Diagonaldi Very well executed

RipDelight This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Married Baby Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

jimjamjonny39 This is one of my favourite Charles Laughton movies. Playing a mild mannered man, very much loved by his peers for his gentleness and kindness to all around him. The only problem is his home life. The mother of his only son is a sour, vicious, complaining woman who doesn't want anybody to be happy including herself. She drives her son away from the family home and finds out that her husband (even though he's not sharing the marital bed) is having romantic liaisons with a young woman who recently enquired about employment as a "typist" wasn't much heard of in 1902, the year in which this is set. I totally understand why he has to do what he has to do and not the deed itself. You'll see for yourself the dilemma he has to face and may understand why I feel what he has done isn't really that bad.

begob An unhappy husband has an affair with a young woman, but what will he do when his wife finds out? Simple tale of greed and murder that fails to plumb the depths. At first I thought there was a clever misdirection on who would turn out to be the villain, but no - this just coasts along in an understated way, with little intrigue or complexity. There is one suspenseful scene involving a cat, but that's about it.Other reviewers praise the restraint of the director in the murder scenes, and I'm fine with that, but what seemed to leave room for ambiguity turned out to be nothing more than self-censorship. In fact the second scene was a little confusing, leaving unintended doubt as to whether the victim was dead.Laughton gives a good performance, but even he couldn't provide a flash of insight into this character. As for the other actors, there really wasn't much for anyone to work with. It's a shortish run time and quite underwhelming. Only thing to praise is the sets.Overall: Sober and forgettable melodrama.

bkoganbing I finally got to see The Suspect one of the few Charles Laughton films I had not yet seen. I was totally bowled over by what he did in this film. It's really what film acting is all about, every breath, every nuance, every gesture is carefully delineated and brought to the screen. Laughton had a reputation for driving some of his directors a little nuts with his perfectionism and maybe he did to Robert Siodmark here. I prefer to think the two of them collaborated on a masterpiece.The setting is Edwardian London in 1902. From outward appearances Laughton is a happy man, making a good living with a wife and a grown son. But he is married to one shrew of a woman he's put up with for over 20 years. He's ripe for a midlife crisis and ripe to stray. But a friendship he develops with pretty young Ella Raines recently hired at Laughton's office drives wife Rosalind Ivan up a wall. Later on Ivan dies as a result of a fall down the house stairs. Nobody can prove one way or the other whether it was murder. Scotland Yard's Stanley Ridges is up a wall with it.Laughton and Ivan have a couple of neighbors, married couple Henry Daniell and Molly Lamont. When Ridges confides in Daniell during the course of the investigation, he inadvertently sets the stage for tragedy. Daniell himself says he's a 'total rotter' and proves it the audience's satisfaction. The Suspect is one of many films based on the famous Dr. Crippen murder which was also in the same period. The only fault with the film is that the rest of the cast is fairly one dimensional in their characters next to Charles Laughton. But if you are a Laughton fan, this film is an absolute must.

kidboots The capturing of Dr. Crippen was one of the most sensational stories of the day (1910). The suspected wife killer had booked a passage to Canada along with his pretty secretary and mistress (who was disguised as a young man). Through means of the Marconi wireless and morse code the police were able to apprehend them while at sea. According to a documentary that I saw, witnesses at the time said that while Dr. Crippen was a nice quiet man, his wife was an overbearing harpie. "The Suspect" is a retelling of the Dr. Crippen case with Charles Laughton playing to perfection the meek and kindly shop manager married to a complete harridan (Rosalind Ivan was excellent and very scary in the part).The movie created great suspense by the questions that were not answered - did Phillip Marshall kill his wife?? - the act wasn't shown and the murder that Phillip actually committed posed the question, will he get away with it and find true happiness?? Whatever happened the audience is on Phillip's side all the way!!Phillip Marshall is married to a nagging shrew and when his son leaves because his mother has deliberately burned some documents, for him it is the last straw and he moves to a different bedroom. The same day he meets Mary Gray (beautiful Ella Raines) when she comes seeking work, she is taken by his kindness to one of the junior clerks but, unfortunately, there is no work for her. On his way home Phillip finds Mary crying in the park, she is destitute and needs a job. After taking her to a cafe he finds her a job and so begins the start of a beautiful friendship which blossoms into love - they go to the music hall, ballet etc and Phillip suddenly finds life worth living again. Of course his wife refuses to divorce him and after a particularly vicious quarrel where she threatens to drag Mary's name through the mud, the next morning she is found dead. It seems to be a case of accidental death but suddenly Scotland Yard Detective Huxley (Stanley Ridges, who was excellent in "Black Friday") is snooping around.Phillip has always tried to be a friend to his long suffering neighbour Edith Simmons (Molly Lamont is just marvellous) who is married to the despicable Gilbert (Henry Daniell) who is not above knocking her around. When vile Gilbert tries his hand at a little blackmail, he has no proof that Phillip did kill his wife but he says he will lie to the police unless Phillip starts giving him money whenever he requests it. When Phillip goes into the kitchen and spies the sleeping medicine Gilbert is history but......There are some parts that are hard to believe. Phillip hides the body behind the sofa and convinces his now wife Mary that Canada is the place to start a new life but before they can sail is persuaded to give himself up as Edith has been arrested for her husband's murder. As Huxley says "he is too much of a gentleman and fine person to allow her to take the blame"!! Why was Huxley hounding him then and how come the body was found in the river??? How would a very out of condition Phillip be able to get the body down there??? Another jarring moment to me was that I thought Ella Raines was just too young and beautiful to be attracted to Charles Laughton's character in any but a friendly, fatherly way. The fact that Ella Raines makes her character's feelings completely believable is a real tribute to this very under rated actress. Those were just a few, slight quibbles with what was an overall superlative film.The big news of the moment is that new DNA evidence has come to light to suggest Dr. Crippen is really innocent of killing his wife.