The Suspect 1944 ★★★1⁄2 (CC) Film-noir/Crime [1:24:59] Charles Laughton, Ella Raines

1944 · mystery · Robert Siodmak · Universal Pictures

The Suspect is a 1944 American film noir starring Charles Laughton and Ella Raines, and directed by Robert Siodmak. It is based on the 1939 novel "This Way Out", by James Ronald. Plot: In 1902 London Genial shopkeeper Philip (Charles Laughton) has to endure the constant nagging of a shrewish wife (Rosalind Ivan) while he secretly yearns for a pretty young stenographer (Ella Raines). When the henpecking gets to be too much, Philip murders his wife and manages to make her death look like an accident. A ruthless blackmailer (Henry Daniell) and a low-key detective (Stanley Ridges) both discover Philip's secret, and he has to decide which of them poses the more dangerous threat.