A Few Words About A few words about...™ Suspicion -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[John Maher_289910]

One of the few Hitchcock films I simply cannot stand. Not a single thing about it. Still, I'm glad it's gotten a proper Blu-ray release.

 

[Robert Crawford]

One of the few Hitchcock films I simply cannot stand. Not a single thing about it. Still, I'm glad it's gotten a proper Blu-ray release.

To each his own.

 

[PMF]

All of life always has its Hitch.

 

[Doug Otte]

Terrific film which is unfortunately undone by a terrible ending.

I know it's not Hitchcock's original ending, but I don't see it as "terrible." Many people think it unravels the entire "suspicion" of the film, but I don't think that's necessarily so.

Grant's character is certainly shady and untrustworthy, but is he really a killer? Maybe, maybe not. He certainly appears to be a chiseler, and it seems like he had something to do with Beaky's death, but did he? Did he really intend to kill her on the road at the end? Maybe he did, and had a last-minute reservation or change of heart.

I'm fine with these doubts being an integral part of the entire movie, and don't feel like I was cheated at the end. Maybe I've seen it as-is for so many decades, and I'd have a different view if I saw it for the first time now. I would, however, like to have seen Hitchcock's original ending.

 

[KMR]

I know it's not Hitchcock's original ending, but I don't see it as "terrible." Many people think it unravels the entire "suspicion" of the film, but I don't think that's necessarily so.

I view the film the same way, Doug. I think the ending can definitely be read as ambiguous.

 

[classicmovieguy]

The changed ending, I'm sure, was down to studio execs terrified at the prospect of Cary playing a murderer.

 

[Cineman]

Watching SUSPICION today, it is difficult to imagine that Hitchcock actually intended for the ending to be other than what it is, that all of the cherry-picked "evidence" perceived and, in some cases outright conjured up out of whole cloth in the mind of the lady (The scrabble game? Her image of Beaky plunging off the cliff?), would be proven correct and, that's it, folks, you can go home now. I mean, it just wouldn't fit any other method of the Master for him to be so...well, pedestrian and uncomplicated/simplistic about it.

It was supposed to turn out exactly as each of those pieces of "evidence" laboriously doled out for the past 45 minutes or more told us it should and would? That he IS a killer after all and there is nothing "unhealthy" going on in the mind of the lady we're supposed to identify with? Really? Since when did Hitchcock ever approach a premise like this so simplistically?

There was a do-over of sorts on this idea, of course, in 1985's JAGGED EDGE with Jeff Bridges and Glenn Close. The supposed "nail-biting climax" culminates with (and I hope I am not spoiling it for anyone here) our heroine finding out that, sure enough, everything we'd been shown and told, everything she suspected for the past hour or so, was absolutely true and accurate and that's all there was to it. She had not been misled by any of her cherry-picked "evidence", we had not been misled, nothing of note had been accomplished other than telling us who done it or might do it for the second half of the movie. "Oh. Ok. Well, that's...dull. Where shall we go for something more stimulating and worthy of discussion now? Dennys?"

I have always suspected Hitchcock's own statements about how he wanted Grant to be the killer all along as well was merely your typical Kabuki Theater Hitchcock promotional story and interesting anecdote. Those dastardly studio heads forced him to change what Anthony Berkeley, the original novel's author, had written and, while they were at it, made him shoot virtually every scene leading up to that ending in a way that having him NOT be the killer would be ever so much more of an interesting study of both leading characters. I've just never bought that line.

 

[jim_falconer]

To each his own I guess. The ending of Suspicion had me feeling the same exact way the ending Red River does, That is, the main character all of a sudden turns 180 degrees to what the entire picture had been leading up to. In my opinion, that is cheating the audience of what they've been buying into for the previous 90 minutes or so. I know Howard Hawks struggled with how to end Red River, and from what I've read, Hitch was not happy about changing the written way Suspicion was supposed to end.

 

[Osato]

Thank you Robert!
I picked up the other 2 recent Hitchcock titles. Another for me to add! Double dip for me as I have this one on DVD.

 

[Oblivion138]

I have always suspected Hitchcock's own statements about how he wanted Grant to be the killer all along as well was merely your typical Kabuki Theater Hitchcock promotional story and interesting anecdote. Those dastardly studio heads forced him to change what Anthony Berkeley, the original novel's author, had written and, while they were at it, made him shoot virtually every scene leading up to that ending in a way that having him NOT be the killer would be ever so much more of an interesting study of both leading characters. I've just never bought that line.

