Above Suspicion

A

Above  Suspicion is an odd mixture  of espionage  and comedy that never quite gels. Released in 1943 and directed by Richard Thorpe, it manages to be engaging due to the light touch of its leads, Fred MacMurray and Joan Crawford.

Set just before World War iI, the film has MacMurray and Crawford as honeymooners who are recruited on a mission for the British. Why MacMurray is approached for this is never quite clear--he's told that because he and Crawford are Americans they will be "above suspicion." But aside from being a classmate of the man recruiting them (at Oxford) there is no indication that MacMurray has any background in espionage.

Once that is accepted, he and Crawford travel to Germany. Because the war was already on, the script takes several potshots at the Germans. At one point Crawford says that Germany is a beautiful country, and MacMurray adds that's true, except it has too many Germans. I have a feeling this film never played in Germany.

The couple, who have great chemistry, solve clues as they make their way through a convoluted plot. Almost everyone they approach appears to be a spy, and they sift through guidebooks and music scores to get information. There is an assassination at a concert, with the gunshot timed to the music, which is lifted from Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much.

The film takes a turn for the serious as there is mention of concentration camps--the world didn't really know the horror of them by this time. But then the film ends on a comic line, as the honeymooners are off to Italy. MacMurray asks, "Who wants some spaghetti?"

Above Suspicion doesn't quite work but it a brisk and unobjectionable film that is a good example how the war influenced films. If draws clear distinctions between the good guys and bad guys, even though there is no mention of just why the Nazis are bad. Maybe it's those uniforms.