Shadow of a doubt 1943 shadow of a doubt was alfred hitchcocks favorite among his own films and was based on the case of the reallife merry widow murderer, earle leonard nelson, a mass strangler of the 1920s. Teenager charlie idolises her uncle charlie, who always seem incredibly glamorous and exciting but is he also a serial killer. Wilder had written our town put on film in 1940, a story about grovers corners another small town in new england. Its clear from the outset that uncle charlie joseph cotten is the notorious merry widow killer, and more than once hitchcock cuts to nightmarish fantasies of presumably merry widows waltzing. Teresa wright is his niece, also called charlie, who idolizes himuntil the agents hunting uncle charlie reveal to her who her uncle really is. In the following pages, i will examine shadow of a doubt 1943 as registering a crucial moment in the process of hitchcocks americanization. At face value, shadow of a doubt appears to be missing many classic features of early film noir such as a femme fatale or. No one would ever accuse alfred hitchcocks shadow of a doubt of being plausible, but it is framed. Alfred hitchcock in shadow of a doubt 1943 joseph cotten and macdonald carey in shadow of a doubt 1943. We asked members of the the guardian film community to tell us about their preferred films from the master of suspense. Its somewhat surprising, some would even say remarkable, that at this very point in history hollywood produced a film like this, as it portrays a typical american small town. Screenplay by thornton wilder, sally benson, alma reville, based on the story by gordon mcdonell. Look up shadow of a doubt in wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Why shadow of a doubt was hitchcocks favorite brattle. The newton family lead a quiet life in the north california town of santa rosa. Gallery of 55 movie poster and cover images for shadow of a doubt 1943. One of hitchcocks best films of the 1940s, shadow of a doubt is both a fascinating psychological case study and a scathing portrait of the american middleclass family. Cynicism underlies all the proceedings, from young charlies miraculous summoning of her uncle charlie. During his cameo in this psychological thriller hitchcock is seen playing bridge. Arguably alfred hitchcocks best film and teresa wrights best performance, shadow of a doubt 1943 is a lowkey thriller about a murderer who comes to live with his sisters family in peaceful, quiet santa rosa in an effort to elude the police, and his young niece who finds him out.
Shadow of a doubt is one movie that goes against the standard idea of hollywood romance. Apparently alfred hitchcock found shadow of a doubt to be his favorite of all the flicks he directed. Hitchcock made this chiller all the more frightening by having his crafty homicidal maniac intrude into the tranquility of a warm. Shes not sexy or dangerous like ingrid bergman in notorious or a cool, detached blonde in the grace kelly vein. Director alfred hitchcock is possibly most famous for psycho but this brilliant but lesser known film is just as shocking in its way. Shadow of a doubt film by hitchcock 1943 britannica.
But hitchcock confirmed that shadow of a doubt was his favorite in an interview with talk show host dick cavett in 1972. In shadow of a doubt, theres no possibility of innocence. Shadow of a doubt disambiguation jump to navigation jump to search. Shadow of a doubt begins with the universal globe, since like saboteur this is a project made on loanout to the free and easy jack skirball from the rigorous selznick, and its brilliance should be enough to gainsay the suggestion that hitchcock needed selznicks supervision to. Though much of the movie looked fine, a mix of concerns made this a fairly average transfer. Charlie teresa wright, in shadow of a doubt 1943 16. The newtons eldest daughter, young charlie, decides that things need brightening up and resolves to contact her uncle charlie. Shadow of a doubt is a 1943 thriller directed by alfred hitchcock and written by thornton wilder, sally benson, and alma reville.
Hitchcocks cameo comes relatively early in the film he is playing bridge with a man and a woman on the train to santa rosa. Shadow of a doubt a thriller, with teresa wright, joseph cotten, at rivoli tennessee johnson is at the astor. Shadow of a doubt jbfc edu jacob burns film center. Charlie is tired of smalltown life with her parents and annoying younger sister.
