Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Thornton Wilder (screenplay) &
Sally Benson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 August 1943 (Sweden)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

A Blast of DRAMATIC Dynamite exploded right before your eyes!

Plot:

A young woman discovers her visiting "Uncle Charlie" may not be the man he seems to be.

Plot Keywords:

Widow | Murderer | Suspect | California | Visit

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Teresa Wright	...	Charlotte 'Charlie' Newton
Joseph Cotten	...	Uncle Charlie Oakley
Macdonald Carey	...	Jack Graham
Henry Travers	...	Joseph Newton
Patricia Collinge	...	Emma Newton
Hume Cronyn	...	Herbie Hawkins
Wallace Ford	...	Fred Saunders
Edna May Wonacott	...	Ann Newton
Charles Bates	...	Roger Newton
Irving Bacon	...	Station Master
Clarence Muse	...	Pullman Porter
Janet Shaw	...	Waitress Louise Finch
Estelle Jewell	...	Catherine

Also Known As:

Shadow of Doubt (USA) (poster title)

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Spain:13 | South Korea:15 (2004) | Brazil:14 | USA:PG (re-rating) (1984) | Argentina:16 | Australia:PG | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 | Ireland:PG | Peru:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #9011) (original rating) | UK:A (original rating)

Filming Locations:

904 McDonald Avenue, Santa Rosa, California, USA

Company:

Skirball Productions

Trivia:

"Shadow of a Doubt" was the script title but was listed as only a "temporary title" until a better title could be found.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When young Charlie is reading the newspaper in the library, the camera casts a shadow on her back.

Quotes:

Young Charlie: He thought the world was a horrible place. He couldn't have been very happy, ever. He didn't trust people. Seemed to hate them. He hated the whole world. You know, he said people like us had no idea what the world was really like.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 'Torn Curtain' Rising (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Merry Widow Waltz

One of his very best - I've loved it since I was a child!

"Shadow of a Doubt" may only be listed as #181 on IMDb's "Top 250" list, but in my opinion it far outweighs some of the films higher up on that list and is one of Hitch's very best films.

Joseph Cotten plays Charlie, a crook on the run from the police. Left stranded and pursued, he decides to move in with his brother's family. His niece - who loves him and sees him as a sort of perfect role model - at first is excited that her Uncle Charlie is coming...but then things start to get strange. Charlie acts oddly and, at times, violent. She begins to become suspicious of her uncle as he becomes more suspicious of her own awareness.

The ending of "Shadow of a Doubt" is classic Hitchcock and some of the best stuff he's done. The entire film is taut and suspenseful, well-filmed and realistic. It manages to focus on family ties and the struggles within the family itself while it also juggles the whole theme of an outcast family member.

In the end, however, it's just a nail-biting thriller that - now over sixty years old - still reigns as one of the absolute best of its genre.