WIVES UNDER SUSPICION
US, 1938, 69 minutes, Black and white.
Warren William, Gail Patrick, Constance Moore, William Lundigan, Ralph Morgan, Cecil Cunningham, Samuel S. Hinds, Milburn Stone.
Directed by James Whale.
Wives under Suspicion is based on a play by Laszlo Fodor, originally filmed by James Whale in 1933 with the title The Kiss Before the Mirror.
This time it is a star vehicle for popular actor Warren William who had appeared as both Philo Vance and Perry Mason. In the following year he was to begin a series of nine films as Michael Lanyard, the Lone Wolf.
This time William portrays a very successful district attorney, a hard prosecutor, strict on his interpretation of the law, counting on an abacus the number of criminals condemned to death. He has an assistant, Sharpie, a Cecil Cunningham scene-stealing performance, who takes care of his life but who is opposed to his harshness. The DA is in love with his wife but is even more in love with his work and career, Sharpie having to remind him of his wife’s birthday and suggest and organise gifts.
His wife is played by Gail Patrick. There are domestic scenes, especially with their friends, Elizabeth and Phil (Constance Moore and William Lundigan).
William plays his role as fairly straightforward as the DA, on the one hand, and ambiguous in his relationship with his wife, on the other. His almost persuaded by his wife and Sharpie to go on a vacation, something that he and his wife have never had, not even a honeymoon. However, on his return to the office, there is an interrogation of a professor who has jealously killed his wife. The professor is played by Ralph Morgan – and his brother, Frank Morgan, appeared in the earlier Wail film.
Needless to say, the DA takes on the case, involved in great research, even recording the killer’s confession at some length, intending it be sprung on the court and the jury.
There are interesting collage sequences, especially at the opening in a sequence where journalists register for an execution and there are swift scene changes and editing to indicate the atmosphere of the execution. Later in the film, there is an extensive collage of newspaper headings, the focus on the DA, on the accused, on the dates for the hearings and the court case.
The DA goes over the story that the distraught professor has told him, loving his wife, timid, coming home, seeing her make herself up, giving her a kiss in front of the mirror and her shuddering, then smiling, her going out to another man and his shooting her.
There is a pivotal scene when the DA returns home suddenly, sees that his wife has been reading the paper about his severity on the acute, find her making herself up, gives her a kiss before the mirror, takes his gun and follows her, not where she has said she was going, to see Elizabeth, to see Phil. The DA draws the gun and intends to shoot but comes to his senses.
Returning home, he smashes the recording of the confession, goes into the court, makes an impassioned plea to change the charge to manslaughter explaining his understanding of the motivation of the professor. (He is accused of taking money from the wealthy family of the professor, something which he ignores.)
At home with his wife, her deciding that she should leave because of the failure of the marriage, they are interrupted by Phil and Elizabeth who have just got married, the wife having gone to plead with Phil to understand Elizabeth.
And Sharpie is very happy when the DA decides to go on a trip with his wife.
