Shadow of a Doubt [DVD]

This is my favorite Hitchcock movie. He himself said that this was his favorite movie to direct. Joseph Cotton played his role well. Nice to see McDonald Carey as a young man. He was older when he played on "Days of our Lives" that cheesy soap opera my Grandma used to watch. It's cool to recognize actors in their youth.

Critics and fans agree that Shadow of a Doubt is director Alfred Hitchcock’s finest film. It was nominated for an academy award for Best Story in 1943 and was selected in 1991 by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States national film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Perhaps best of all, it has a 100% rating on the movie website Rotten Tomatoes from critics and fans alike.Shadow of a Doubt is the story of a seemingly charming man, Uncle Charlie, who has a dark and sinister side which is slowly unraveled by his niece. Uncle Charlie’s true character is skillfully revealed through stylized cinematography, intriguing lighting, and an uneasy plot. In the opening scene, cinematography sets the stage for the movie and its focus: Uncle Charlie. As the intro credits fade, we see a sweeping vista of a large bridge and a city’s skyline. The shots fade into a neighborhood, then a street with kids playing ball in the street of that same neighborhood. After the street we see a building, then a window, then Charlie laying on a bed in a formal suit, with a slow movement to his face, and then the camera lingers there. This series of shots sets the stage of the film’s focus on Uncle Charlie. At first, the audience does not know who this man is or what he is doing, but we know that the movie is all about him. The cinematography in the rest of this first scene gives insight and foreshadowing into Uncle Charlie’s true character. After we see him on the bed, we learn that two men are looking for him. This seems to spook Charlie as he makes immediate plans to leave, walking out the door and right past the two men. The scene ends with a bird’s-eye view of the two men running around confused, with Charlie looking down at them from the top of a building. This shows us that Uncle Charlie is elusive, tries to confuse people and may have a few dark secrets that will be explored in this film. Much can be learned about Uncle Charlie from paying attention to the cinematography of the first seven minutes of the movie. From that very first scene in the movie, lighting also plays a key role in establishing Uncle Charlie’s character. As Charlie lies on the bed in the small, darkened room, the camera lingers on his motionless face. The only thing that is illuminated is the bottom-half of his face; his eyes remain in the shadows. This creates a mysterious and eery feeling about Charlie, and the viewer wants to know more. Shortly, as a blind is closed on a window, shadows overtake Charlie from head to toe. When the blind is reopened by Charlie, it creates shadows reminiscent of a jail cell, metaphorically reflecting the nature of Uncle Charlie’s lifestyle because, although he is never incarcerated, his options are so limited, he may as well be in jail. In that first seven minutes of Shadow of a Doubt, the lighting implies an awfully lot about Charlie and his life: he’s not a nice man and his life is full of dark secrets. Shadow of a Doubt’s plot contributes to Uncle Charlie’s story. His essence is a sharp contrast to the world in which his family lives; they are small town people and innocent, while he is a murderer. Despite this difference, Uncle Charlie’s family remains oblivious until his niece discovers the truth about his life, and she chooses to keep his secret hidden. Her reality is altered by the fall of her “hero”. Uncle Charlie’s attitude contrasts greatly with his family; their world is filled with a soft glow of light which shows a dreamy and happy world. This reality is a stark contrast compared to Uncle Charlie’s reality of his life in the shadows. This ignorance is a source of irony, especially with a sub-plot involving Charlie’s brother-in-law, Mr. Newton, and his friend Herbie, who are both obsessed with the so-called "perfect crime”. This subplot occurs regularly; Mr. Newton and Herbie being completely oblivious to the fact that a real life serial killer, the affable Uncle Charlie, lives among them. This sub-plot juxtaposes the innocence of family members as they entertain themselves with “impossible” tales of crime and highlights the inherent evil that exists among them, within Uncle Charlie. All in all, the cinematography, lighting and plot, combined with other movie-making dimensions, contribute to the characterization of Uncle Charlie. From the very first scene, viewers understand that Uncle Charlie is a man with a story, and they are drawn into that story by every dimension of artistic movie-making. These elements combine to make Shadow of a Doubt a masterpiece forever. Way to go Alfred; you really outdid yourself. This is what the cinema is for.

