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Shadow of a Doubt | Year: 1943 Classification: Mystery / Suspense Directed: - Alfred Hitchcock Actors/Actresses: - Teresa Wright - Joseph Cotten HITCHCOCKs AMERICA 1943's SHADOW OF A DOUBT is an allegorical study of Americana seen through the naivete of a typical family in a quiet and slumberous community. When evil comes to town in the embodiment of the beloved Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotton) it is the perceptive niece Young Charlie (Teresa Wright) that slowly uncovers his true identity as the Merry Widow murderer. Henry Travers and Hume Cronyn spend their evenings concocting ways to commit the perfect murder unknowingly under the watchful eyes of the genuine article. Evil takes many shapes and hides behind many facades in broad daylight. Would the wholesome average American community recognize such evil and be willing to deal with it? These are questions that the transplanted Hitchcock would ask about his new home. Another transplant, Dimitri Tiomkin, composed a brilliant score utilizing American idioms laced with the darkness of the tainted soul. This remains one of Hitchcock's best films since it works, as a thriller yet remains a true reflection of a good-natured but generally complacent lifestyle. What is interesting is that Hitchcock shows his usual disdain for police by having the niece foil the Merry Widow murderer and not agent Jack Graham (Macdonald Carey). The vigilant individual is still the screen's most valuable asset. Shadow Of A Doubt is Hitchcock's first artistic masterpiece Shadow Of A Doubt truly is the first Hitchcock film where the viewer can first witness how well this great director uses sounds and sets to evoke emotion from the viewer. Cotton and Wright are perfectly cast, with Cotton particularly eerie as the "perfect" uncle. Hitchcock takes the viewer from a comfortable position and throws them into a horrible "what if" situation. What if that favorite relative of yours was capable of something evil? I think that the way Hitchcock used sound and setting in this movie only heightened the suspense. The quiet town...the perfect family is the backdrop for murder and secrets. His use of sound during the dinner party (cups clanking, etc.) are eerie and cheery all at the same time. The scene where Charlie discovers the horrible past of her Uncle...and then watches him merrily jump up the porch steps to play with her brother....is bloodchilling. What a Film!!! It is sad that Santa Rosa, Ca. doesn't look like this today,but this film almost foretells the waiting, looming changes that we were about to face in our land, both to our lifestyle and our environment. Never more relevant than now.Hitchcock captured the essence of a wonderful and, now, nostalgic time in America as no one else, before or after. Buy Shadow Of A Doubt at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Shadow Of A Doubt Search with the Priority Search Engine on Shadow Of A Doubt This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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