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Plot: A young woman thinks her uncle may be a serial killer.
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:August 15, 2008Alfred Hitchcock often said Shadow of a Doubt was his favorite film he made. In short, it isn't mine. While he had previously made 2 films in the United States, both of those were set in England. This was the first American film he made that actually took place in the United States.
Basically, the film is set in what was once a small town (Santa Rosa, CA). A teenage girl (Teresa Wright) is bored and then discovers that her uncle (Joseph Cotten) is coming to visit. She idolizes her uncle but eventually her uncle comes off as rather suspicious. The plot takes forever to get started and even once it starts, it's not all that great. There's a romance that's thrown in that seems completely unnecessary and unrealistic as the two people barely even have a chance to get to know each other. It may have been Hitchcock's favorite, but there's very little I liked about this film.
Joseph Cotten and Teresa Wright are the two main actors in this film. They're both pretty good, but their acting doesn't really make up for an otherwise dull film.
Overall, this is not something I'd consider Hitchcock's best. It had its moments but they were few and far between.
65/100
D
UP NEXT: To be determined. -
MCT:August 14, 2008
Pretty good Hitchcock film. The acting was pretty good. The directing was top notch. The storyline wasn't amazing, but it was different to the usual Hitchcock thriller scenario and it relied more on a good drama scenario.
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MCT:July 16, 2008Another of my favorite Hitchcock films and the favorite of the film professor who taught my Hitchock class. This is a wicked take on the American dream and totally skewers suburban America.
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MCT:May 20, 2008Interesting piece. Largely comprised of some unconvincing acting. Still an interesting film with a spellbinding plot.
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MCT:May 18, 2008For some reason I just didn't get into this film, it wasn't as exciting and suspenseful as other Hitchcock films. Because of this, I fell asleep for a small portion of it in the middle!
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MCT:May 17, 2008
Not quite as good as some of Hitchcock's other movies but it's enjoyable to watch. Not as much suspense but Teresa Wright was great as young Charlie.
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MCT:May 12, 2008
Highly distilled Hitchcock. All of the tropes that he would be heralded for later are on display in this taught "Noir in a small town" film. Rich well rounded characters bring this delightful suspense picture to life.
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MCT:April 15, 2008
a lesser known hitchcock masterpiece of the struggle between good and evil, right and wrong, the man was a genius.
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MCT:April 4, 2008Very enjoyable thriller, certainly one of my favorites that i've seen of Hitchcock's work.
We've seen a similar story told many times - however, never in this much depth or with the same well done tension and suspense rising throughout the characters. Uncle Charlie truly becomes scarier by each passing minute, to the point where at the end of the film the viewer thinks that the only thing that could possibly be on his mind is killing.
It's a story about many things - but perhaps the most appealing to me was the loss of innocence in just about every conceivable scenario. The town because a killer has entered, Charlie because she find out a loved on has done an unspeakable act, and Uncle Charlie's story about his near-death experience on his bicycle which changed his outlook on everything.
The most interesting part of this morbidity is that most people seem completely oblivious to it - the kind of people that Uncle Charlie hates. For instance, we see characters joking about how they'd kill each other while sitting across the table from a murderer.
My only problem with this was the ending. I don't hate it as much as some - and I think the concept and how things turned out was fine... but it just felt so rushed. -
MCT:March 31, 2008A potentially great film that suffers from Hitchcock's obsession with good vs. evil fights and good always wins endings. Joseph Cotten is brilliant, though.
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MCT:March 19, 2008
I think the narrative is a little weak because it takes a while before we even get into the story. It just drags on and on, by establishing the characters in the film. But on the other hand, the cinematography is absolutely amazing. In stylistic terms, for instance, long takes and camera movements, play a great deal on the aspect of suspense or thriller of the film. On that part, Hitchcock's film does not disappoint.
Considering the director's sarcastic humor, he uses the concept of killing as part of his humor which might or might not be awkward, but adds an interesting approach to the plot of the film.
I would only recommend the film if you are a great fan of Hitchcock style, otherwise, you might get a nap in the middle of the film. -
MCT:March 2, 2008
Hitchcock loves to explore Freudian themes. In this film, he hints at the incestuous desires of the unconcious.
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MCT:February 24, 2008
Whereas Psycho changed the way the world viewed showers, and Jaws made swimming in the ocean forever less appealing, and even Diabolique led us all to view swimming pools with cynicism, Shadow of a Doubt shows us that something as benign as "family" can become horrifying and evil. Hitchcock took the fright out of old European castles and dark back alleys and put it right smack-dab in our living rooms. It raises the question, "Is something sinister sitting across from you at the dinner table every night?" ...well? ...is it?
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MCT:February 23, 2008
This is a very good Hichcock thriller with some great performances. The story is pretty sharp and, big surprise.
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MCT:February 22, 2008It's been so long since I've seen this movie, I'd have to see it again to remember what happened in it.
