Review of Shadow of a Doubt (1943) by Uditha D — 08 Dec 2011
It may have been Hitchcock's personal favorite, but for me, Shadow of a Doubt wasn't as great as his other films. However, you've got to hand it over to Joseph Cotten's chilling role as Charlie Oakley for making this a somewhat stylish thriller.
At the same time, I wouldn't say the same thing for the other performances - definitely not for Teresa Wright's forever chiming Charlie Newton. By far the biggest disappointment of all was, in my view, the final scene at Charlie's funeral - what a sudden and anti-climatic ending! Let's just hope that none of the other Merry Widow murderers end up in such a macabre and lifeless funeral ceremony as that.
And one more thing - wasn't it obvious to Mrs Newton that the garage scene, where Charlie almost got suffocated to death, was no accident? Seems like the sky would have fallen on her and yet she and her family would remain just as oblivious.
Those wonderful techniques Hitchcock used in this (such as the dialogue and that revelation scene in the library where Charlie finally realizes her ideal uncle's real worth) were what I ultimately enjoyed.
Other than that, Shadow of a Doubt left didn't leave me a shadow of a doubt with regards to its drab plainness.
This review of Shadow of a Doubt (1943) was written by Uditha D on 08 Dec 2011.
Shadow of a Doubt has generally received very positive reviews.
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