Beyond Suspicion

Amazon.com

Beyond Suspicion is a little too thoughtful to be accurately called a thriller, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Jeff Goldblum plays insurance salesman John Nolan, who is passively content in his yuppie lifestyle until one night when he's caught in the middle of a robbery. Augie, a store clerk, is killed, and Nolan becomes so obsessed in finding a little meaning in Augie's death that he begins to gradually take over what would have been his life. But of course, all lives are complicated, and Augie's life as an ex-con was doubly so. Goldblum gives one of his trademark quirky performances, and it works well here, as he captures Nolan's discomfort in his own skin. Though not the edge-of-your-seat suspense movie its title might suggest it is, Beyond Suspicion is an interesting, patient, and thoughtful film that takes care to flesh out even minor characters. --Ali Davis

Description

The Death of Auggie Rose changes three unsuspecting lives forever. Jeff Goldblum and Anne Heche star in this riveting tale about murder, betrayal and stolen identity. When convict Auggie Rose is murdered on his first day out of prison, John Nolan (Goldblum) abandons his life to take on the dead man's identity. Delving deeper and deeper into an existence that is not his own, Nolan is unprepared whne the consequences of his actions become clear and he is forced to justify his deception.

Customer Reviews:

Follow your bliss!.......2005-06-18

We tend to associate very often the professional success with the true happiness. And sometimes the destiny has a hidden Ace that can make change the whole perspective of your entire life, your familiar state, your social status., just because a simple accident a cite with the fate waits for you on the most unimaginable place and possibly in the most absurd of the thinkable situation. Something inside turns on and you all your apparent and comfortable may fall down without any reasonable motive.
In this sense this picture is a smart fable, about the fragility of the life, deeply touching that will make you reflect around a lot of things. Even if you would never assume this attitude, think it for just a moment. What about the amount of twisted of fate lived after the War, just after a natural catastrophe, an unexpected or an organ donation (21 grams) or a little crash just leaving your workplace with an unknown woman who eventually become your couple?
In this sense the slow reconstruction of broken life of an ex con will be the main motive for a successful insurance agent, surpasses the limits of the blame for a tragic event, and trying to cover the holes he gets involved in a love affair?
If you analyze carefully you will remind Candid the famous Voltaire's character and a touch of Cyrano but adapted brilliantly to these times.
Jeff Goldblum fitted admirably in this role and to my mind he got the best performance in all his career. Anne Heche shows she has angel (or duende a Spanish term) in this film that rides between the tragedy and the romantic comedy,
Charming movie that will invite us to think it over!

a film to boggle the mind while it can.......2005-02-25

it really makes you wonder if you want to be someone else when you see what they did in life. a moving movie. touching too. a litle comedic at times but very great otherwise. brilliant cast of characters. Jeff Nolan ( Jeff Goldblum) is shocking and moving as his character. the ending is very peculiar but you should all understand it. glad I got this on dvd. i would recommend Jurassic Park if you like Goldblum. very touching movie

Beyond Obsession.......2004-02-20

2½-to-3 stars would be more accurate, depending on personal likes and dislikes.

John Nolan (Jeff Goldblum) has the apparent misfortune of being in Tony's Deli (to buy a bottle of wine) when a hold-up occurs. Physically he is unscathed, but a recently hired store assistant, Augie Rose, is killed by the assailant, practically dying in Nolan's arms with the words "John, it'll be OK". Mentally injured and haunted by these events, and disturbed by the callousness and inability of the police department to make proper arrangements for a funeral and the personal effects of Rose, Nolan pursues the matter himself. He learns that Rose spent 20 years in prison for armed robbery, aggravated by a history of previous petty crimes, has no next of kin, and was released from prison three weeks ago. By signing as a brother, he gets the personal effects no one else wants. Thus he finds the apartment. And so the involvement cascades. With each discovery, Nolan entangles himself ever deeper in the web of Rose's prior life.

This film is not a crime story about bringing a murderous assailant to justice; that's not even part of the script. The Tony's Deli incident merely sets in motion what becomes a psychological obsession ("Suspicion" is a misnomer!) in a willing individual and the consequences thereof. Nolan has the option on several occasions of withdrawing from this obsession, but he deliberately chooses to go completely overboard in the opposite direction.

