Charlie Newton (Wright) is bored with her life. She lives in a small town where everyone knows everything about each other. She longs for a break in the monotony... and then the Newton family receives a telegram announcing a visit from Uncle Charlie (Cotten), Charlie's namesake. Uncle Charlie lives a glamorous life and brings the best presents.
But Charlie's joy is masked by strange occurrences. Uncle Charlie acts strange - tearing a page out of the paper and refusing to have his picture taken... and asking Charlie to keep little things from her parents (Travers and Collinge). Then two detectives, Jack Graham (Carey) and Fred Saunders (Wallace Ford), come to town, looking for the "Merry Widow Murderer." Charlie soon begins to fear her uncle is the serial killer.
A slow and subtle suspense thriller from Hitchcock. An interesting premise: anyone can be a killer, not just people that look terrifying; made during WWII when people were constantly afraid, I can imagine this film would be terrifying.
When I initially researched this film, I read a review on IMDb.com that suggested going into the movie blind: only knowing the basic plotline. The less you known in, the better your reaction. And I liked that idea... so I went in with a basic knowledge - and while I had suspicions, I enjoyed the ride.
One of the elements that really works and adds to the suspicions, is the dialogue between Henry Travers' Mr. Newton and Hume Cronyn's Herb. They are avid murder mystery readers, and meet every day to discuss how they would kill each other: "We're not talking about killing people. Herb's talking about killing me and I'm talking about killing him." The rest of the cast is great as well, but everytime Herb shows up and starts talking to Joe, you can't help but laugh. Cronyn is great, and apparently Hitch agreed by casting him in Lifeboat.
Pretty good... with a few stand out scenes.
But Charlie's joy is masked by strange occurrences. Uncle Charlie acts strange - tearing a page out of the paper and refusing to have his picture taken... and asking Charlie to keep little things from her parents (Travers and Collinge). Then two detectives, Jack Graham (Carey) and Fred Saunders (Wallace Ford), come to town, looking for the "Merry Widow Murderer." Charlie soon begins to fear her uncle is the serial killer.
A slow and subtle suspense thriller from Hitchcock. An interesting premise: anyone can be a killer, not just people that look terrifying; made during WWII when people were constantly afraid, I can imagine this film would be terrifying.
When I initially researched this film, I read a review on IMDb.com that suggested going into the movie blind: only knowing the basic plotline. The less you known in, the better your reaction. And I liked that idea... so I went in with a basic knowledge - and while I had suspicions, I enjoyed the ride.
One of the elements that really works and adds to the suspicions, is the dialogue between Henry Travers' Mr. Newton and Hume Cronyn's Herb. They are avid murder mystery readers, and meet every day to discuss how they would kill each other: "We're not talking about killing people. Herb's talking about killing me and I'm talking about killing him." The rest of the cast is great as well, but everytime Herb shows up and starts talking to Joe, you can't help but laugh. Cronyn is great, and apparently Hitch agreed by casting him in Lifeboat.
Pretty good... with a few stand out scenes.
Shadow of a Doubt (1943) 108 minutes
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Teresa Wright as Charlie Newton
Joseph Cotten as Uncle Charlie Oakley
Macdonald Carey as Jack Graham
Henry Travers as Joseph Newton
Patricia Collinge as Emma Newton
Hume Cronyn as Herbie Hawkins
Joseph Cotten as Uncle Charlie Oakley
Macdonald Carey as Jack Graham
Henry Travers as Joseph Newton
Patricia Collinge as Emma Newton
Hume Cronyn as Herbie Hawkins
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