Above Suspicion (1943)

Oxford Professor Richard Myles and new bride Frances are off on a European honeymoon. It isn't your typical honeymoon though, for they are on a spying mission for British intelligence on ... See full summary »

Director:

Richard Thorpe

Writers:

Keith Winter (screenplay), Melville Baker (screenplay),

Stars:

Joan Crawford, Fred MacMurray, Conrad Veidt

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Joan Crawford	...	Frances Myles
Fred MacMurray	...	Richard Myles
Conrad Veidt	...	Hassert Seidel
Basil Rathbone	...	Sig von Aschenhausen
Reginald Owen	...	Dr. Mespelbrunn
Richard Ainley	...	Peter Galt
Cecil Cunningham	...	Countess
Ann Shoemaker	...	Aunt Ellen
Sara Haden	...	Aunt Hattie
Felix Bressart	...	Mr. A. Werner
Bruce Lester	...	Thornley
Johanna Hofer	...	Frau Kleist
Lotte Palfi Andor	...	Ottilie (as Lotta Palfi)

Storyline

Oxford Professor Richard Myles and new bride Frances are off on a European honeymoon. It isn't your typical honeymoon though, for they are on a spying mission for British intelligence on the eve of World War 2.

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Plot Keywords:

honeymoon | oxford | germany | professor | france | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French German Arabic

Release Date:

May 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

Insuspeitos

Filming Locations:

Bishop, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Loew's, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 91 min (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Crawford always said she wished Hitchcock had directed this film. And indeed, the film contains many "Hitchcockian" touches (mistaken identity, music as a plot cue, innocents recruited to do dangerous tasks, etc.)

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Goofs

As the Bride and Groom are leaving Oxford, their chauffeur opens the car door for them, which makes the crew visible in the reflection.

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Quotes

[on their wedding night, a policeman appears at the Myles's hotel room door demanding Richard's depart with him immediately]
Frances Myles: This is no time for a practical joke.
Const. Jones: It's no joke, ma'am.
Frances Myles: It's not practical, either.

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Connections

Referenced in Unfinished Business (1986)

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Soundtracks

"The Last Rose of Summer"
(1808) (uncredited)
Music: traditional Irish melodies
Lyrics by Thomas Moore
Sung a cappella by Fred MacMurray

User Reviews

Weak Effort At Being Another 'The Thin Man'

The cast is attractive, the premise is intriguing....but the film is blah. It looked like a poor man's "The Thin Man," or tried to be, but all it wound up was "poor." The humor was average at best, and it took way, way too long to get to any action and suspense. By halfway through, I can imagine most of the audience in the theater half asleep.

Being a fan of classic films, especially during the 1990s when I couldn't watch enough of these old movies, I was pumped up to see a film starring Joan Crawford, Fred MacMurray, Conrad Veidt, Basil Rathbone and Reginald Owen. That's some cast. But this story is just plain ludicrous. Do they honestly believe the British Foreign Office and newlywed and her husband - with no experience - to go inside Nazi Germany and be an effective spy?

Well, maybe that's where the humor came in, but it's "Thin Man" quality and Crawford and MacMurray, although fine actors, are no Myrna Loy and William Powell in playing these kind of roles. The "Thin Man" movies had far more sophistication than this film. No, this just doesn't cut it in any aspect: humor, suspense or credibility.