The Unsuspected

directed by Michael Curtiz
Category: "Suspense"
Year of Release:1947
Date Added:08/11/2025
Date Watched:08/11/2025
Description:Victor Grandison (Claude Rains) narrates a radio program that dramatizes murders. His secretary is found hanging in his office one night, and the police consider it a suicide. Victor's niece, Matilda (Joan Caulfield), a wealthy heiress, returns to the house after having been reported lost at sea. Steve Howard (Ted North) also arrives, claiming to have married Matilda just before her disappearance, but she has no recollection of him. There's another niece, Althea (Audrey Totter), married to the drunk Oliver. Althea immediately begins flirting with Matilda. This all grinds on for a while, until Victor overhears Althea tell Steve that she was on the phone with the secretary when she was killed and knows it wasn't suicide. Victor kills Althea to keep her quiet, frames Oliver for the murder, and kills him too. Then he calls on the man who he paid to kill the secretary and has him attempt to kill Steve. Finally, Victor drugs Matilda and tries to make it also look like suicide. Before he was attacked, Steve called the police, who arrive in time to save Matilda. They chase Steve's attacker and manage to save Steve in the nick of time. The police then arrest Victor while he's doing his program.
My Rating:4

Reviews for The Unsuspected

Review - Unsuspected, The

What a mess. I'm pretty sure we never find out why Victor killed his secretary to begin with. I'm not sure who Althea was and why she was living in the house with Victor and Matilda. I'm not sure why they picked four very similar-looking actresses to play Matilda, Althea, Victor's producer, and Victor's secretary, but they were hard to keep separate. There was something about Victor living off Matilda's money, but that was never developed. And who was Steve? He was working with the police, but he wasn't a cop. And Rains acted like such an oily creep it's impossible for me to believe anybody could stomach his company.

Reviewed by Roger on 2025-08-11 16:31:27

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