Love this movie. I have watched it several times and it is always so entertaining.Would recommend

Having just watched Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (1943) last night for the first time, I was surprised at how good it was, and why I've never seen it before. I mean, I am a fan of Hitchcock, and I've seen many of his movies, but to have heard so little of this particular film seems puzzling to me, as it's an excellent film, and worthy of a lot more recognition than it seems to have gotten. Either that or I just need to get out of my cookie jar more often...Anyway, the film, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by Thornton Wilder, stars a wonderful cast including Teresa Wright, who appeared with Gary Cooper the previous year in The Pride of the Yankees (1942), Joseph Cotten (Citizen Kane, The Third Man), and Henry Travers (High Sierra, Mrs. Miniver, It's a Wonderful Life). Also making an appearance is Hume Cronyn making his film debut in a supporting role as a mousy neighbor.The story involves a family in a small California town, and the impending arrival of a relative, Charlie (Cotten), from back east. Most anticipatory is younger Charlie (Wright), named after her uncle, as she feels a deep, almost telepathic connection to this man she hasn't seen in quite awhile. Now, before Charlie's departure for California, we get a general sense of unease, as it seems Charlie is involved in something of a sinister nature. Upon arriving in California, the visit seems to be going well, as the family welcomes him with open arms, but soon we learn that trouble has followed Charlie in the form of two rather shady individuals who present themselves with a certain amount of deception, which is elaborated on later. The older Charlie's behavior begins to change subtly, perceptible only to the younger Charlie and us, the audience. As various bits of information are disseminated, the younger Charlie's begins to realize that her uncle may harbor a terrible secret that could tear apart the very fabric of her family. As her uncle's slick veneer is slowly peeled away, she eventually learns the truth, with the older Charlie realizing that the relative safety he sought in coming to stay with his sister and her family is in jeopardy. What lengths will he go to to protect himself from his past?The film starts out very slowly, but it's obviously deliberate, as the sense of dread within the viewer is cultivated in meticulous fashion. This seems a common tactic with Hitchcock, but I did get the feeling it was more drawn out here than in most of his other films. The pacing felt very similar to Rebecca, another Hitchcock film, which was released in 1940, but while that film had a much more grandiose feel to it, this film keeps things fairly simple, which really works well. There is a good amount of leaving the viewer in the dark within the first hour or so of the film, but when the secrets of the character is revealed, the plot points prior to this fall into place nicely, making sense of these once less meaningful elements. Teresa Wright's character is wonderful as the perceptive and intelligent niece forced to make a very difficult decision between her family and her uncle, trying to deal with the consequences of whatever path she chooses. Cotten is the real standout performance in the film, presenting a very likeable character, with a highly polished exterior, but an exterior you learn is barely hiding a very ugly and, ultimately, dangerous core. He figuratively becomes the fox in the hen house, as his sinister nature encroaches upon this quiet, unassuming community. As I said before, the pacing is pretty slow, picking up moderately within the last 30 minutes (it has a running time of 108 minutes) to a very suitable and satisfying ending, one that provides a nice jolt during an already tense scene.The print provided by Universal for this release looks very good, despite a few hardly noticeable signs of age and wear. Special features include a featurette on the making of the film, detailing why Hitchcock considered this to be one of his favorite movies he made, production notes, drawings and photographs, recommendations (to other Hitchcock films), and a theatrical trailer for the film. All in all, and excellent, if underrated, Hitchcock classic.Cookieman108

The movie itself is great but I was really disappointed with the amount of grain in some scenes. Enough to make one's eyes uncomfortable.

Loving but psychopathic uncle adored by namesake niece who slowly but reluctantly comes to see the true him-SPOILER ALLERT: he travels the country killing old ladies for there money. She eventually wises up and he plans to kill her. Excellently written and well acted. Worth 4 bucks.

Good movie, a suspenseful time capsule of when things like this would truly shock the audience.

Perfect cat and mouse, and the hubris at its best

Vor langem mal gesehen, jetzt gekauft. Bin zufrieden

Hitchcock è semplicemente fantastico e questo è il suo ennesimo capolavoro, non voglio rivelarvi nulla sulla trama del film, ve ne consiglio però l'acquisto e la visione!E' un film che non può mancare nella cineteca di chi ama il giallo e la suspence.consigliato!!

