Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Like Suspicion (1941) Hitchcock decided to cast a traditional "good guy" actor (in this case Joseph Cotten) as his villain who has come to visit his sister’s house to elude two detectives (MacDonald Carey & Wallace Ford) on his trail. It’s said to be one of the director’s favorites because it brought murder and violence "back into the house where it rightfully belongs." It also features the beautiful Teresa Wright in only her fourth film (she was nominated for an acting Oscar in each of her first three roles!). Throughout the film two of the better known actors (Henry Travers and "neighbor" Hume Cronyn) discuss various means of murder and crime as is their "fun" hobby which adds a bit of ironic humor as Mr. Cotten’s "Uncle Charlie" character is staying with them. Patricia Collinge perfectly plays Charlie’s clueless and somewhat emotionally unstable sister; Irving Bacon also appears. Wright plays Cotten’s niece who comes to learn her uncle’s true nature. The most memorable scene involves a car intentionally left running in a garage to facilitate a murder which is foreshadowed earlier in the film. It received an Oscar nomination for Best Writing Original Story and was added to the National Film Registry in 1991.

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