Shadow of a Doubt

I sometimes think that people who don't like this film, don't like it because you aren't bonked over the head by fancy special effects or being shown a bloody knife stuck in someone's back. Psychological thrillers take place in the mind, not splashed across the screen so you don't have to think but sit in your seat and watch all the pretty colors flash by! The acting is superb. Theresa Wright is a gem, and holds her own quite nicely against veteran actor, Joseph Cotton. What you need to look for in this film are the subtle cues given that build until Charlie suspects her beloved uncle is a murderer, and eventually even tries to kill her, not once but several times. Made when the world was at war, I find it especially disturbing to realize that evil could and can be anywhere. Even sitting around your own dining room table.

Using the small town of Santa Rosa, California as his backdrop, Hitch takes his time in unwinding a tale about a serial killer (Joseph Cotten) who comes to town on a family visit. Slowly the suspense builds as his niece (Teresa Wright) begins to suspect that he may be the Merry Widow killer who courts wealthy women for financial gain. Against the everyday small town life of its participants, the story unfolds in a leisurely way--perhaps too slow for today's taste. Admittedly, there are some dull stretches--but midway through the story the relationship between Cotten and Wright gets us caught in the story and we have to follow it to conclusion. Macdonald Carey, Hume Cronyn, Patricia Collinge and Henry Travers are all splendid in supporting roles. Hitch uses Agatha Christie's favorite device--telling a story of murder against a mundane setting. Tighter editing might have made this more watchable, but still highly recommended as one of his best earlier works.

With the rousing score of Dimitri Tiomkin and the wonderful camera work, this captivates from the very beginning. We switch from the tight, small lodging out into wide open and view a chase on foot from above, runners and shadows racing before us as we wonder just what is afoot. As it happens we are to find out that Joseph Cotton's character is guilty almost straight away yet spend the rest of the film in suspense as we doubt ourselves. This partly because of the tale of his personal history and partly because of the love and affection of his niece, a wonderful performance from Teresa Wright. Shot largely on location and using a lovely old property in which the large family tumble this way and that in marvellous abandon while the lady of the house tries to maintain control. I learn from the extras that in the end, more shots were required by Hitch and so a set had to be built anyway replicating the building. A very fine, involving, moving and suspenseful film.

A young woman (Teresa Wright) discovers her visiting "Uncle Charlie" (Joseph Cotten) may not be the man he seems to be. This is classic Hitchcock, and one of Joseph Cotten's finest roles, which is quite a compliment considering how great Cotten is/was. He is dark, misanthropic, misogynistic, and keeps you guessing. That is the beauty of this film: you will debate with yourself Charlie's true identity (maybe he really is who he says he is). The film has a good deal of suspense, and solid performances from everyone involved. I do not think this is one of Hitchcock's most well-known films, and I am sorry about that. For me, it ranks above "Rebecca" in his catalog. Really a fine film and worth seeing again.