Aside from the necessity of having a plot for this film, why would the Nolan character have this obsession and be so willing to abandon his cushy life style? There are some good answers presented here: a personal feeling of guilt that he was in some fateful way responsible (After all, if he had accepted the bottle of wine as is and left immediately, the incident likely would have been nothing more than a routine street-punk robbery.); a deep sense of injustice relative to the mindless consequences of this random killing and his desire to mitigate it if he can; a cooling of ardor toward his housemate Carol, whom he has been dating for 6 years but never married; the dull grind of the life insurance business; a life where importance is measured by whether or not a wine bottle's label is scratched (and how fate hangs in the balance on that trivial detail!); an existentialist mindset where there is no longer meaning or purpose in his middle-aged life, with little more to achieve beyond marriage, a house in the suburbs, a flashy Volvo, and monetary independence. Perhaps he sees in the deceased a way to escape his own human predicament: engagement.

Goldblum's acting ability is particularly well suited to this type of role, which is strongly reminiscent of that in "Into the Night". In both films, his character becomes disenfranchised from the daily grind and departs to greener pastures, getting in way over his head in the process. Those who enjoyed one film will likely enjoy the other.

The 1.85-1.00 picture is crisp with good color and detail. The Dolby 5.1 Stereo Surround track is fine. The DVD keep-case is good. There are minor extras of little consequence.

Great Movie.......2003-07-20

I think it's one of the most original films I have seen in a long time.

Unusual and charming..........2002-03-12

This unusual and truly noteworthy film recently landed in our video shop without the trumpet blast that new releases usually carry along with them. A long time fan of Jeff Goldblum and a budding fan of Anne Heche, feeling adventurous and somewhat bored, I thought I would give it a try and haven't regretted the decision for a second.

This is a story about identity, love, emotional crises and that time of life (some point between thirty-five and forty) where some of us get hit with a major wake up call, and decide to throw in the old life and start a new one. Please do not let this general description of ~Auggie Rose~ put you off - because it is not your run of the mill comedy/drama, but something a lot more.

The plot is basic with a touch of originality: John Nolan (Jeff Goldblum) is a successful life insurance salesman that one night walks into his local liquor store to buy some special wine he has ordered. He notices that the label is damaged and asks for another bottle. The assistant walks in the back to retrieve it when the place gets robbed. The assistant, unaware of the crime in progress, walks back out to the counter and the shooter pops him one. Nolan holds the man in his arms and accompanies him to the hospital where he dies. While in the process of dying, a connection is made between Nolan and the victim, Auggie Rose, who turns out to be an ex con, recently released from a twenty year prison sentence. He feels somehow responsible for the murder and begins investigating the man's life. The more Nolan learns about Auggie, the more inextricably drawn into his life he becomes. The journey of obsession begins.

After a chain of subtle stimulators and interesting circumstances, Nolan is pulled even further into Auggie's life, and assumes his identity. And the trouble starts.

This film had all the charm and strangeness of a Paul Auster novel. Specifically, his early books like 'The Music of Chance' or 'Moon Palace'. I really can't compare ~Auggie Rose~ to Auster's film 'Smoke' for example, but their ambience or general atmosphere are very similar. This film lacks that mainstream gloss and has real depth without being mawkish. (More cynical viewers might diasagree) The original soundtrack helps to create that feeling of strangeness, and is an excellent piece of work in its own right.

Anne Heche's performance is polished and quite charming as Auggie's prison pen pal: meeting Nolan, believing it is Auggie and the relationship ensues. Surprising to some, Goldblum and Heche mesh as their on screen presence as lover's works well.

Writer/director, Mathew Tabak, is unknown to me, but if this is his first major instalment into the Hollywood arena, he has a great career in front of him.

