Review of Shadow of a Doubt (1943) by Chris B — 03 Jan 2016

Alfred Hitchcock directed over 50 films in his long career, spanning six decades and leaving an amazing body of work behind, but of them all Shadow of a Doubt was his personal favorite. The film is wonderfully paced, really allowing the tension to build up to a boiling point by the film's second half. The framing is very trademark Hitchcock and really adds to the atmosphere and establishes character's personalities as well as their relationships with one another. Joseph Cotten with his powerful stature and sophisticated look appears to be the dreamy uncle that is both rich and confident when he enters back into the life of his family. Not too long into the film though we see some strange and freighting behavior from his character and it's then that we know things aren't as they seem. We eventually find out that there is a murderer on the loose who has killed several other women and claimed their inheritances. Without spoiling the whole film's story, I will say that the film does a great job of conveying mystery and letting the viewer figure out the pieces little by little over the course of the film.

As a suspense film Shadow of a Doubt excels and really sets the whole mood and personality of the film itself, but that isn't to say that it doesn't do other things well. For example, the little girl in the film is hilarious as a young know-it-all. Her monotone delivery of advice and information is very funny and helps balance the darker elements of the film. All the actors do a wonderful job, especially Joseph Cotten in the leading role and Teresa Wright as the young Charlie, Uncle Charlie's niece. Without Cotten's masculinity and the framing style of Hitchcock making him all the more menacing as well as the dark and well written dialogue, the film could have failed to really drive up the terror factor. Luckily, this is not the case at all and we are left with a truly terrifying and ruthless villain who really gives the film it's powerful impact.

Shadow of a Doubt succeeds in all areas and manages to be one of Hitchcock's top films even though it's lesser known then other works such as Vertigo, Rear Window, Psycho, The Birds, etc. If you are a fan of Hitchcock and haven't heard or seen this one, it certainly is worth a watch and is a great film worth seeing! I highly recommend it!