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A brilliant film that helped define a genre

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

'Shadow Of A Doubt (1943)' is certainly not Hitchcock's finest - though he himself considered it his favourite - as it succumbs to a slow pacing and general lull in interest - or specifically tension - due to its mostly nonchalant nature. This unconventionally domestic film-noir thriller still sits comfortably in the iconic director's repertoire as an early example of his ability to eek suspense from a seemingly simple and mundane situation, though, here in the long term. The flick is surprising in the minutia rather than the overall arc - it's pretty obvious from its title and opening where it's going - and the excellent performances sell this kind of unsettling, long-term, intention-turning home-invasion that only really escalates because our protagonist can't let go of the information she's found out, never-mind the fact that she just had to find it out in the first place. Curiosity really did kill the cat in this one and it is interesting that ignorance truly would have been bliss for all the major players here. But once you know, you can't go back and its this central theme that's incredibly interesting, compelling and not all that often explored. Neither is the true tear she feels between family and morality, which is also a gripping and complex problem to grapple with. Indeed, the feature works on many levels and has many levels to it, with some unconventional aspects even coming in the form of what's not there as much as what is, but there's not a full exploration of all of these ideas and some of them are just mere moments. It will pay off more if you're willing to get on-board with the deeper messages and moral quandaries it may present, but is still an engaging and entertaining affair even on its surface. 7/10

"Shadow of a Doubt" was reputedly Alfred Hitchcock's favorite of his own films, and I guess that really must mean something since he directed more than three dozen of versatile cinematic classics that are all universally considered as brilliant. With all due respect, however, I don't concur with the Master. Even though "Shadow is a Doubt" is an intelligently scripted and highly original thriller, my personal preferences lie with the more visceral horrors that Hitch made, like "Psycho", "Frenzy" and "The Birds". Nevertheless, I like to think it's very significant that Hitchcock names this one as his favorite and, to me, it proves that he also has a predilection for horror and sadism. Rather than choosing for his uptight thrillers ("Read Window", "Vertigo" ...) or his convoluted conspiracy thrillers ("North by Northwest", "The Man Who Knew Too Much" ...), he prefers the dark little tale of a cold-hearted psychopath arriving in a sleepy small town and turning the lives of his unsuspecting family members upside down. Our visionary director clearly finds tremendous joy in unleashing pure evil, in the shape of charming and wealthy self-made man "Uncle" Charlie Oakley, upon the peaceful community of Santa Rosa, California. But even more remarkable is that the naïve and picturesque community, and particularly Charlie's beloved adolescent niece (also named Charlie after her uncle), is subconsciously craving for and warmly welcoming the embodiment of evil! Young Charlie is desperate for some excitement in her mundane life, so imagine the confusion when she slowly realizes that her "special-bond" uncle is the notorious Merry Widow Murderer and the subject of a nationwide police manhunt. It's praiseworthy how Alfred Hitchcock delivers a tense and atmospheric thriller in which the fearsome serial killer isn't even seen committing any of the vile crimes he's wanted for! Young Charlie puts the pieces of the mysterious puzzle together herself, with the help of her love-interest police inspector, and meanwhile Uncle Charlie becomes less lovable and more menacing. I've rarely seen a director playing with the emotions of his lead characters so efficiently, while both Theresa Wright and the genius Joseph Cotton make the most out of their unusual roles. The eye of detail in the script and in Hitchcock's direction is fantastic! For example: as a sort of running game, young Charlie's father and a befriended neighbor (Hume Cronyn) are always debating original and vicious methods for murdering each other, even though they are both normal and slightly dull family men. It's further proof of how the whole of Santa Rosa is unwillingly embracing the coming of evil. I'm changing my mind, in fact... "Shadow of a Doubt" must be listed in my top five favorite Hitchcock films!

With the rousing score of Dimitri Tiomkin and the wonderful camera work, this captivates from the very beginning. We switch from the tight, small lodging out into wide open and view a chase on foot from above, runners and shadows racing before us as we wonder just what is afoot. As it happens we are to find out that Joseph Cotton's character is guilty almost straight away yet spend the rest of the film in suspense as we doubt ourselves. This partly because of the tale of his personal history and partly because of the love and affection of his niece, a wonderful performance from Teresa Wright. Shot largely on location and using a lovely old property in which the large family tumble this way and that in marvellous abandon while the lady of the house tries to maintain control. I learn from the extras that in the end, more shots were required by Hitch and so a set had to be built anyway replicating the building. A very fine, involving, moving and suspenseful film.

In my 72 years of age, which happens to be the same time since this picture was released(1943), I thought I had seen all of this Master of suspense movies, but I was delighted to discover this one. What I love about this film, is how he plays with all different kind of emotions. The beginning of the film is kind of creepy. The following scenes, hint of what type of Person Uncle Charlie is. How he travels in the train to Santa Rosa, and gets off the train, it is a basic indication of this. The movie has moments to laugh, to be serious and meditate about what the actors say, and shows true emotions of the different members and friends of the family. Even when many of us would suspect the outcome of this plot, the real suspense is to know how this would happen. One of the last scenes where Little Charlie and her brother and sister go out to say good bye to their Uncle, is very obvious that something unexpected will happen, but again, the mystery is: What will happen? Great Movie. I agree with Hitchcock that this is his best one.