Teenager, Charlie, is excited to hear that her namesake, Uncle Charlie, is coming to stay with her normal small town American family. Everyone seems to think Uncle Charlie is just great, including her. Then signs start to appear suggesting that he may not be all he seems to be.
Director Alfred Hitchcock often stated that Shadow of a Doubt was the favourite of his own films. It is much less flashy than his more popular titles such as North By Northwest (1959) or Psycho (1960) but it has all the suspense and underlying threat that one would expect from a Hitchcock production. Indeed, the storytelling benefits from the lack of a dashing hero or clearly deranged baddie. Uncle Charlie is completely plausible to all the adults but it is young Charlie who sees beneath the gloss. Why did he suddenly decided to visit his sister after so many years? Joseph Cotten plays the uncle to menacing perfection. Look out for references to twins throughout, a nod to the duality of good and evil, paralleling innocent Charlie and deceitful Charlie. Hitchcock’s humour also plays its part.
Teresa Wright (young Charlie) is the only actress/actor to gain Academy Award nominations for their first three films (this was her fourth). She won for The Pride of the Yankees (1942).
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Joseph Cotten, Teresa Wright, Patricia Collinge
Certificate: PG
1 hour 48 min
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