"Suspect", v. and n.

[Jim Parish]

This evening, I was watching the 1933 movie "The Kennel Murder Case".
Towards the end of the film, several characters use the word "suspect"
as a noun; each of them pronounces it with stress on the second
syllable, rather than (what I'm more accustomed to) the first. Does
anyone know whether this pronunciation was common at that time, or have
any other explanation?

Jim Parish

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