Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

After another brief hiatus (~100 Days, or How I Kept Putting This Off and Now Might Begin a Life of Consistency) it is certainly exciting to finally get through this Hitchcock flick which has long been on my calendar to review.  I’ve even started it a few times only to stop because of technical issues, free chicken wings, or unannounced creeper uncles (some of these reasons are actually true and some related to this film).  As travel is a major part of my life for business/pleasure, I even tried to watch it in spare time on trips and would’ve recently succeeded with some down time in Vienna, but The Third Man came first there (if you don’t know why, stop reading and go watch that).   Finally last Thursday, I stuck with what my calendar annoying chirped at me daily and viewed Hitchcock’s (reportedly) favorite film in his oeuvre:  Shadow of a Doubt.  

Young Charlie (played by a truly gorgeous Teresa Wright) along with the rest of her immediate family is obsessed with Uncle Charlie (who’s she named after, and played by Joseph Cotten) as an idol that can bring her out of the monotony of everyday life in her tranquil home of Santa Rosa, California.   Upon his arrival for a brief visit, he is welcomed like a spoiled little brat hero, all the while hiding a secret that we can only suspect early on.

The film starts off entertaining enough, much like the jovial opening from Strangers on a Train, yet the surface certainly holds a sense of dread, and rightfully so as the perfect suburban world eventually breakdowns with Young Charley’s understanding of her uncle.  Also like that later film from the Master of Suspense, there is a slightly warped familial setting, especially with the father and his friend (played by Batteries Not Included star Hume Cronyn) riffing on how they might murder each other.

As I mentioned previously, everyone praises the uncle, and Joseph Cotten deftly changes from social butterfly to sociopath without anyone else noticing right away (except us, the well informed audience).  The grand reveal truly comes with a slow move towards Uncle Charley as he essentially explains his warped views on humanity.  During this time it is only Young Charley and the respectable audience joining her that understand the terrifying truth about his character. Still all of the particulars of his background are luckily slowly revealed, and I am happy to say we are still left mildly uninformed by the end to make for an entertaining and mysterious thriller.  Even with all of the fun, the duality between the characters and the potential for our antagonist to win out (a sometimes common trait in the films of Hitch, like Young and Innocent) create a somber mood that still works with the humor (back to Stranger on a Train again, we have another precocious child who seems to better understand the ways of adults than they do themselves). 

As with most of the films in this series so far, it is hard to find much fault with the film (even at this moment I can’t really think of anything).  It’s great suspense, mystery, and intrigue interwoven with wonderfully morbid humor throughout.   And it may not be obvious, but there is even a McGuffin (hint: very small in size).  If there has to be one issue, I’d look to the waltz played throughout:  I’ll be whistling it for the next few days and I still don’t know what it had to do with the story (possibly my fault for having a feeble brain).