ある日突然やって来た悪魔によって平和を脅かされるアメリカの田舎町…という図だが、ヒロインが図書館で繙く新聞バックナンバーの片隅には東條英機らしき名前がチラッと見え、確かめてみるとアメリカでの公開が1943年1月（我が国では当然戦後の公開）。のどかに見えてもそういう時節だったのだなあと感を深くしつつも「戦争中にこんな映画を作る余裕があるんだから、やっぱりアメリカは懐の深い国」などと戦後の結果論で語る向きには、日本だって対露戦の真っ最中に『吾輩は猫である』を雑誌連載していたんだぜ、太平洋戦争中でも国内一のヒット・ソングは『ダイナ』だったらしい、太宰治『津軽』『お伽草紙』も戦時中の作、と。まあ、実際に爆弾が頭の上に降ってくるまでは、戦争とは海の向こうで兵隊さんがやるものとの認識が改まらないのは万国共通。平穏無事な日常生活も、ふとしたキッカケで崩壊・破綻して初めていかに脆弱で不安定なものだったかを思い知らされる。それを思うと、後年のデイヴィッド・リンチ『ブルーベルベット』を彷彿とさせるこの毒々しいドラマ、勝ったアメリカより負けた我々の方に却ってリアリティがあるような。　冒頭から鼻につくほどシツこく描かれるサンタ・ローザの表面上ハッピーな日常をいちいち嘲笑し、ツラの皮をヒン剥いて暗部・恥部を暴いていくヒッチコックの語り口＆手さばきは、戦後のカラー作品に見る軽さ・穏やかさにはいささか遠く、無責任・無神経で愚かで偽善的、その実冷酷なアメリカ社会とその人々に向けた異邦人の激しい憎悪と軽蔑―ビリー・ワイルダーと共通の―を如実に感じさせて、従って監督の分身とも言えるジョゼフ・コットンの怖さ―横顔にジリジリとズームしていった果てに突然こちらを向く目、出し抜けに音を立てて倒れるワイン・グラスにもギョッとさせられる―にも際立った生々しさと悲痛さがある。主人公よりも悪役の方に却って共感を抱かせるのはヒッチコックのお好みまたは得意芸で、『汚名』のクロード・レインズ、『裏窓』のレイモンド・バー、『知りすぎていた男』の誘拐犯夫婦など何度観ても気の毒でならないのだが、このあたりが彼の意外に優しい一面なのかも。ヒロインの母が終わり近くで見せる涙にも、ヒッチコック映画には珍しくホロッとさせられる。そう言えば、本作の舞台となったサンタ・ローザの町、フィリップ・マーロウの出身地と云うことにもなっているそうだが、この映画から70余年を経た2017年に大規模な山林火災で壊滅的なほどの被害を蒙ったのは記憶に新しいところ。真実を知ったヒロインにとって失われた楽園となったあの幸福な町が現実にも失われてしまったとは…諸行無常。　それにしても、ハリウッド映画に出てくる図書館司書ってどうしてああも類型的なのか。『レッド・ドラゴン』ではワシントンの議会図書館で所蔵本にマーカーで何やら書き込む―FBI捜査官＝公務員が！―場面があってショッキングだったけれど、そういうのに業界からクレームは付かないんですかねえ。

Le film préféré d'Hitchcock car il dépeint une ville moyenne américaine qui semble bien comme il faut mais dans laquelle meutres et tromperies peuvent se produire, comme partout ailleurs. Ce qui peut rappeler sous certains aspects les Desperate Housewives et leur banlieue proprette de Wisteria Lane. Joseph Cotten casse son image jusque là un peu lisse et se révèle glaçant... Au fur et à mesure du déroulement du film, son alter ego Charlie, sa nièce, jouée par Teresa Wright, perd sa naïveté, son innocence. Plus rien ne sera comme avant...

Shadow of a Doubt is a very dark, moving film which masquerades as melodrama. Hitchcock was of course a master of chilling suspense, but he rarely did it as subtly. The film looks like one of those thrillers beloved by the 40s and 50s; there's a campily named killer (the Merry Widow Murderer), orchestral music and lots of humorous supporting characters, including Hume Cronyn in a role which predates Woody Allen's nervous geeks. Yet the story troubles deeper waters. When Theresa Wright leans against the porch, her eyes filled with tears, my heart goes out to her. You could argue that the film's true theme is her loss of innocence; she's a bored girl who's forced to face the reality of human evil, not just from a stranger but her uncle and namesake, with whom she shares a secret bond.Charlie (Theresa Wright) lives in a small town with her housewife mother (Patricia Collinge), bank clerk father (Henry Travers) and younger siblings. She's delighted when her uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) announces a surprise visit. They share an almost telepathic bond, and Charlie fancies herself his confidant, who knows things about him which others don't. What slowly dawns on her though, as Uncle Charlie's behaviour grows increasingly suspicious, shakes her to the core. He's a killer of women, old widows who will him their money because he's charming and handsome.Uncle Charlie's full of hatred, happily dismissing his victims as animals. He gives a speech at his family's table which drips with acid and drives young Charlie to despair. Her loss of innocence is perhaps symbolised when he drags her to an insalubrious bar where sailors hook up with girls. Charlie's ordeal in this film is terrifying; it must be said that she rises to the challenge like few heroines today. She has a detective boyfriend, yet he's little help; Theresa Wright's the deserved star, and faces her uncle with steely resolve.All the other characters basically serve as comic relief. Travers and Cronyn give great performances as a couple of crime story addicts who debate the perfect murder; Cronyn likes poison, while Travers is more "hands on". Though their discussions are dark the characters are nothing but lovable, as is Charlie's mother, the kind of sweet woman with sadness behind her smile. She's the mother we all want to have, while Charlie's the uncle we hope we don't.