Review of Shadow of a Doubt (1943) by Rachel G — 05 Mar 2009
Hitchcock claimed this was his best, or at least favorite, of his films--well, an artist is rarely his own best critic, we can presume, because Shadow of a Doubt; while bolstered by Joseph Cotton; is far from Hitchcock's peak.
Not to say it's not enjoyable--almost all of the director's films contain enough teasing suspense to entertain--but the set-ups and the narratives weren't that powerful for me. The film's best characters are the father and neighbor who hold dinner conversations over how one would hypothetically best murder the other, and Charlie the Younger seemed a bit dry to my taste.
The main plot strand is resolved with another fourth to go, and where they take it from there seems uninspired. I don't know if I can 'un-recommend' this, since it is Hitchcock after all, but I wouldn't put this near the top of his Must-See list; there are at least ten you should watch before you get here.
I consider this back catalog.
This review of Shadow of a Doubt (1943) was written by Rachel G on 05 Mar 2009.
Shadow of a Doubt has generally received very positive reviews.
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