163: Shadow of a Doubt

US  108m  Dir: Alfred Hitchcock  Key Cast: Teresa Wright

Original Screenplay

Shadow of a Doubt is the film that Alfred Hitchcock considered his favourtie of the many he directed. It's packed full of Hitchockian tension in the best possible way. 

Charles Oakley (Joseph Cotten) turns up to stay at his sister and her families house, much to the delight of his teenage niece Charlie (Teresa Wright) who idolizes him. It gradually becomes more and more clear that Charles is hiding something and then two men turn up to the house and start asking questions. 

I really like the clever way the tension in this film is set up. The opening of the film focuses on Charles and it neatly suggests that he is wanted by the police but without telling us what for. This puts us one step ahead of Charlie who gradually realises Charles is hiding something and then finds out what it is. 

It's then fascinating when Charlie discovers the truth and how she reacts. It's never entirely clear what exactly her feelings towards her uncle are but it kind of feels like she is attracted to him. The hint of incest adds another unpleasant element the film. 

Charles becomes gradually more sinister as the film goes on. At first he's perfectly pleasant and as he grows more suspicious he begins to feel like a threat. When we eventually learn what he had done he becomes a proper villain and Charlie is put into an impossible situation as he knows the truth but can't tell anyone. Cotten is great in the villain role and is pretty scary in the final part of the film especially. 

It's interesting that the film takes a plot which you'd usually expect to be set in a big city like New York and plonks it firmly down in small town America. Nothing happens in Santa Rosa and it is portrayed as being a safe and dull place. Charlie clearly feels a bit lost and bored at the start of the film, a familiar feeling for anyone who grew up in a small town, and it becomes a case of be careful what you wish for. 

An excellent film- it has a small scale but is full of tension and is really fun to watch as the plot is gradually revealed.