Amazon.com

It! The Terror from Beyond Space can be enjoyed on two levels. On the one hand, science fiction vet Jay Bixby (story credit for Fantastic Voyage, episodes of Star Trekand The Twilight Zone) has penned a tight screenplay that clocks in at less than 70 minutes. In the action you'll see precursors to Alien and other modern science fiction classics. On the other hand, you've got the pleasures of The Future As Envisioned in 1958 (Hey look! Female crew members! Wait a minute, they're serving the men coffee...) and, of course, a rubber-suited space monster. A rescue ship picks up Colonel Carruthers, sole survivor of an expedition to Mars. Carruthers is accused of killing his crew, but he maintains that they were picked off by a mysterious monster. Guess who's right? Keep an eye out for charming details such as analog instrument dials, crew members smoking in flight, and mysteriously large amounts of loose paper flying around the ship. --Ali Davis

Customer Reviews:

Still better than the rip-off remakes........2007-05-16

Once again we are treated to a science fiction/monster movie from that generation know as the World War Two generation. Boy those guys really knew how to make one. Basicly, most of them showed the outlook back in those days on how the United States, even in their fantasy dreams, handed invasion or an attack from any direction. Let one big foot print be found, a badly chewed up body, or an unusual tooth, or a few missing people come up and out comes that Army Colt 45 semi-automatic pistol from under the pillow, a box of grenades from under the bed, the 'family' M1 Rifle from the closet, and a bazooka from the garage--that last one was probably used as the tailpipe on their car so as to keep it hidden. I got to hand it to them...they sure had it figured out what to do. You'll notice in these movies (most of them) nobody takes a vote on what to do about the monster. Everybody knows. "It attacked us...that it for him!"

Not sure? Go watch THEM!--another fine example of really well done science fiction, done by that generation. So let's get to it.

PROS:

1. Shot in clear black and white.
2. Shot almost entirely from inside--what supposed to be--a spaceship. Why does that make a difference? Well, if they'd done a lot of outside scenes it would have taken a lot of the budget. The monster and the spaceship probably would have suffered in looks. So the interior of the ship looked fine.
3. Monster music on the opening scenes fine.
4. Background painting of Mars looks fine.
5. Monster man in a rubber suit? Looks fine, notice the broadshoulders and the hump over each arm, at the top of them?--lots of indicated strength--afterall, the monster supposed to be able to batter its way through the center hatchway with brute strength.
six. Great idea, great storyline. The last survivor of the first Mars expedition is picked up and arrested. He alone survives out of nine men and women. They find(off camera) a skull...it has a bullet hole in it--we all know what that means--the last survivor is guilty. His story was they were all attacked during a sandstorm--he never did get a clear look at it. The rescue ship crews' answer is something like--we have a skull, it has a bullet hole in it. There's only one kind of monster that uses bullets. (That would be a closed case through out most of our history. But the survivor only says--maybe he was the lucky one.)
7. No attempt at floating paper and people and spilt coffee in this one--so what? It isn't needed. This is a suspense science fiction, not technology. The storyline is important. Trust me, if this is the first time you've seen this movie you'll agree--people floating around to prove there is no gravity onboard their ship just isn't needed here--the story's intensity helps carry this movie. Not special effects.
8. Special Effects. Just fine, no complaint. Even though all the loose cargo isn't tied down in case the ship manuevers most everything 'looks' just fine. On the side, I think the monster should have been able to open his mouth. (I just finished watching this movie half an hour ago and am watching it again as I write this.)
9. They have girls onboard this ship, I notice when the monster attacks neither of them carries a gun--Why? Well let me quote one all American man, "...no cutie is allowed to come to harm while one red blooded American man is there." What this means is, throughout this movie the girls weren't really supposed to be scared because 'the men' would take care of it. If the girls 'had' armed themself then things were really getting rough! Hmmm. Maybe they should have armed the girls.
10. A side note about this monster. It is intelligent. It not only found a way onboard the ship but shoved one of the crewmen up a shaft in the wall and then replaced the grill--good thing for the survivor they found the monster first before finding the body. One would think that would have been the final nail in his coffin.
11. Overall atmosphere of the movie...above most movies...no sub plots to speak of here so they spend most of there time on the story. No filler.

CONS:

1. There isn't much of a drawback to this type of old movie. Everything is pretty much laid out the way it should have been. Well...ok, here is a small one. When they cornered it in the supply room one of the crew took a step inside to shoot it with the M1 Rifle. I would have liked to seen him machinegun it for about 10 bullets before his gun was taken from him--you know, like they did in THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD.

