Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Thornton Wilder (screenplay) &
Sally Benson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 August 1943 (Sweden)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

A Blast of DRAMATIC Dynamite exploded right before your eyes!

Plot:

A young woman discovers her visiting "Uncle Charlie" may not be the man he seems to be.

Plot Keywords:

Widow | Suspect | Murderer | Detective | California

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Thur. Dec. 31

11:30 AM

TCM

Cast

Teresa Wright	...	Charlotte 'Charlie' Newton
Joseph Cotten	...	Uncle Charlie Oakley
Macdonald Carey	...	Jack Graham
Henry Travers	...	Joseph Newton
Patricia Collinge	...	Emma Newton
Hume Cronyn	...	Herbie Hawkins
Wallace Ford	...	Fred Saunders
Edna May Wonacott	...	Ann Newton
Charles Bates	...	Roger Newton
Irving Bacon	...	Station Master
Clarence Muse	...	Pullman Porter
Janet Shaw	...	Waitress Louise Finch
Estelle Jewell	...	Catherine

Also Known As:

Shadow of Doubt (USA) (poster title)
Uncle Charlie (USA) (working title)
L'ombre d'un doute (Belgium: French title) (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Im Schatten des Zweifels (Austria) (Germany) [de]
La sombra de una duda (Argentina) (Spain) [es]
Îndoiala (Romania) [ro]
A Sombra de uma Dúvida (Brazil) [pt]
Ani stín podezrení? (Czechoslovakia) [cs]
De schaduw van een twijfel (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Epäilyksen varjo (Finland) [fi]
I tvivlens skygge (Denmark) [da]
L'ombra del dubbio (Italy) [it]
Mentira (Portugal) [pt]
Skuggan av ett tvivel (Sweden) [sv]

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Spain:13 | South Korea:15 (2004) | Brazil:14 | USA:PG (re-rating) (1984) | Argentina:16 | Australia:PG | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 | Ireland:PG | Peru:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #9011) (original rating) | UK:A (original rating)

Filming Locations:

904 McDonald Avenue, Santa Rosa, California, USA

Company:

Skirball Productions

Trivia:

In 1959 interview, Teresa Wright said that this was her favorite film.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: While Charlie watches the cab take her family to Uncle Charlie's speech, the shadows of crew members are visible against the bushes in the background.

Quotes:

Emma Newton: What does he do? Oh, he's just in business, you know, the way men are.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 'Torn Curtain' Rising (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Merry Widow Waltz

Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten are excellent in slow-paced Hitch thriller...

Using the small town of Santa Rosa, California as his backdrop, Hitch takes his time in unwinding a tale about a serial killer (Joseph Cotten) who comes to town on a family visit. Slowly the suspense builds as his niece (Teresa Wright) begins to suspect that he may be the Merry Widow killer who courts wealthy women for financial gain. Against the everyday small town life of its participants, the story unfolds in a leisurely way--perhaps too slow for today's taste. Admittedly, there are some dull stretches--but midway through the story the relationship between Cotten and Wright gets us caught in the story and we have to follow it to conclusion. Macdonald Carey, Hume Cronyn, Patricia Collinge and Henry Travers are all splendid in supporting roles. Hitch uses Agatha Christie's favorite device--telling a story of murder against a mundane setting. Tighter editing might have made this more watchable, but still highly recommended as one of his best earlier works.