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MCT:February 15, 2008
Hmm...I heard so much good about this film. And now that I've seen it, I wonder why. I found it kinda dull. A young woman named Charlie gets a visit from her mom's beloved younger brother, and Charlie's favorite uncle, also named Charlie. But slowly she discovers secrets about her uncle that could threaten her life if the secrets were exposed. Sounds interesting enough, but I didn't find myself particularly engrossed in it (this is the 4th time I've tried to watch it, and only the first time I made it all the way through), I kept waiting for a big climax or reveal that never came, and I would have completely changed the ending. An OK film, but not nearly up to par with my fave Hitckcock films -- Rear Window, Rebecca and The 39 Steps.
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MCT:February 5, 2008
Very good Hichcock thriller with some great performances. The story is pretty sharp and, big surprise, the directing is top shelf.
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MCT:February 4, 2008
Great Hitchcock! Just watched this for the first time and it was good! Performances were convincing and well acted.
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MCT:January 25, 2008
I luv alfred hitchcock movies even if they are older I still luv them b/c they keep u on the edge of ur seat..
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MCT:January 14, 2008
Talk about classics, what would you do if Joseph Cotten wanted to kill you? If i were a character on that movie, i-d probably let him. Hitchcock made it gold, Cotten made it shine.
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MCT:January 5, 2008
A pioneer to modern day thrillers and, albeit a little lengthy, Shadow of a Doubt astonishingly still holds up well. Aside from the murder mystery, it focuses on a beautiful character study of a relationship going awry between an adoring niece when she suspects her uncle of committing heinous crimes. Teresa Wright's performance humanizes 'Young Charlie' into someone we can identify with through her heartbreak and deniability. One of Hitchcock's earlier works, this was also his favorite.
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MCT:January 1, 2008
police system were so crappy back in the 40s... that girl is just dumb... should hav kept distance from her uncle as soon as she knows he's the criminal... nice, clean plot though
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MCT:December 31, 2007
Another Hitchcock masterpiece! Definitely one of his great achievements. Hitchcock himself even called this his favorite movie he ever made. The story revolves around a teenage girl who loves her uncle to death. But once he makes a visit for a while, she begins to believe that he is trying to killer her. There are some great scenes, and it truly is suspenseful.
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MCT:December 26, 2007
hitchcock's grand-daughter claims that "shadow of a doubt" is hitch's favorite piece of work. as for its authentiy, it's another business, but "shadow of a doubt" is phenomenal considering its double parallel of its smitten moral dualism.
the story is about the characters of two "charlies" in an average household. the uncle charlie is a closet sociopath with penchant to strangle rich widows to serve his twisted idealism. young charlie is a naive small-town girl with whimsical ruminations all the time. to escape from investigator, uncle charlie takes refugee in his elder sister's home under the expectation of young charlie's mental telegracy that injects some dreamy hope into young charlie's dried life of boredom. but she would never know her dream degenerates into a horrisome nightmare as she discovers her uncle's deadly secret.
the appliance of two charlies with the introduction of them laying on bed in seperate scenes is the resonation of their connected twin personality. uncle charlie is the dark evil side while young charlie stands for the bright gentility. as uncle charlie dies, part of young charlie's perspect of innocence also withers just like she would never be completed ever again, consuming the rest of her life mourning over the uncle she's infatuated with, as hitch once remarks "sometimes you would slaughters the one you love"....her self-guilt is severe becuz her uncle's vice is partially indulged by her connived silence, then she has to run the risk of his murderous elimination for the sake of his own safety.
joseph cotten as the merry window strangler is sinisterly dynamic, and he delivers some cynically spiteful lines upon women by demeaning old rich widows as "faded, fat. freezing animals" who squader their diligent husbands' hard-earned fortunes by being wastefully leisure all the time, he detests them but takes belief that their annihilations would improve the world as a better place that is the most harsh misogynisitc comment ever in hitch's movies. or lines like "women are fools! they could be in love with anything!!" his idealism detorted with his pervert killing is the so called "moral ambiguity"... there're some stylish shots of cotten's smoking poises full of contempts and complacency as he gazes outside the window as well as his disregard to the conventional superstition by tossing his hat toward the bed purposedly.
there're some engrossing symbolic metaphors, such as the train cotten takes as he arrives the town emits black fume that means devil is approaching here; then the train he takes to depart exuberates white smoke that crytalizes the town as the devil's going away. ironically the ending shows the whole town santa rosa is all lamenting over uncle charlie by dubbing him "son of santa rosa" that is literarily consecrating a murderer with righteous holliness.
the tasteful part is that hitchcock never demonstrates one scene of the actual widow-strangling crime, and it's simply hinted with the killer's fierce strength to string over a napkin with a ferocious gaze. joseph cotten shall be one of the best hitchcockian villains among claude rains, robert walker and ray millard, recognition approved by hitch himself.
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onefinalhitposted 386 days ago -
