SHOT BY SHOT

Above Suspicion (1943, MGM)

In the sequence you have chosen, discuss how classical Hollywood cinema brings the aspects of cinematography, editing, sound and narrative together, in order to create meaning in that sequence, and what is that meaning?

Above Suspicion is not remembered particularly fondly, if it is remembered at all. In an internet ‘Favourite Joan Crawford Movie Poll’ it has polled two votes from seven hundred and thirteen. It was her last film with MGM, which she remembers in the book ‘Conversations with Joan Crawford’ as “No prize this one” (Quoted by Joan Crawford Online). However, it is classical Hollywood cinema, made in 1943 by MGM, and arguments over its merits not-withstanding, brings together aspects of cinematography, editing, sound and narrative, in order to make meaning in the classical Hollywood way. I shall discuss how it does this, and what that meaning is, in the first four minutes and eleven seconds following the opening credits.
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