Note: Gail Patrick moved beyond ingenue parts when she played Cornelia the mean (albeit breathtaking) sister in My Man Godrey. After 60 or so parts, often as the bad girl, retirement from acting drove her batty. With her husband, Gail Patrick Jackson she formed the company that produced from 1957 to 1966 the greatest courtroom TV series in the history of Creation. She was the soul of the series, said Raymond Burr. One wonders if it was due to Jackson that the writers so often returned to serious themes such as the long row women have to hoe in a world ridden by the lust, anger and greed of men; friction between the social classes; sharp practices in the business world; the dark side of the entertainment industry; and the harsh treatment of vulnerable groups.
Wives
under Suspicion
1938 / 1:09 minutes
Tagline: “…THAT JEALOUSY feeds strongest on the heart of
a wise man!”
[internet archive]
In this gritty courtroom drama set in a large, unnamed city, a district attorney becomes consumed by his role as a prosecutor, taking disturbing pride in sending convicted murderers to the electric chair. His desktop features a macabre abacus made of skull-shaped beads, tallying the lives he's ended - a detail that unsettles both his secretary and his wife, who fear he’s lost touch with his humanity.
Despite promising his wife a long-overdue vacation, the DA is drawn back into work when a distraught college professor is brought in for questioning. In the pre-Miranda era, the professor is interrogated without legal counsel, and the DA coerces a confession to the murder of the man’s unfaithful wife. The DA’s cold mockery of the professor’s emotional breakdown reveals a chilling lack of empathy, especially given his disdain for an educated man succumbing to mindless violence.
During the trial, the DA’s wife pointedly remarks that he’s treating the proceedings like a “Roman Holiday”—a spectacle enjoyed at the expense of someone else’s suffering. This comment sparks a slow realization in the DA: he and the professor are not so different. The film ultimately suggests that justice must be tempered with empathy.
The opening sequence features a haunting look at the electric chair’s machinery - mid-century technology rendered terrifying through close-ups of switches and turbines. Surprisingly, the film’s visual style is restrained, especially considering it was directed by James Whale, known for the iconic sets of Frankenstein.
Warren William delivers a compelling performance as the DA, balancing dedication with arrogance and cruelty. His shift toward compassion feels slightly stiff, though it’s unclear whether that’s a flaw in the acting or the character’s emotional repression. Gail Patrick stands out with her poised presence and a particularly powerful scene reacting to the professor’s recorded confession. Ralph Morgan plays the stereotypical absent-minded academic, while Lillian “Billy” Yarbo provides comic relief as a maid - a role steeped in racial tropes but given a rare moment of agency.
Though critics at the time have dismissed the film as melodramatic and moralistic, it offers a sincere attempt to entertain and provoke thought. Its message - that justice should be guided by fairness and mercy - is one worth hearing, especially in a system where conviction often overshadows compassion.
Other Gail Patrick Movies: Click on the title to go to the review
·
If
I Had a Million
·
The
Phantom Broadcast
·
The
Murders in the Zoo
·
Death
Takes a Holiday
·
The
Crime of Helen Stanley
·
Murder
at the Vanities
·
The
Preview Murder Mystery
·
My
Man Godrey
·
Murder
by Pictures
·
Artists
and Models
·
King
of Alcatraz
·
Wives Under Suspicion
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