Suspense, a little intrigue, adventure and espionage make for an enjoyable World War II movie. "Above Suspicion" has all of that and a little more. It has romance in a newly wed couple. And its stellar cast give good performances all around. This movie is based on a novel of the same name by Scottish writer Helen MacInnes. The story takes place in 1939, before the start of World War II. Although filmed entirely in California, the outdoor scenes around Mt. Wilson and Bishop could resemble scenes in Austria and southern Germany. The MGM studio set was so authentically recreated that I saw a couple scenes with small religious wayside shrines in them. These are common in many places in Europe. I wonder what audiences thought when they heard reference in this movie to Dachau. The concentration camp had been opened there in 1933 for political prisoners. While the Allies knew about the POW camps and concentration camps by the middle of the war, the public had heard very little about them yet in the press. So, this film has two references to Dachau – but they don't use the word "concentration" in the same breath. At one point toward the end, Fred MacMurray's character, Richard Myles, says, "At least it's not a concentration camp," referring to the detention place where the Nazis have taken his wife.Joan Crawford plays Frances Myles, the new bride of Oxford professor Myles. Conrad Veidt, Basil Rathbone, Reginald Owen and Bruce Lester round out the list of the major supporting cast. All do very well. The film has a couple of humorous lines as well. When Richard and Frances are in Salzburg, Austria, they are almost trampled by German troops marching in the street. A Gestapo officer goes into a bookstore where they are browsing and trying to make a contact. He has words with Richard who then answers him with a closing term, "dope." The Gestapo officer turns to a woman in the shop and asks her in German what "dope" means.This was the last film that Conrad Veidt made. He died of a heart attack on April 3, 1943, the month before the film was released. Veidt is most famous for having played the Gestapo Major Strasser in the 1942 film, Casablanca. But he had been an accomplished actor and film star in Germany. When Hitler came to power in 1933, Veidt and his Jewish wife, Lily, fled the country. He became a British citizen in 1939, moved to the U.S. and made many films here. In war films, he was most often cast as a German officer or Nazi chief. He was equally adept at comedy, mystery, romance and drama. Veidt was only 50 years old when he died. It's too bad he didn't live to see the end of the Nazi regime which he so despised. This film is a light espionage thriller that most should enjoy. It's a nice showcase of several stars of the time, with a last, kind look at Conrad Veidt.

For what she obviously knew what would be her last film with MGM, Joan Crawford saunters through the part of a newlywed bride who thinks a little espionage on her honeymoon with Fred MacMurray would be just the thing to give it some spice.Above Suspicion finds MacMurray and Crawford as a pair of newlyweds in 1939 Great Britain. He's a visiting American professor at Oxford and right after their visit to the preacher MacMurray is asked by someone from British Intelligence to locate some of their missing agents in Nazi Germany. Also to try and get a copy of the design of a secret weapon which was the original agent's mission.Incredibly enough they agree both being good anti-Nazis. They get into a whole lot of intrigue over in the Reich which includes the assassination of a concentration camp head. It also includes meeting a former Oxford colleague of MacMurray's Basil Rathbone who now works for the Gestapo. Rathbone is no fool, he's a shrewd adversary and gives the best performance in the film.The part Joan does seems to have been written with Myrna Loy in mind, possibly something to do with Bill Powell, though at Powell's age it would have been a tough sell for him as honeymooner. Myrna after Pearl Harbor put her career on hold and devoted herself exclusively to all kinds of war work permitted for females. I'm sure a lot of parts were written for her that got played by others and this got assigned to Crawford on her way out of MGM. Obviously the miscasting didn't bother Louis B. Mayer a bit.As for MacMurray he had a career turning role just ahead in Double Indemnity at his home studio of Paramount. This might have worked for him better had he been teamed with a frequent screen partner, Carole Lombard. But that was a casting decision no longer possible.Conrad Veidt is also in this in one of his last roles before his untimely death. He's a 'guide' which is a term to cover a multitude of talents that prove useful to the spying honeymooners.Well, I'll bet Ralph and Alice didn't have a honeymoon as interesting as this one.

"Above Suspicion" is an average spy yarn, but fun. It was Joan Crawford's last movie at MGM. She was disappointed with the movie, but she was wrong. It is always fun to see a well-dressed, just-married couple take an European honeymoon, not knowing where they are going, to spy for the British. This was before WWII. Joan Crawford and Fred MacMurray made a great team. MacMurray had the skill to team well with every leading lady he worked with. It was great to see Crawford work with Conrad Veidt again. They worked well in "A Woman's Face". Too bad Crawford and Veidt never worked again. Mr. Veidt died in 1943. This was his last movie.

"Above Suspicion(1943)" was the last film Joan Crawford made under her Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract. Crawford had strictly made films for the studio since 1925. She left,because she was dissatisfied with the mundane scripts she was offered.Looking at this film,we can see her point.Here's an espionage thriller that has a great premise and a good cast,but falters midway through.The plot is basically about honeymooners(Crawford and Fred MacMurray)being ask to do spy work in Nazi Germany. They must get information about a secret German mine.Along the way,they encounter colorful characters that lead them to clues.They even witness an assassination of a German leader in an opera house.The first 45 minutes is extremely suspenseful and Crawford and MacMurray have great chemistry together.However,the rest of the film is less than plausible and the ending leaves much to be desired.The problem,though,is with the director,Richard Thorpe.Not one of MGM's best directors,Thrope puts too many unnecessary scenes in the film,that distract from the plot.In addition,he wastes the talent of some great character actors,putting them in one-dimensional roles.Basil Rathbone was great at playing sinister roles.Here he plays a conniving Nazi,but has very little to do.The major miscasting was letting Conrad Veidt play a charming spy.Veidt was marvelous at playing an acid-tongued Nazi officer,most notably in the classic,"Casablanca(1943)." In other hands like Alfred Hitchcock or Fritz Lang,this film could have been first-rate.Crawford wouldn't have a hit movie until "Mildred Pierce(1945)",where she gave perhaps the best performance of her career as a self-sacrificing mother. As it is, the film isn't a bomb,but there are much better spy thrillers out there.I give it 2 1/2 stars out of four.