The Suspect

Ella Raines and Charles Laughton in The Suspect

Robert Siodmak's The Suspect, from 1945. is an engrossing murder mystery set in Edwardian London, aka the Universal Studios' backlot. Charles Laughton stars as a mild mannered tobacconist who becomes embroiled in multiple murders after falling for a young typist played by the engaging Ella Raines. A stellar supporting cast of expatriate British talent ably assists: Stanley Ridges, Henry Daniell (as a "rotter"), Molly Lamont, and Rosalind Ivan. Ms. Ivan reprised her performance as a shrewish wife later that year opposite Edward G. Robinson in Scarlet Street.

Siodmak was expert at marshalling, fog, light, and shadow to give character to recycled Universal sets. The Suspect has little sense of the out of doors, yet the interiority of the film suits what is essentially a character study. Siodmak gives depth to the proceedings. Notice how the pans in establishing shots of two different restaurant settings give an illusion of space and a heightening of mood. His best choice on the set was to frighten and then soothe the insecure Laughton and make him the pivot of the film. The camera in The Suspect often seems poised on the twinkle in Laughton's eye. 

Ella Raines manages to seem nice without being saccharine. but is dominated by Laughton in their scenes. However, so is everyone else, including a cat. Laughton takes on his scenes as if he were sparring with his fellow cast members, with no doubt as to who the champ is. What is remarkable about the performance is its warmth. Laughton was mostly cast as mannered villains (Mutiny on the Bounty, Jamaica Inn), oligarchs of owlish arrogance (Spartacus, Advise and Consent) or outsized buffoons (The Private Life of Henry VIII, The Tuttles of Tahiti). He could do so much more. Check out the recording of a production of Shaw's Don Juan in Hell on YouTube. Laughton directed and starred as Lucifer, along with Charles Boyer, Agnes Moorehead, and Cedric Hardwicke. It is splendid. My father said the theatrical highlight of his life was seeing a production of Stephen Benet's  John Brown's Body that Laughton directed. He said he had gone in thinking that Tyrone Power was a Hollywood lightweight and was amazed at the performance Laughton coaxed from him. And then there is the wonder that is The Night of the Hunter, perhaps the greatest one off in cinema. If anything, Laughton was pigeon holed and underserved by Hollywood. That is why his sensitive performance in The Suspect is the one I most treasure alongside his butler in Ruggles of Red Gap.