Suspicion

Suspicion (1941)

Timing: 1:39 (99 min)

7.133/10
772

7.335/10
5790

7.2/10
46000

All about film

Video 5

Photo 35

Actors and characters

Release date

1941-11-14

Country

United States

Production

RKO Radio Pictures

Genre

Mystery, Romance, Thriller

Budget

$1 800 000

Revenue

$4 500 000

Website

Director

Alfred Hitchcock

Actors

Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine, Cedric Hardwicke, Nigel Bruce, May Whitty, Isabel Jeans, Heather Angel, Auriol Lee, Reginald Sheffield, Leo G. Carroll
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Harry E. Edington

Operator

Harry Stradling Sr.

Composer

Franz Waxman

Artist

Carroll Clark

Audition

Editing

William Hamilton
All team (17)

• The film features a famous scene – when the protagonist climbs the stairs in the dark, carrying a glass of milk for his wife – and in complete darkness, the glass literally glows, drawing the viewers' attention. Hitchcock achieved this effect by placing a light source inside the glass.
• Hitchcock can be seen mid-film – he is dropping a letter into a rural mailbox.
• Hitchcock's original idea was that Johnny was guilty, but the studio insisted that the audience wouldn't accept Cary Grant in the role of a murderer. In the original ending, Johnny kills Lynn by poisoning her milk, but gives himself away by sending a letter she had written.
• The film features a famous scene where the main character climbs the stairs in the dark carrying a glass of milk for his wife, and in complete darkness, the glass literally glows, drawing the viewers’ attention. Hitchcock achieved this effect by placing a light source inside the glass.
• Hitchcock can be seen mid-film – he is dropping a letter into a rural mailbox.
• Subsequently, director Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) recounted in numerous interviews that a high-ranking employee of "RKO Pictures" ordered the removal of all scenes from the film in which the character Cary Grant (1904-1986) appeared menacing. Once all such scenes were cut, it turned out that the film's duration was reduced to 55 minutes. They had to be restored to the film, because, according to Hitchcock himself, he shot all parts of the film in such a way that it could only be normally assembled in one way. This shooting technique was called "in-camera editing" (instead of editing the footage sequentially after shooting, the director or cinematographer shoots sequences in strict order), and Hitchcock used it while working on the thriller "Rebecca" (1940) to prevent producer David O. Selznick (1902-1965) from interfering with the film's editing process.
• Joan Fontaine (1917-2013) was so captivated by Lina from the 1932 novel by Anthony Berkeley (1893-1971), writing under the pseudonym Francis Iles, that after reading the novel she wrote to Hitchcock stating she was willing to play the role even without a fee if he ever decided to adapt it for the screen.
• Hitchcock originally intended for Johnny to be guilty, but the studio insisted that the public would not accept Cary Grant in the role of a murderer. In the original ending, Johnny kills Lina by poisoning her milk, but gives himself away by sending a letter she had written.
• Hitchcock can be seen mid-film – he is throwing a letter into a rural mailbox.