Joseph Cotton is especially sinister and charming: he switches between the two seemingly at the drop of a hat. Aside from that there is Hitchcock’s effort to let us know that, if one doesn’t know what we know about Uncle Charlie, that he is actually a very charming man after all, every woman he meets seems to melt into butter at only the slightest glance from him, and the men he meets consider him some sort of hero: an icon of what it means to be an “American Man.”Įvery performance is wonderful. Whether it be the playful banter of Uncle Charlie teasing his brother in law Joseph Newton (Henry Travers) while at the bank, or Joseph’s horrific discussions of murder with his friend Herbie (Hume Cronyn). In my opinion, Hitchcock’s playfulness comes across best in this film. All are oblivious to this, especially Uncle Charlie’s sister, Emma Newton (Patricia Collinge). Suddenly, however, an air of manipulation begins to to stir and we feel that Uncle Charlie is hiding something from his family. At first he seems detached, cold, and villainous, but as soon as he sees his dear niece, he seems to change and he becomes a charming man who only wishes to visit his family. Then a pair of men, possibly detectives, show up in town and seem very interested in Uncle Charlie and the family.įrom the very first scene Hitchcock ramps up the tension and makes it clear to the audience that not all is well with Uncle Charlie. He abhors anything related to his past, is annoyed very much by anything which resembles prying or snooping, and very much likes to play himself up as a well-to-do gentleman. Issues arise however as the family discovers that Uncle Charlie might not be what he seems. Her Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotton), after whom she is named, suddenly arrives in town at what seems to be just the perfect time. The film mainly concerns a young girl, Charlie (Teresa Wright), who is infatuated with her uncle but dissatisfied with her home life. In this film Hitchcock ramps up the tension and puts every single technique for which he is known to the test. Among those films he often said Shadow of a Doubt was his personal favorite. Hitchcock left behind a rather eclectic and large body of work.
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