Shadow of a Doubt

Shadow of a Doubt is a 1943 American psychological thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and starring Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten. Written by Thornton Wilder, Sally Benson, and Alma Reville, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Story for Gordon McDonell.
Charlotte "Charlie" Newton and her parents live in very quiet Santa Rosa, California. An unexpected visit by Charles Oakley, her charming and sophisticated "Uncle Charlie", brings much excitement to her family and the small town. That excitement turns to fear as young Charlie slowly realizes her uncle is in fact a wanted serial murderer known as the "Merry Widow" killer. The fear escalates when Oakley realizes she knows his secret.
In 1991, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The film was also Alfred Hitchcock's favorite of all of his films.
Plot
Charlotte "Charlie" Newton is a bored teenage girl living in the idyllic town of Santa Rosa, California. She receives wonderful news: Her mother's younger brother (her eponym), Charles Oakley, is arriving for a visit. Upon his arrival, everyone is delighted, especially young Charlie. As a gesture of affection, Uncle Charlie gives his niece an emerald ring. However, she notices that it has someone else's initials engraved inside.
Not long afterward, two men appear at the Newton home, trying to take Uncle Charlie's picture. Young Charlie guesses they are undercover police detectives. One of them explains her uncle is one of two suspects who may be the "Merry Widow Murderer". Charlie refuses to believe it at first, but learns that the initials engraved inside the ring he gave her match those of one of the murdered women. She then notices Uncle Charlie begin to act strangely.
During dinner one night, Uncle Charlie lets his guard down and reveals his hatred of rich widows. He describes them as "fat, wheezing animals". Horrified, young Charlie runs out of the room. Uncle Charlie follows and takes her into a seedy bar. He admits he is one of the two murder suspects. He begs her for help; she reluctantly agrees not to say anything, as long as he leaves soon to avoid a horrible confrontation that would destroy her mother, who idolizes her younger brother.
News breaks that an alternative suspect was chased by police and killed by an airplane propeller; it is assumed that he was the murderer. Uncle Charlie is delighted to be exonerated, but young Charlie knows all his secrets. Not long afterward, she falls down some dangerously steep stairs, which she later discovers were deliberately cut through.
After his supposed exoneration, Uncle Charlie indicates that he wants to settle down in Santa Rosa. Young Charlie says she will kill him if he stays. Later that night, Uncle Charlie lures her into the garage, starts the car engine, and jams the door so that the garage will fill with exhaust fumes. A friend happens to come by the house, hears Charlie banging on the garage door, and rescues her.
Uncle Charlie soon announces he is leaving for San Francisco – along with Mrs. Porter, a rich widow. At the train station, young Charlie boards the train, claiming to want to see Uncle Charlie's compartment. He plans to shove his niece out of the train after it picks up speed. A struggle between them ensues, and Uncle Charlie – the "Merry Widow Murderer" – loses, falling in front of an oncoming train.
At his funeral, Uncle Charlie is sentimentally honored by the townspeople. The detective returns, and Charlie confesses that she withheld crucial information. They resolve to keep Uncle Charlie's crimes a secret.
Cast
Teresa Wright as Charlotte "Charlie" Newton, a precocious teenager who initially idolizes her loving uncle. Wright was given the screenplay, and pursued the role of Charlie due to her adoration of Hitchcock's work.
Joseph Cotten as Charles "Uncle Charlie" Oakley. Cotten had a previously established relationship with Hitchcock which may have helped him get the role in the film.
Macdonald Carey as Detective Jack Graham
Henry Travers as Joseph Newton, Young Charlie's father, who loves to read crime stories.
Patricia Collinge as Emma Newton, Young Charlie's mother and Uncle Charlie's sister. Emma was named after Hitchcock's mother, who died during production of the film.
Wallace Ford as Detective Fred Saunders
Hume Cronyn as Herbie Hawkins, a neighbor and crime fiction buff. He discusses ideas for the perfect murder with Charlie's father.
