The Unsuspected

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

1947 1h 43m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 59

DramaMysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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

“You can't foresee it! You can't forget it!”

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Cast

Joan Caulfield
Matilda Frazier
Claude Rains
Victor Grandison
Audrey Totter
Althea Keane
Constance Bennett
Jane Moynihan
Hurd Hatfield
Oliver Keane
Ted North
Steven Francis Howard
Fred Clark
Richard Donovan
Harry Lewis
Max

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michael Curtiz
Writers: Ranald MacDougall
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

79 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michael Curtiz, shot by Elwood Bredell. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Franz Waxman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Frederick Richards shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Joan Caulfield and Claude Rains and Audrey Totter carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "You can't foresee it! You can't forget it!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0039941 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 59 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michael Curtiz directs. Elwood Bredell behind the camera. Franz Waxman scores. Frederick Richards cuts. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

179 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Michael Curtiz, shot by Elwood Bredell. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Franz Waxman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Frederick Richards shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Joan Caulfield and Claude Rains and Audrey Totter carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "You can't foresee it! You can't forget it!".
7IMDB entry: tt0039941 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 59 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Released under 17 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Elwood Bredell
Original score: Franz Waxman
Editing: Frederick Richards
Makeup / hair: Perc Westmore
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: The Unsuspected (1947)

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Michael Curtiz

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What people are saying

John Chard2020-04-20
★ 7/10
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

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