Suspicion (1941) dir. Alfred Hitchcock, RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Moving into the director section of our countdown, we begin with Alfred Hitchcock. Admittedly more of a thriller than pure horror, but Hitchcock had been crafting thrills with greater frequency by this point.
Johnnie Aysgarth (Cary Grant) is a roguish charmer. He's witty, quick on his feet, and pretty darn handsome to boot. So when he hits on the relatively plain Linda McLaidlaw (Joan Fontaine), she's as surprised as anyone. But woo her he does and soon the pair are married, despite the reservations her father, General McLaidlaw (Sir Cedric Hardwicke), brings up.
Turns out the general was pretty right to be worried as Johnnie is totally penniless and lives day by day on borrowed money. When Johnnie asks her for money, Linda talks him into getting a real job. He's changed! Yup, that chat was all it took and now he'll work a normal 9 to 5 office job with his cousin, Captain Melbeck (Leo G. Carroll).
Except that Linda soon finds out Johnnie, while heading off to the office as he promised, has also been gambling. He also sells two antique chairs her father gave her as a wedding present to cover one debt. Johnnie's best friend Beaky (Nigel Bruce) keeps making excuses for him. "He's so funny at parties!" isn't the best excuse.
Of course Linda keeps finding and uncovering more and more lies, including that Johnnie was fired for embezzling a rather large sum from Melbeck. Melbeck's not angry, just disappointed. He also won't call the police if Johnnie returns the money. Her father also dies, and much to Johnnie's disappointment, only leaves her a portrait of himself rather than cash.
Linda then overhears Johnnie and Beaky talking about getting into a land deal, but Linda tries to warn Beaky to run. The deal gets called off, with Beaky heading to Paris. Johnnie offers to accompany him and the pair leave. When Linda gets word that Beaky was found murdered and that Johnnie lied about his whereabouts, well, it doesn't take mystery novelist Isobel Sedbusk (Auriol Lee) to figure out things look bad for Johnnie and worse for Linda.
It speaks wonders for Grant's talent that he's able to make Johnnie likeable. With anyone else, he'd come across as a Lifetime movie of the week heavy. Linda comes across as a bit dim, since she keep endlessly exposing his lies and never attempts to leave. Plus, even if Johnnie isn't a killer, he's still a lying creep
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