Edna May Wonacott as Ann Newton. Wonacott was chosen for the role of Ann Newton by Alfred Hitchcock while they were waiting for a bus. She had no previous acting experience, and had to be coached by Hitchcock's daughter between takes. Wonacott had received a seven-year contract with a film studio, and Hitchcock believed she would have a successful acting career.
Charles Bates as Roger Newton
Irving Bacon as Station Master
Clarence Muse as Pullman Porter
Janet Shaw as Louise Finch
Estelle Jewell as Catherine
Uncredited cast
Alfred Hitchcock as Man playing cards on train
Minerva Urecal as Mrs. Henderson
Isabel Randolph as Mrs. Margaret Green
Earle S. Dewey as Mr. Norton
Eily Malyon as Librarian
Edward Fielding as Doctor on Train
Vaughan Glaser as Dr. Phillips
Virginia Brissac as Mrs. Phillips
Sarah Edwards as Wife of Doctor on Train
Ruth Lee as Mrs. MacCurdy
Grandon Rhoades as Reverend MacCurdy
Edwin Stanley as Mr. Green
Frances Carson as Mrs. Potter
Byron Shores as Detective
John McGuire as Detective
Constance Purdy as Mrs. Martin
Shirley Mills as Young girl
Hitchcock's cameo
Alfred Hitchcock appears about 16 minutes into the film, on the train to Santa Rosa, playing bridge with Doctor and Mrs. Harry. Charlie is traveling on the train under the assumed name of Otis, and is lying down due to a migraine. Mrs. Harry is eager to help him, but her husband is not interested and keeps playing bridge. Doctor Harry replies to Hitchcock that he doesn't look well while Hitchcock is holding a full suit of spades, the best hand for bridge.
Production
The project began when the head of David Selznick's story department, Margaret McDonell, told Hitchcock that her husband Gordon had an interesting idea for a novel that she thought would make a good movie. His idea, called "Uncle Charlie", was based on the true story of Earle Nelson, a serial killer of the late 1920s known as "the Gorilla Man".
Shadow of a Doubt was both filmed and set in Santa Rosa, California, which was portrayed as a paragon of a supposedly peaceful, small, pre-War American city. Since Thornton Wilder wrote the original script, the story is set in a small American town, a popular setting of Wilder's, but with an added Hitchcock touch to it. In Patrick McGilligan's biography of Hitchcock, he said the film was perhaps the most American film that Hitchcock had made up to that time.
The opening scenes take place in the East Ward (aka the "Ironbound"/"Down Neck" section of Newark, New Jersey). The city skyline and landmarks such as the Pulaski Skyway are featured in the opening shot. The location shots were used to comply with the wartime War Production Board restrictions of a maximum cost of $5,000 for set construction.
An Italianate-style house, built in 1872, was used for exterior shots of the Newton family home. As of 2023, it is still standing, located at 904 McDonald Avenue in Santa Rosa.
The stone railway station in the film was built in 1904 for the Northwestern Pacific Railroad and is one of the few commercial buildings in central Santa Rosa to survive the earthquake of April 18, 1906. The station is currently a visitor center. The library was a Carnegie Library which was demolished in 1964 due to seismic concerns. Some of the buildings in the center of Santa Rosa that are seen in the film were damaged or destroyed by earthquakes in 1969; much of the area was cleared of debris and largely rebuilt.
The film was scored by Dimitri Tiomkin, his first collaboration with Hitchcock (the others being Strangers on a Train, I Confess and Dial M for Murder). In his score, Tiomkin quotes the Merry Widow Waltz of Franz Lehár, often in somewhat distorted forms, as a leitmotif for Uncle Charlie and his serial murders. During the opening credits, the waltz theme is heard along with a prolonged shot of couples dancing.
