Shadow of a Doubt, a review by Jon
Shadow of a Doubt (1942)
5 out of 5
Charlie (Teresa Wright) is excited by the prospect of her beloved namesake Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) coming for a visit. But her natural curiosity causes her to suspect he is not all she expected, and he could in fact be the notorious Merry Widower, a killer being hunted by detectives across America.Even with so many better known classics to come, it’s easy to see why Shadow of a Doubt was Hitchcock’s personal favourite. It builds on the promise of Suspicion to be his most realistic and feasible story, while perfectly capturing the fascination he had for normal people having to deal with terrifying situations. Murder, right at home, on the doorstep of the most typical family! What if you realised your most beloved relative could be responsible for evil?
Like Suspicion, though not as strict, the story is almost exclusively told from the niece’s perspective. Again the lighting often mirrors the mood with the shadows more than a mere title, while the gorgeous photography around the town is bright and sharp, benefiting from real locations. It is broadly speaking Hitchcock’s highest quality film so far, with almost no gimmicks; the powerful visual style is perfectly matched to the substantial writing. Watch the incredible dinner scene, where Uncle Charlie reveals his darker side, while the camera focuses closer and closer, until his face fills the screen. I think this is my favourite Hitchcock moment so far. It’s a powerful performance by Cotten, willing to go the extra mile over Cary Grant, unencumbered by a fragile movie star image. The film has a confidence because of him, especially when there are no set-pieces. The agonising over whether he’s a killer is devastating enough without chase sequences and fisticuffs.
That agonising is all on Teresa Wright’s shoulders, as she shields her family from the truth. I found her very annoying in the first half! But she gets better as she gets more frightened. There’s a romance angle that was toned down, thank goodness, after a re-write by Patricia Collinge (the wonderful actress playing Emma so memorably, but an accomplished writer herself). She and Wright were concerned that Charlie wouldn’t be swept away so easily by the detective. The result is a lovely scene that makes sense and now I have to wonder if Hitch was a soppy bugger that needed reigning in occasionally!
The rest of the cast are rounded out by great characters, including Ann, who I thought did very well, but the stars are dad, Henry Travers, and his friend, Hume Cronyn. They give the film a focused, but much needed dose of humour with their hilarious discussions about how best to commit murder! Just the sort of macabre conversations that got Hitchcock into this career, I bet...
(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on June 1st, 2009)
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May 25, 2024, 01:36:17 PM
