Wealthy Joan Caulfield (Matilda) has her portrait hanging over the fire-place. She's dead. Ted North (Steven) turns up at her house claiming to be her husband but her uncle Claude Rains (Victor) is suspicious. North looks like a Thunderbirds puppet. Secretary Barbara Woodell (Rosalyn) has been murdered in the house but at the moment everyone thinks it is suicide. Or do they? Things need investigating. And who's that getting on a plane….it looks like Caulfield. The film has a glossy, stylish feel to it and you can probably guess what's going on after a bit of initial trial and error. After about an hour, you are in no doubt as to what is going on and it is from about this point where everything becomes clear. And another couple of bodies show up. However, up to this point, I found it confusing. It's badly cast and badly written although still interesting to watch.Who cast Audrey Totter alongside Constance Bennett and dressed them in a similar fashion? They look the fricking same, you ass-holes! Result – audience confusion from the beginning. Also, it is not until about one hour when we discover what the relationships are between Caulfield, Totter and Rains. I'm still not sure I understand it. Are Totter and Caulfield sisters? Very sloppy story-telling. Again, result – audience confusion from the beginning.There's nothing too original about the story and Thunderbirds puppet man is pretty creepy to look at. Rains is good as always. His short stature seems to be highlighted – again poor casting - and it's also pretty obvious who the baddie is given the atmospheric clues, use of dark and shade, timely appearances, etc. You watch it and that's it, really. It's OK.

Some forms of beauty are best seen from a distance and maybe that's one reason why the stunning cinematography featured in "The Unsuspected" is better appreciated by many people now than it was at the time of the movie's initial release. This dark thriller about murder, greed, blackmail, deception and guilt boasts a group of characters whose complications are only surpassed by those of the twisting plot. The film is well acted and entertaining but it's the exquisite expressionistic visual style that is its most striking attribute.Claude Rains stars as Victor Grandison, a successful radio personality who entertains his audiences by telling them true crime stories. Victor is sophisticated and affable and lives in a mansion where a series of premature deaths occur.Victor's secretary, Roslyn (Barbara Woodall) is found hanged in circumstances which suggest that she committed suicide and shortly after, at Victor's birthday party which had been organised by his niece Althea (Audrey Trotter), a stranger called Steven (Ted North) arrives and shocks everyone by telling them that he'd been married to Victor's ward Matilda (Joan Caulfield), who was lost in a shipwreck and was presumed to have drowned.Steven's arrival alarms Victor who assumes that he wishes to make a claim on Matilda's substantial estate which is close to being settled in Victor's favour. Victor's concern soon proves to be unfounded however, as Steven confirms that he's actually very wealthy and has no interest in Matilda's estate.Victor is again surprised when it emerges that Matilda has actually survived the shipwreck but when she returns to the mansion and can't remember Steven, Victor becomes increasingly suspicious of him.Althea is later murdered seemingly by her husband Oliver (Hurd Hatfield) who himself later perishes in a car crash which is caused by brake failure and Matilda is poisoned but again survives another close brush with death. An attempt is also made on Steven's life by a killer called Press (Jack Lambert) before the identity of the serial murderer becomes generally known and a very dramatic confession duly follows.Althea and Victor are both very calculating and strongly motivated by greed, Steven's motivation is concealed for much of the story and Matilda's gullible nature contributes to her life being put in jeopardy for a second time. Oliver had previously been a painter and Matilda's fiancé but having been seduced by Althea later became a tragic alcoholic who never got over the loss of Matilda.Claude Rains provides a marvellously subtle portrayal of a man who is charming, conceited and very wicked and who talks on his radio show about the sense of guilt that torments the unsuspected, the person who has not yet been recognised as being culpable for their crimes and who fears that one simple error could easily lead to them having to face the full force of justice.The opulence of the mansion in which Victor resides provides the setting for most of the action but these interiors are also inhabited by numerous lengthy shadows which frequently create ominous shapes and project a constant sense of unease and menace. This uncomfortable atmosphere is made even more disturbing by the expert use of deep focus, interesting camera angles and viewpoints which distort the audience's view of certain images."The Unsuspected" provides a great deal of enjoyment for crime drama fans but also, thanks to the brilliance of director Michael Curtiz and cinematographer Woody Bredell, provides an exceptional visual experience which is truly marvellous and memorable.

This is a generally well-written murder mystery film. While I liked it, one flaw is that by the end of the film almost everybody has been either killed, attempts were made on their lives or they were the murderer himself--not too many people were left and there just weren't enough red herrings to make it a true mystery. Still, considering the interesting plot and the actors involved, it's still a nifty story.The film begins with a grisly murder that looks like suicide to the police--however, the audience sees the truth that it IS a murder. Soon afterword, a long-lost heiress (Joan Caulfield) to the estate where the murder occurred turns up alive after a ship wreck. Upon returning, she is met by a man who claims to be her husband, though she has no recollection of marrying him. However, his story does appear true and she's left wondering how this could have happened.In addition to this, the lost heiress finds that many of the people who live in her home are weasels. The man she once intended to marry has married a nasty lady (Audrey Trotter) and Caulfield isn't too pleased to have them there. Before she can get around to telling them to leave, they are dead--he apparently killed her and then died while trying to make his getaway. However, in a poor move, the director shows what REALLY happened, as you see Claude Rains arranging the whole thing--though keeping this a secret for a bit longer would have probably made for a more interesting and exciting film.It seems that Caulfield's guardian (Rains) is a radio personality who has expensive tastes and he's been killing anyone who stands in his way. Ultimately his plan is to kill Caulfield to get her millions, but considering that practically everyone is dead or a near-death victim, by now the film starts to unravel a bit. Rains' brilliant alibi no longer seems so brilliant and the film ends on an interesting but anticlimactic note. Having the film end with Rains committing suicide while on the air would have been really exciting! Overall a very good but certainly not great film. It's worth seeing, but it sure could have kept us guessing longer.

I liked this bit of film noir. The story is a bit confusing and it lacks a solid foundation for introducing and developing characters. Unlike most films, this film might have been over edited. Another 10-15 minutes of character development might have helped.Now having said all that, what I truly liked about this film is that it is set during the golden age of radio. Its nice to have a contemporary view of this now lost and long forgotten world. We get to see a production of an "old time radio" program. We see how sound was recorded before taping became practical. Claude Rains' character is a narrator of a spooky, murder mystery radio show very much along the lines of popular radio programs such as "The Whistler" or "Suspense" or "Lights Out." Rains was perfectly cast in this role. His "radio voice" hearkens back to the day when "the Man in Black" or "the Whistler" kept millions of Americans entranced by the glowing dial in their darkened den or bedroom.