So there you have it. Another great science fiction movie from the generation that made the best ones and shot in that great black and white that demands you bring out the popcorn and dogs or hamburgers. It's an American thing you know, hot dogs, hamburgers, popcorn, and monster movies....I think there's a law or something saying you have to do it that way to get the most out of the movie. I agree. Bye!

P.S. Buy, don't rent. You know, I wouldn't mind having all the one hour installments of Cheers but there are around 400 of them. I can't afford them. I would have settled for half a dozen of the best. So what does Cheers have to do with this movie? Well, I'm glad you ask me that...there are a lot of science fiction movies out there. It, the terror from beyond space and a couple others are the best of monsters in space type. You wouldn't rent a well written book, would you? No, you buy it.

Alien's dad comes-a-callin'........2007-05-05

It's a Precursor of Alien without any doubt.Films like this started my love of 50's Sci-fi.Which continues to this day.
Even now when I see a modern-day Sci-fi film I still think the Spaceships that don't look like silver V-2's,look kind of unbelievable.
I find it hard to suspend my disbelief if the bulkheads aren't connected by massive rivet's, and all computer panels should have valves, without a single new fangled transistor in sight.
(They'll never catch on anyway.)
That may mean I've seen too many 50's Sci-fi films,but I do find them immensely enjoyable.
~~~~
Brief Summary.
In January 1973 contact has been lost with a rocket expedition to Mars,a second one is launched to find out what's happened.
Only one survivor is found,and his account of what happened to his crew is greeted with extreme suspicion by the recue crew.Then something starts killing off this crew.
Driving the surviving crew members floor by floor up inside their ship.
And in Space no-one can jump out the window and run for it!!
~~~~
The opening scene of the crashed ship and recently landed rescue ship was taken and used in,"The Outer Limits" story "The Invisible Enemy".(1964)
One thing I've always suspected about 1950's poster artist's was, nearly all of them must be misogynist's.
As It's always a scantily clad Woman that has been grabbed by the wicked monsters,and in need of rescue by the brave men.What on Earth is the creature going to do with her anyway?If it's of a romantic nature, mixed species relationships rarely work out.
Opinion.
This is an enjoyable and typical for it's time, romp.
A wonderful slice of how the 1950's viewed the future,well 1973 anyway.
They could never have predicted Glam-rock!
Manned landings on Mars in 1973 indeed.
Not quite reality is it?
~~~~
If this film tickled your fancy,why not check out these,they certainly tickled mine.
"Them".(1954)-(The scene where the little girl is brought round with a sniff of Formic acid,is jump out of your seat stuff.)
"It Came from Outer Space".(1953)-(With the scrumptious Barbara Rush,and a atypical story for the 50's.)
"The Incredible Shrinking Man".(1957)-(Intelligent story.They found an amazing way to keep water droplets in scale with the titular character,and the ending was just my cup of pessimistic Tea.)

Classic B-Movie Sci-Fi!.......2007-02-14

If you indulge in high-budget movies with spectacular special effects and digestible acting, "It! The Terror from Beyond Space" (1958) is not the film for you. Personally, I don't think you should hold the quality of a movie against it just because it's a cheap, quickie flick. If you're doubting my sanity, it's because I'm a nostalgia fan.
The basis (unauthorized, by the way) for the 1979 film, "Alien," "It's" title character is actually uncredited, as he is played by Ray "Crash" Corrigan (of Western films and the title character in 1945's "The White Gorilla"). The unnamed monster is a hulking, vampire-like native of Mars. He takes his leisure time in killing off the crew members of a rocket ship, en route to Earth.
Overall, "It!" is a great old movie. If you enjoy this film, you will also relish "Target Earth" (1954), "The Thing from Another World" (1951), "The Day the Earth Stood Still" (1951) and "The War of the Worlds" (1953) (actually, the last three titles were quality films). I just can't understand why people are so narrow-minded about old movies. If you love the Godzilla series, then you'll love this movie--and ya gotta love Godzilla!

An Underrated Sci-Fi Classic!.......2006-10-24