And yet, that was how the novel was written. It worked on the page, and Hitch certainly could have made it work on screen. But the fact is, not only would the studio never back the notion of leading man Grant as a cold-blooded killer, the Hays Office wouldn't allow him to get away with it, either. The novel's ending was simply unworkable, however much I do believe Hitch wanted to use it.

But of course any stories of the studio forcing him to do massive reshoots are likely exaggerated, at the very least. By the time shooting commenced, Hitch would had to have known that the novel's ending wouldn't fly, and the theatrical ending as we know it would have already been worked out.

 

[Dick]

I hope Mr. and Mrs. Smith is somewhere in the pipeline. It's amazing to me that Hitchcock was able to an American screwball comedy so well, considering this was his first and only attempt at the genre...And, in spite of its tremendous thriller elements, NORTH BY NORTHWEST is often pretty damn funny. FAMILY PLOT seems to fall into that category as well. The consensus is that Hitchcock had a droll and often hilarious sense of humor.

Unless you include THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY, which was, first and foremost (albeit rather black), a comedy.

 

[Mikey1969]

Actually, words are being put into my mouth. My original quote ends with the ...

Unless you include THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY, which was, first and foremost (albeit rather black), a comedy.

 

[warnerbro]

I love Sandy Dennis, by the way, and I find the ending to be an unexpected surprise even though it wasn't the same as the original. This is another Hitchcock film I can watch over and over again because it is so entertaining -- as are almost all his films. I believe that was his goal. Most of the movies they make today are hard to watch once.

 

[Mikey1969]

I watched the DVD this week and found the film weaker than I remembered, certainly not on the same level of quality as Foreign Correspondent or Shadow of a Doubt in terms of story, screenplay, characters or cast.

I love Sandy Dennis, by the way, and I find the ending to be an unexpected surprise even though it wasn't the same as the original. This is another Hitchcock film I can watch over and over again because it is so entertaining -- as are almost all his films. I believe that was his goal. Most of the movies they make today are hard to watch once.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I watched the Blu-ray last night, and wow, it looked phenomenal. The only other time I saw this movie was on TCM back around 2006, and I don't remember that version looking or sounding particularly good. But this Blu-ray felt like I was watching a brand new movie. You'd never know it was 75 years old watching it.

Going back to what Doug Otte and David B were saying about the ending, I have to agree that the ending to the movie works and I like that ending better for the movie. It's a much less interesting movie to me if it turns out that Grant is guilty of every horrible thing he's been accused of, and it simply turns out that Fontaine is right. If she's absolutely right, and he's totally guilty, it would have been pretty dull to watch her sit around waiting to get what she knows is coming to her. It's much more interesting when you know he's a flawed guy, and see that she's got doubts and questions, and you see that most of her family doesn't like him, but that you either question her perception of reality or question whether or not he'll be guilty. Plus, I think there's a little added something with it being Cary Grant - I think on some level as a viewer, you don't want Cary Grant to turn out to be a murderer. If you come to the movie as a Grant fan, you almost feel sorry for him when he gets into trouble with the chairs and the gambling and the theft, and you want him to straighten out. I wouldn't change the ending.

 

[Robert Crawford]

The price on this Blu-ray title has dropped to $17.99 at Amazon so you can hit them up for a refund for those that purchased it from them.

 

[Nelson Au]

Hey guys, Suspicion isn't on my top list of favorite Hitchcocks. I suppose for me it's partly because I came into Cary Grant from his later appearances such as Mr. Blandings and North By Northwest as well as Notorious. I like the audience back in the day liked him not as a cad, but the hero type. He was a bit of a cad in Notorious but he came through in the end.

But I reevaluated the film recently and I liked it more. I am confused and I'll need to check my collection, but for some reason when I recently viewed Suspicion, I watched a Blu-Ray. But it's entirely possible it was from the DVD set. I'll check and pick this disc up. I imagine the glowing milk looks great!

The other thing I'm confused by is Sandy Dennis? She's not in the film is she? So why the Robert Harris reference to her regarding the Monkeyface nickname instead of Fontaine? Forgive my ignorance.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

The price on this Blu-ray title has dropped to $17.99 at Amazon so you can hit them up for a refund for those that purchased it from them.

Thanks Robert!

 

[Mark Zimmer]

No extras at all for a film that obviously had some issues in its making? I'll pass.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

No extras at all for a film that obviously had some issues in its making? I'll pass.

I didn't get a chance to watch them yet, but the disc does include extras. It has a theatrical trailer and a featurette.