Reception
Upon release, the film received unanimously positive reviews. Bosley Crowther, critic for The New York Times, loved the film, stating that "Hitchcock could raise more goose pimples to the square inch of a customer's flesh than any other director in Hollywood". Time Magazine called the film "superb", while Variety stated that "Hitchcock deftly etches his small-town characters and homey surroundings". The entertainment trade paper The Film Daily was yet another reviewer in 1943 that praised every aspect of the production. The publication predicted big “box office” for theaters presenting Hitchcock's latest work, although in its detailed review of Shadow of a Doubt the paper does mistakenly refer to the director's 1941 film Suspicion as "'Suspense'":
In a 1964 interview on Telescope with host Fletcher Markle, Markle noted, "Mr. Hitchcock, most critics have always considered Shadow of a Doubt, which you made in 1943, as your finest film." Hitchcock replied immediately, "Me too." Markle then asked, "That is your opinion of it still?" Hitchcock replied, "Oh, no question." At the time, Hitchcock's most recent work was Marnie. When later interviewed by François Truffaut, Hitchcock denied the suggestion that Shadow of a Doubt was his "favourite". But in the audio interview with Truffaut, Hitchcock confirmed it was his favourite film, and later reiterated that Shadow of a Doubt was his favorite film in his interview with Mike Douglas in 1969 and in his interview with Dick Cavett in 1972. Alfred Hitchcock's daughter Pat Hitchcock also said that her father's favorite film was Shadow of a Doubt in Laurent Bouzereau’s 2000 documentary Beyond Doubt: The Making of Hitchcock's Favorite Film.
Today, the film is still regarded as a major work of Hitchcock's. Contemporary critic Dave Kehr called it Hitchcock's "first indisputable masterpiece." In 2005 film critic David Denby of The New Yorker called it Hitchcock's most "intimate and heart-wrenching" film. Based on 48 reviews on the website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has received a 100% approval rating, with a weighted average of 9.20/10. The site's consensus reads: "Alfred Hitchcock's earliest classic — and his own personal favorite — deals its flesh-crawling thrills as deftly as its finely shaded characters". On Metacritic it has a score of 94 out of 100, based on reviews from 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". When asked by critics as to an overarching theme for the film Hitchcock responded: "Love and good order is no defense against evil". In his book Bambi vs. Godzilla, David Mamet calls it Hitchcock's finest film. In his 2011 review of the film, film critic Roger Ebert gave the film four stars out of four and included it in his Great Movies list. In 2022, Time Out magazine ranked the film at No. 41 on their list of "The 100 best thriller films of all time".
Adaptations and remakes
Radio
The film was adapted for Cecil B. DeMille's Lux Radio Theater aired on January 3, 1944, with its original leading actress Teresa Wright and William Powell as Uncle Charlie (Patrick McGilligan said Hitchcock had originally wanted Powell to play Uncle Charlie, but MGM refused to lend the actor for the film). In 1950, Shadow of a Doubt was featured as a radio-play on Screen Directors Playhouse. It starred Cary Grant as Uncle Charlie and Betsy Drake as the young Charlie. It was also adapted to the Ford Theater (February 18, 1949). The Screen Guild Theater adapted the film twice with Joseph Cotten, the first with Vanessa Brown as young Charlie, and the second with Deanna Durbin in the role. The Academy Award Theater production of Shadow of a Doubt was aired on September 11, 1946.
Film
The film has been remade twice: in 1958 as Step Down to Terror, and again (under the original title) as a 1991 TV movie in which Mark Harmon portrayed Uncle Charlie.
Shadow of a Doubt influenced the beginning of Park Chan-wook's 2013 film Stoker.
See also
List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a film review aggregator website
References
External links
Shadow of a Doubt essay by Thomas Leitch at National Film Registry
Shadow of a Doubt essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 , pages 360-361
Streaming audio
Shadow of a Doubt on Screen Guild Theater: May 24, 1943
Shadow of a Doubt on Lux Radio Theater: January 3, 1944
1943 films
1940s psychological thriller films
1940s serial killer films
American black-and-white films
American psychological thriller films
American serial killer films
1940s English-language films
Films scored by Dimitri Tiomkin
Films directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Films set in California
Films set in the San Francisco Bay Area
Films shot in California
Films shot in Newark, New Jersey
United States National Film Registry films
Universal Pictures films
1940s American films