Shadow of a Doubt

What starts out as a charming portrait of idyllic small-town life gradually darkens into one of Alfred Hitchcock’s most chilling thrillers, considered a personal favorite by the director himself. After her charming Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotton) comes to visit in the sleepy town of Santa Rosa, his favorite niece and namesake, “Young Charlie” (Teresa Wright), begins to suspect him of being the diabolical “Merry Widow Murderer,” the suspected culprit behind a string of disappearances involving wealthy widows. As the increasingly paranoid teenager draws closer to the truth, a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse ensues, leading to a shocking climax in this riveting excursion into fear from the Master of Suspense. Add to the mix a rewardingly rich tapestry of eccentric characters (played by Henry Travers, Hume Cronyn, and Patrica Collinge), and a strong atmosphere of authentic small-town Americana provided by screenwriters Thornton Wilder (Our Town), Sally Benson (Meet Me in St. Louis), and Hitchcock’s wife (and closest collaborator, Alma Reville, and you have one of Hitchock’s most brilliantly constructed and devilishly entertaining films. (Dir. by Alfred Hitchcock, 1943, USA, 108 mins., Not Rated)