A prosecutor trying a case where a husband shot his adulterous wife begins to suspect that his own wife is having an affair, and starts to have his own thoughts about killing her.A prosecutor trying a case where a husband shot his adulterous wife begins to suspect that his own wife is having an affair, and starts to have his own thoughts about killing her.A prosecutor trying a case where a husband shot his adulterous wife begins to suspect that his own wife is having an affair, and starts to have his own thoughts about killing her.
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J. Anthony Hughes
- Murphy
- (as Anthony Hughes)
Mark Daniels
- Reporter
- (uncredited)
Matty Fain
- Joseph Patterson
- (uncredited)
James Flavin
- Jenks - Chauffeur
- (uncredited)
Jack Gardner
- Reporter
- (uncredited)
William Gould
- Prison Warden
- (uncredited)
John Harmon
- Gangster Hitman
- (uncredited)
Grace Hayle
- Lady in Courtroom
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaRalph Morgan's brother Frank Morgan starred in the original version, The Kiss Before the Mirror (1933), albeit in a different role.
- GoofsWhen Lucy Stowell walks over to the telephone to take a call, she throws the newspaper down on the floor in disgust, and it lands about a foot away from the edge of the rug. She leaves the newspaper there, and goes upstairs. When her husband enters the house a minute later, the newspaper is now positioned at the edge of the rug.
- Quotes
Lucy Stowell: [In reference to dimwitted black cook Creola] At least she can cook, which is more than you can say for most of them.
- ConnectionsEdited into Haunted Hollywood: Wives Under Suspicion (2016)
Featured review
Tepid, Despite Many Good Moments
I tuned in to catch that great patrician actor from the early 30's, Warren William. A commanding presence in every respect, too bad he's become so obscure. I expect his early death, 1948, has something to do with it. Then too, his best films-- Employees Entrance (1933), Skyscaper Souls (1932), Three On A Match (1932) -- were all pre-Code and as a result never turned up on censored TV for decades. Now, thanks to cable, they're run on outlets like TCM. So be sure to catch them if you haven't already.
Anyway, this programmer from Universal has a good premise, the humanizing of an egotistical DA (William), who counts his capital-case wins on an abacus that uses miniature skulls as a counter. Worse, he's sorely neglecting his patient wife (Jackson) who's slowly running out of patience, but he's too self-absorbed to care. But then the McAllen case comes across his desk and the ironies with his own life begin to intrude. Will his self-enclosed bubble now be enough.
Overall, the results are rather tepid despite the promising elements. Ten years later and the film would likely have gotten a noir treatment. Here, mood is largely missing, while suspense is slow to build, but does have one good unpredictable showdown scene that had me guessing wrong. Truth be told, I'm afraid many lesser performers could have handled the DA role, it not being one of William's showcases. In short, the DA is one of the typically conventional roles he was reduced to during the Code era. Also, the ethnic humor from the Butterfly McQueen-type maid reminds us that it's only a movie, after all.
Overall, there are gripping moments; however, the 70-minutes fails to come together in strong fashion despite the many promising elements. Too bad.
(In passing-- old time TV fans may recognize Milburn Stone as Doc from the classic western series Gunsmoke, along with Gail Patrick (Jackson) who successfully produced the prodigiously demanding Perry Mason series with Raymond Burr.)
Anyway, this programmer from Universal has a good premise, the humanizing of an egotistical DA (William), who counts his capital-case wins on an abacus that uses miniature skulls as a counter. Worse, he's sorely neglecting his patient wife (Jackson) who's slowly running out of patience, but he's too self-absorbed to care. But then the McAllen case comes across his desk and the ironies with his own life begin to intrude. Will his self-enclosed bubble now be enough.
Overall, the results are rather tepid despite the promising elements. Ten years later and the film would likely have gotten a noir treatment. Here, mood is largely missing, while suspense is slow to build, but does have one good unpredictable showdown scene that had me guessing wrong. Truth be told, I'm afraid many lesser performers could have handled the DA role, it not being one of William's showcases. In short, the DA is one of the typically conventional roles he was reduced to during the Code era. Also, the ethnic humor from the Butterfly McQueen-type maid reminds us that it's only a movie, after all.
Overall, there are gripping moments; however, the 70-minutes fails to come together in strong fashion despite the many promising elements. Too bad.
(In passing-- old time TV fans may recognize Milburn Stone as Doc from the classic western series Gunsmoke, along with Gail Patrick (Jackson) who successfully produced the prodigiously demanding Perry Mason series with Raymond Burr.)
helpful•10
- dougdoepke
- Jul 7, 2019
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $220,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 9 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was Wives Under Suspicion (1938) officially released in Canada in English?
Answer