Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

	Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock	COUNTRY USA GENRE Thriller NORWEGIAN TITLE I tvilens skygge RUNNING TIME 108 minutes
	Produced by: Jack H. Skirball
	Written by (based on a story by Gordon McDonnell): Thornton Wilder Sally Benson Alma Reville

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Young Charlie	Teresa Wright
Uncle Charlie	Joseph Cotten
Jack Graham	Macdonald Carey	½
Joseph Newton	Henry Travers	½
Emma Newton	Patricia Collinge	½
Herbie Hawkins	Hume Cronyn
Ann Newton	Edna May Wonacott	½
Fred Saunders	Wallace Ford
Station Master	Irving Bacon

Review

Shadow of a Doubt comes sneaking up on you, albeit not from behind. Allegedly considered by Hitchcock as his best film, it has that element of uncontrollable disturbance placed into the neatest and most orderly surroundings. Early on, the Teresa Wright/Joseph Cotten relationship is remarkably vibrant and suggestive, giving the film more layers than it ultimately explores. Unfortunately, the censors of the time would not have allowed a film to go down that path, but the incestuous suggestions are there for the viewer to interpret. Hitchcock discusses the presence of a potential serial killer in the midst of prosperous, trouble-free small-town America, and his contrasting analysis is perceptive and thought-provoking. The film is a powerful and nuanced character study with impressive human insight, especially through the two Charlies. As Uncle Charlie, Joseph Cotten attains a delicate duality that was quite pioneering in Hollywood at the time. Ultimately, Shadow of a Doubt isn't as seductive or absorbing as Hitchcock's very best films, but it does have room for some delicate humour amidst its thriller elements, particularly through a magnificent Hume Cronyn, who easily steals all his scenes in this, his first, film.