramaMysteryThriller

The Unsuspected

- You can't foresee it! You can't forget it!

The secretary of an affably suave radio mystery host mysteriously commits suicide after his wealthy young niece disappears.

Release Date : 1947-10-11

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Warner Bros. PicturesMichael Curtiz Productions

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Matilda Frazier

Original Name : Joan Caulfield

Gender : Female

Character Name : Victor Grandison

Original Name : Claude Rains

Gender : Male

Character Name : Althea Keane

Original Name : Audrey Totter

Gender : Female

Character Name : Jane Moynihan

Original Name : Constance Bennett

Gender : Female

Character Name : Oliver Keane

Original Name : Hurd Hatfield

Gender : Male

Character Name : Steven Francis Howard

Original Name : Ted North

Gender : Male

Character Name : Richard Donovan

Original Name : Fred Clark

Gender : Male

Character Name : Max

Original Name : Harry Lewis

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mr. Press

Original Name : Jack Lambert

Gender : Male

Character Name : Donovan's Assistant

Original Name : Ray Walker

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mrs. White

Original Name : Nana Bryant

Gender : Female

Character Name : Judge Maynard

Original Name : Walter Baldwin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Cab Driver (unconfirmed)

Original Name : Charles Horvath

Gender : Male

Character Name : Messenger (uncredited)

Original Name : Bob Alden

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bride's Mother (uncredited)

Original Name : Jean Andren

Gender : Female

Character Name : Party Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Mary Bayless

Gender : Female

Character Name : Party Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Brooks Benedict

Gender : Male

Character Name : Radio Program Coordinator (uncredited)

Original Name : Edward Biby

Gender : Male

Character Name : Party Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Lulu Mae Bohrman

Gender : Female

Character Name : Kent (uncredited)

Original Name : Kenneth Britton

Gender : Male

Character Name : Policeman (uncredited)

Original Name : Jack Cheatham

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bride (uncredited)

Original Name : Eleanor Counts

Gender : Male

Character Name : Policeman (uncredited)

Original Name : Hal Craig

Gender : Male

Character Name : Party Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Martha Crawford

Gender : Female

Character Name : Woman (uncredited)

Original Name : Bunty Cutler

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bit Part (uncredited)

Original Name : George Eldredge

Gender : Male

Character Name : Party Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Bess Flowers

Gender : Female

Character Name : Party Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Charles Fogel

Gender : Male

Character Name : Irving (uncredited)

Original Name : Ross Ford

Gender : Male

Character Name : Announcer (uncredited)

Original Name : Art Gilmore

Gender : Male

Character Name : Bill (uncredited)

Original Name : Douglas Kennedy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Nancy (uncredited)

Original Name : Joleen King

Gender : Female

Character Name : Woman (uncredited)

Original Name : Faith Kruger

Gender : Male

Character Name : Party Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Wendie Lee

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dr. Edelman (uncredited)

Original Name : David Leonard

Gender : Male

Character Name : Party Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Carl M. Leviness

Gender : Male

Character Name : Radio Technician (uncredited)

Original Name : Jack Lomas

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ballistics Lab Technician (uncredited)

Original Name : Rory Mallinson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mannish Woman (uncredited)

Original Name : Harriet Matthews

Gender : Male

Character Name : Fritz (uncredited)

Original Name : George Meader

Gender : Male

Character Name : Party Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Charles Meakin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Reporter (uncredited)

Original Name : Ray Montgomery

Gender : Male

Character Name : Waiter #1 (uncredited)

Original Name : Jack Mower

Gender : Male

Character Name : Servant with Tray (uncredited)

Original Name : William H. O'Brien

Gender : Male

Character Name : Waiter #2 (uncredited)

Original Name : Eddie Parks

Gender : Male

Character Name : Groom (uncredited)

Original Name : Allan Ray

Gender : Male

Character Name : Party Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Larry Steers

Gender : Male

Character Name : Piano Player (uncredited)

Original Name : Cecil Stewart

Gender : Male

Character Name : Frizzy-Haired Woman (uncredited)

Original Name : Lucille Vance

Gender : Male

Character Name : Reporter (uncredited)

Original Name : Richard Walsh

Gender : Male

Character Name : Party Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Florence Wix

Gender : Female

Character Name : Roslyn Wright (uncredited)

Original Name : Barbara Wooddell

Gender : Male

Character Name : Party Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Sam Harris

Gender : Male

Character Name : Party Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Charles Ferguson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Party Guest (uncredited)

Original Name : Kenneth Gibson

Gender : Male

Reviews

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

Sounded too much like the truth to be true! The Unsuspected is directed by Michael Curtiz and adapted to screenplay by Bess Meredyth and Ranald MacDougall from the novel written by Charlotte Armstrong. It stars Joan Caulfield, Claude Rains, Audrey Totter, Constance Bennett, Hurd Hatfield and Ted North. Music is by Franz Waxman and cinematography by Elwood Bredell. A girl has been murdered but the police think it's suicide. A woman presumed killed at sea returns to the family home and finds she has a husband she can't remember. Her uncle hosts a radio murder mystery show where the stories seem spine chillingly real. And of course there's finances to be lost or gained. Just what is going on at the Grandison Mansion? If you don't get a hold of yourself your mind will crack! Not as obscure as it once was, The Unsuspected has emerged as a film noir favourite in spite of its self-conscious style over substance being. With similarities to Otto Preminger's Laura, amongst others, and weakness of plot machinations, you sense that the great Michael Curtiz realised he had to up the ante in the art of expressionistic chiaroscuro to off-set the short fall elsewhere in the production. But boy does he! Aided by Bredell (Phantom Lady/The Killers), Curtiz (Casablanca/Mildred Pierce) produces a masterclass in imaginative direction. Lighting and shadows are used to full effect in portraying the psychological discord that beats constantly in the lavish mansion where majority of the tale is set, a place where paranoia, confusion and claustrophobia finds a home. Silhouettes of crimes committed strike atmospheric chords, as do the uses of bar shadows. As the script merrily trundles out sexually suggestive and witty barbs, the array of characters portrayed with relish by a Curtiz inspired cast, the director also inserts some stunning scenes. A neon sign deftly shot, billowing curtains suggesting turmoil, a bubbling glass of tainted champagne a foreboding presence, and many off-kilter reflections used throughout to represent duplicity or a fractured mind. Visually this is noir nirvana for sure. If only the screenplay was as intricate as it thinks it is, where quite often the story gets saddled with giant implausibilities. As the bodies pile up the motives and means start to come off as daft, which is a shame as the radio inspired backdrop is interesting for the time. There's also a couple of well constructed action scenes, though the editing for the cars is suspect, while Hatfield raises a laugh (intentional?) when in one scene he reminds us he was Dorian Gray two years earlier. A must see on a visual basis for the film noir enthusiast, but the core basic melodramatics of the tale may have you hankering for Laura after all. 7.5/10