shadow of a doubt hitchcock scene analysis

Nothing much happens for quite a while in it, which means that this film may not impress too much upon first viewing. No showy set pieces here: instead we have a detailed portrait of a cosy small-town Americana into which evil gradually inserts itself. After the picaresque action, wide canvas and ever-present war background of Saboteur, Shadow Of A Doubt is a considerable contrast, a very talky, slow, down-to earth affair closer perhaps to Suspicion, except that Shadow Of A Doubt is a far more interesting, psychologically complex and, yes, believable affair. Hitchcock often followed up a film with another of a rather different kind, which makes ploughing through his work constantly interesting. Uncle Charlie arrives, and soon charms the family, but Young Charlie finds it strange that he cuts out a story in the local paper and takes it upstairs with him, a story she discovers is about a man who marries and then murders rich widows called the Merry Widow Murderer….

She wants her Uncle Charlie to come and shake things up, and is about to ring him, but then receives the wonderful news that, as if by telepathy, her mother’s younger brother is coming for a visit anyway. Meanwhile, Charlie Newton is a bored teenager living in the idyllic town of Santa Rosa, California. In a city, a man is found by the police but eludes them after a chase. REVIEWED BY: Dr Lenera, Official HCF Critic

THE HITCHCOCK CAMEO: o n the train to Santa Rosa carrying Uncle Charlie, playing a card game (and having a potentially-winning hand – a full house of spades) with a couple, with his back to the camera on the left side of the frame. Starring: Henry Travers, Joseph Cotten, Macdonald Carey, Teresa Wright

Written by: Alma Reville, Gordon McDonell, Sally Benson, Thornton Wilder

Shadow of a doubt hitchcock scene analysis