Basil Rathbone, Master of Stage and Screen: Above Suspicion

I love the spy thrillers that Helen MacInnes wrote, and Above Suspicion ranks right up there with her best ones. I could hardly put the book down because I had to find out what would happen next. The film is every bit as suspenseful and nail-biting as the novel. A few of the characters and details in the film are different, but otherwise it is a faithful adaptation.

Fred MacMurray and Joan Crawford play Richard and Frances Myles, young newlyweds who plan to spend their honeymoon in Europe in the summer of 1939. England is not yet at war with Germany, but Germany abounds with Nazis and British spies. One of the spies for the British has vital information, and has disappeared, so one of Richard's friends, who works for the British Foreign Office, asks if Richard and Frances could find the missing agent. He explains that, as a honeymooning couple, they are above suspicion. Finding the agent proves to be complicated because they don't know his name, what he looks like, or where to find him. But there is a network of spies, and starting at one end will lead to the other end, where they hope to find the missing agent.

Starting in Paris, Richard and Frances treat their mission as an exciting adventure, a game almost. But it soon becomes dangerous. (Of course they are asking for trouble when Richard calls one of the Nazi officers "Dope.") The trail leads Richard and Frances to Salzburg, where they meet an Englishman named Thornley. The three of them attend a Liszt concert one evening. During the concert someone shoots a German officer and the Gestapo are questioning everyone present. Earlier, during the intermission, Richard and Frances had run into Sigurd von Aschenhausen (Rathbone) and his mother. Von Aschenhausen and Richard were fellow Rhodes scholars at Oxford. Since they were friends at one time, von Achenhausen uses his influence to allow Richard, Frances and Thornley to leave. Afterwards they all have dinner together and reminisce about Oxford. Von Aschenhausen is very cordial and does not let on that he is in fact a Nazi officer and not at all nice. As von Achenhausen talks about the murder committed during the concert, it becomes clear to Richard that Thornley is the murderer. Thornley later admits to Richard that he was avenging the death of his sister at the hands of that German officer.

The next piece of the puzzle leads Richard and Frances into the mountains to find a Dr. Mespelbrunn, the missing agent. At Mespelbrunn's house they find von Aschenhausen. They know something is wrong because he doesn't give the correct hand signal. Dr. Mespelbrunn, tied up upstairs, makes a noise and von Aschenhausen says it's the dog. He goes upstairs to check and Mespelbrunn manages to whisper a warning through the vent to the Myles. They leave the house moments before von Aschenhausen returns with the Gestapo.

The Gestapo all leave the house to try to find Richard and Frances in the woods. Richard and Frances manage to lose them and circle back to the house to rescue Dr. Mespelbrunn. He gives Richard the complete details of a Nazi secret weapon and parts company with them. Von Aschenhausen in Nazi uniform

Now that Richard and Frances are no longer "above suspicion," their lives are in danger. They disguise themselves and obtain fake passports. While meeting an ally to get money to cross the border, Frances is arrested by the Gestapo. Fortunately, Thornley witnesses the incident and is able to tell Richard that she has been taken to Dreikirchen. Richard, Thornley and a German ally mount a rescue operation. They take out the guards at Dreikirchen and burst into the room in which von Aschenhausen is interrogating Frances. In the ensuing fight, Richard tries to strangle von Aschenhausen, and then shoots him. The other Nazis are also shot, but so is Thornley. Richard, Frances and their ally borrow some uniforms and a Gestapo car and flee across the border into Italy.

Sigurd von Aschenhausen is a typical "villain" role for Rathbone, which he performs very well and convincingly. He doesn't overdo it, either. He's a perfect gentleman in one scene, and utterly ruthless and cruel in the next.

I found this film immensely enjoyable and highly recommend it. The cast is first-rate. "Above Suspicion" was Crawford's final film for MGM after 18 years.

Cast		Credits
Basil Rathbone...Sig von Aschenhausen Joan Crawford...................Frances Myles Fred MacMurray..............Richard Myles Conrad Veidt......................Hassert Seidel Reginald Owen.............Dr. Mespelbrunn Richard Ainley...........................Peter Galt Cecil Cunningham.....................Countess Ann Shoemaker.......................Aunt Ellen Sara Haden.............................Aunt Hattie Felix Bressart.....................Mr. A. Werner Bruce Lester................................Thornley Johanna Hofer.........................Frau Kleist Lotte Palfi..........................................Ottilie Alex Papana..........................Man in Paris Rex Williams....................Gestapo Leader Hans von Morhart.......................Schmidt William Yetter...........................Hauptman Steven Geray...................................Anton Wee Willie Davis..............................Hans Lisa Golm...............................Frau Schultz Ludwig Stossel.....................Herr Schultz Ivan Simpson....................................Porter Arthur Shields..................................Porter Henry Glynn...............................Chauffeur Eily Malyon...........................Manageress Matthew Boulton......................Constable Marcelle Corday................................Maid Frank Lackteen.....................Arab Vendor Charles de Ravenne...................Chasseur Andre Charlot.....................Cafe Manager		Production Co. ............................MGM Producers.........................Victor Saville ...........................................Leon Gordon Director.........................Richard Thorpe Writers..............Keith Winter, Melville Baker, Patricia Coleman (based on the novel by Helen MacInnes) Cinematographer............Robert Planck Editor...............................George Hively Music Composer........Bronislau Kaper Art Director.....................Randall Duell Costume Design............................Irene ................................................Gile Steele

Images on this page and page two are from the film "Above Suspicion," copyright MGM.

Above Suspicion (1943), 90 min. b&w

Cast

Credits

Above Suspicion
(1943), 90 min. b&w