Bill Warren reported in his tome of 1950's science fiction films Keep Watching the Skies that the Martian in IT! The Terror From Beyond Space was originally scripted to be very agile and quick. Instead, the monster here growls and lumbers around like a Frankenstein-zombie. While it's true that the "It" is quite lame and lethargic (Ray "Crash" Corrigan from the Undersea Kingdom Serials), this classic sci-fi 50's film is, nevertheless, very fun and enjoyable. The rocket interior is one of my favorites from the 50's era with a background "hissing" type sound effect taken from the "swan-saucers" in George Pal's War of the Worlds. I mean, you gotta love a rocketship that can't be blown up ( from the inside! ) by a stockpile of grenades! If old black & white science fiction pictures are your cup of tea, you won't want to miss this one. Highly recommended.

Great For Its Simplicity.......2006-06-19

This is a great movie because of its simplicity.

Basically this monster stows away on a space ship and starts wreaking havoc.

The movie doesn't really try to conform to any sort of scientific principles like more sophisticated movies might.

For example when they can't stop IT they remember that Gino had whipped up a batch of poison gas grenades as a precaution just in case they ran into anything on Mars. Fortunately he had left them in the cupboard in a cardboard box.

So they throw the gas grenades at IT and let the poison gas circulate throughout the entire space ship.

There are also great special effects as IT tears through various steel doors and gets exposed to a nuclear reactor which is very realistic.

But don't think the crew doesn't have time for romance even in this short movie.

There's a steamy love triangle going on between Caruthers, Van, and the lovely "Chicken".

IT looks very similar to The Hideous Sun Deamon. I wonder if they used the same costume.

Jeff Marzano

Recommended further viewing:

Brides Of Blood / Beast Of Blood
Horror Hotel
Invasion Of The Saucer Men
Not Of This Earth (original)
Phantasm
The Blob (with Steve McQueen)
The Brain That Wouldn't Die
The Flesh Eaters
The Fly / The Return Of The Fly / The Curse Of The Fly
The Four Skulls Of Jonathan Drake
Godzilla 2000
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
The Hideous Sun Demon
The Hypnotic Eye
The Incredible Shrinking Man
The Indestructible Man
The Manster
The Thing (from another world)
The Thing (John Carpenter's remake 1982)
The Thing That Couldn't Die
The Twilight Zone Collections

Average customer rating:

Stepfanie Kramer is hot !
Entertaining cop movie for Scalia lovers
TC Review
not bad - but not worth pay $80 for.

Beyond Suspicion
Starring: Jack Scalia , Stepfanie Kramer , Howard Dell , Francesco Ferrucci , and Roger R. Cross
Director: Paul Ziller
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( B ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00000JWWB
Release Date: 1999-09-21

Description

She was an eyewitness to murder. He was the cop she thought she could trust. But, when they fell in love, she discovered that no one is... "Beyond Suspicion." Morality, justice and obsessive love are combined in this chilling psychological thriller loaded with deception, double twists and double-cross.

Customer Reviews:

Stepfanie Kramer is hot !.......2004-02-10

Ms Kramer has always been a gifted actress, and this movie only scratches the surface of her imense talents...still, she is so beautiful to watch, and she is so hot in this film! Sexy love scenes with Scalia.Even with the limited material, Stepfanie manages to jump off the screen.She can hold her own against the best of the best as far as Im concerned.

Entertaining cop movie for Scalia lovers.......2001-09-11

Quite an entertaining movie for a low production film. A "must see" film for Jack Scalia fans. He looks "HOT" in this film and is very sexy. There are several "steamy" love scenes that shocked me never having seen an R rated film with Scalia in it. Overall he does a good acting job playing a character that's rather twisted. One huge negative about this movie is the music. It's obnoxious and very dated.

TC Review.......2000-06-20

Beyond Suspicion was an entertaining movie, it's not going to win any awards but Stepfanie Kramer looked great and the plot was well done. If your a Stepfanie Kramer fan then it is well worth watching.

not bad - but not worth pay $80 for........1999-01-08

so so movie - not bad as a rental, but not worth $80 to pay

DVD:

DVD

DVD