Under Suspicion (1937) - Turner Classic Movies

Brief Synopsis

Read More

When auto magnate Robert Bailey (Jack Holt) announces he is going to retire and turn his plant over to the employees he incurs the enmity of K.Y. Mitchell (Granville Bates), a large stockholder in the company; Carey MacGregor (Morgan Wallace), head of a parts manufacturing company that depends on Bailey Motors for most of its business; Logan Walters (Robert Emmett Keane), general manager of the business and his social-climbing wife Laura (Margaret Irving), and Mary Brookhart (Katherine DeMille), a predatory widow who is also a large stockholder and in love with Bailey. Bailey announces he is flying to his mountain retreat for a vacation and to complete the transfer of his interests to the employees. On the way to the airport, Bailey's car is side-swiped and his private plane cracks up before leaving the ground. Bailey is injured and his taken home, and narrowly escapes death when a bullet is fired through his bedroom window, He hires noted detective Frank Rogers (Purnell Pratt) to investigate. Mitchell, MacGregor, Walters, Mary and Bailey's ne'er-do-well nephew, Ralph (Maurice Murphy) are all suspected by the detective. In a scheme to make the guilty party show his hand, Bailey, his attorney Nelson Dudley (Craig Reynolds) and Rogers decide to invite the suspects to a week-end party at Bailey's lodge. The nephew brings an uninvited guest, Doris (Rosalind Keith). A dummy decoy is placed in Bailey's bed and another detective placed on watch. The next morning, the operative is found dead from a bullet fired through the window. On Dudley's advice, Bailey and Rogers agree to keep the killing secret. Another detective, accompanied by Dudley, takes the body to town, and later this detective is found dead. MacGregor returns from a hunting trip and tells Bailey and Rogers he knows the name of the guilty party but, just as he about to reveal the name, he is shot from outside. Though MacGregor is not killed, Rogers announces that he is dead. Rogers calls a midnight meeting of all the guests and Bailey, noting that Dudley is missing, starts a search of the house. He is attacked in the cellar, but subdues his assailant.

Cast & Crew

Read More

Lewis D. Collins

Jack Holt

Katherine De Mille

Luis Alberni

Purnell Pratt

Morgan Wallace

Film Details

Also Known As

Murderers Welcome

Release Date

Dec 16, 1937

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

Larry Darmour Productions

Distribution Company

Columbia Pictures Corp. of California, Ltd.

Country

United States

Screenplay Information

Based on the short story "Murderers Welcome" by Philip Wylie in Liberty (26 Sep-10 Oct 1936).

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 1m

Sound

Mono

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Film Length

7 reels

Synopsis

Multi-millionaire automobile manufacturer Robert Bailey announces plans to turn his company over to his employees. This concerns prominent stockholders K. Y. Mitchell and Mary Brookhart, as well as supplier MacGregor and general manager Walters and his wife Laura. Bob plans to retire to his country lodge while his attorney, Nelson Dudley, draws up the legal papers, but is nearly killed when a truck forces his car from the road. When his airplane is destroyed, Bob realizes that someone is trying to kill him and Nelson suggests he call in detective Rogers. After a bullet is fired through his window, Bob invites all the potential suspects to his lodge to force the murderer to reveal himself. Beside Mitchell, Mary, MacGregor, and the Walterses, the party also includes a friend, Bill, Bob's gambler nephew, Ralph Bailey, and his girl friend, Doris. Rogers and his assistants act as household servants. The next morning, Bob and Mitchell go duck hunting in a canoe, which Bob tips over when Mitchell raises his gun. Nelson then arrives and notes the other guests' animosity. That night Bill, who is in Bob's room, is killed by an arrow. Nelson is sent back early with a detective to prepare for Bill's funeral. Later, MacGregor enters Bob's room and, as he begins to say who he suspects, he is shot through the window. Rogers finds a gun in Mitchell's room, and Bob has him locked up. A decoy is set up by the window that night, and when it is shot by an arrow, Bob runs outside. Rogers brings everyone downstairs. All the guests are present except Nelson, whom Bob finds trying to get in through the cellar. Nelson, the murderer, had hoped to become administrator of the Bailey estate and then sell it. MacGregor found the bodies of Bill and the detective, where Nelson buried them in the woods. Bob promises to buy back all the stock in his company, and is glad to learn that Ralph has reformed and secretly married Doris.

Director

Lewis D. Collins

Cast

Jack Holt

Katherine De Mille

Luis Alberni

Purnell Pratt

Morgan Wallace

Maurice Murphy

Granville Bates

Craig Reynolds

Robert Emmett Keane

Margaret Irving

Mrs. [Laura] Walters

Rosalind Keith

Clyde Dilson

George Anderson

Esther Muir

Guy D'ennery

Lee Phelps

Dorothy Bradshaw

Robert Noble

Harry Harvey

Otto Fries

Crew

James S. Brown Jr.

Dwight Caldwell

Larry Darmour

J. A. Duffy

Assistant Director

Joseph Hoffman

Tom Lambert

Jefferson Parker

Film Details

Also Known As

Murderers Welcome

Release Date

Dec 16, 1937

Premiere Information

not available

Production Company

Larry Darmour Productions

Distribution Company

Columbia Pictures Corp. of California, Ltd.

Country

United States

Screenplay Information

Based on the short story "Murderers Welcome" by Philip Wylie in Liberty (26 Sep-10 Oct 1936).

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 1m

Sound

Mono

Color

Black and White

Theatrical Aspect Ratio

1.37 : 1

Film Length

7 reels

Quotes

Trivia

Notes

The working title for this film was Murderers Welcome.

By using this site, you agree to our updated Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use