Cast and crew credits for shadow of a doubt, 1943, directed by alfred hitchcock, with teresa wright, joseph cotten, macdonald carey, at turner classic movies. Hitchcock draws out your fear for this small california town familys safety as they attempt to survive uncle charlie, who they do not even know is a serial killer. The film is often considered one of hitchcocks darkest, and the director himself reportedly claimed it as his favorite. Written by thornton wilder, sally benson, and alma reville, based on a story by gordon mcdonell. I would have assumed it was north by northwest 1959 because cary grant was his favorite actor to work with. The casting, from stars to bit players, is impeccable. But as with many foreign filmmakers who came to the us, hitchcock soon evinced his fascination for the peculiarities of american culture, particularly with his shadow of a doubt 1943, the shooting for which was begun in the latter part of 1941.
The masterpiece collection universal bluray, 2012 dvd releases. Complete cast and crew list for shadow of a doubt 1943 from the internet movie database. Alfred hitchcocks suspense thriller shadow of a doubt 1943 is a visceral and frightening depiction of a mass murderer on the run. Alfred hitchcocks 1943 film, shadow of a doubt, was one of the directors personal favorites, and its easy to see why. Ive always felt that teresa wright was an odd leading lady for a hitchcock film. It was remade as step down to terror in 1958 and as a tv movie in 1991.
Joseph cotten, teresa wright and macdonald carey in shadow of a doubt. Fanmade trailer for the film shadow of a doubt directed by alfred hitchcock. Shadow of a doubt trailer 1943 alfred hitchcock youtube. One of hitchcocks favorite subjects was the innocent man wrongly accused.
Shadow of a doubt, american thriller film, released in 1943, that alfred. Alfred hitchcock appears about 16 minutes into the film, on the train to santa rosa, playing bridge with a man and a woman dr. The majority of the problems came from print defects. One of the most subversive films alfred hitchcock ever made is a disquieting little masterpiece called shadow of a doubt that was brought to life back in 1943, in the very midst of the second world war. Joseph cotten stars as charlie, a serial killer on the run who comes back to his hometown of santa rosa, california to hide from the police. Patricia collinge, who plays emma newton in the film. Shadow of a doubt is a 1943 film noir about a young woman who thinks her uncle, for whom she is named, may be a serial killer. Rakish uncle charlie assuredly smokes a cigarette in his apartment while two lawmen wait to question him in the deaths of wealthy widows. Shadow of a doubt 1943 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Filmed primarily on location in santa rosa, california, shadow of a doubt is often regarded as hitchcocks. As one can see the director is holding a full suit of spades, the best hand possible. With teresa wright, joseph cotten, macdonald carey, henry travers. Shadow of a doubt is a 1943 suspense film directed by alfred hitchcock. Not only did the italianate victorianstyle abode appear in a hitchcock classic, the 1943 thriller shadow of a doubt, but in my favorite horror flick of all time, scream while the residence has also been credited with bringing about one of the best known horror movie costumes of all.
Shadow of a doubt is a 1943 american psychological thriller film noir directed by alfred hitchcock, and starring teresa wright and joseph cotten. In 1991, the film was selected for preservation in the united states national film registry by the library of. Shadow of a doubt, hitchcocks 1943 thriller, is one of the more esoteric mysteries in his oeuvre often overshadowed pun quasiintended by its surface story of a young girl and her uncle. Shadow of a doubt 1943 ending spoiler movie mistakes. Ending spoiler for shadow of a doubt 1943, plus mistakes, quotes, trivia and more. A young woman discovers her visiting uncle may not be the man he seems to be.
Alfred hitchcocks shadow of a doubt alfred hitchcock has exploited our fear of heights and made us afraid to take a shower, but in his own personal favourite film. Shadow of a doubt 1943 universal bluray, 2012 as part of the box set. Young charlie teresa wright wants a miracle to get her family out of poverty, and believes her savior is her namesake, uncle charlie joseph cotten. There was more to shadow of a doubt than proallied sentiment, of course, but critics, such as the perpetually sniffy bosley crowther of the new york times, often dismissed any hint of sociopolitical commentary, crowther going so far as to say the potentially antisocial moral of the film was its only flaw.
A bored teen living in santa rosa, california, charlotte charlie newton, is frustrated because nothing seems to be happening in her life and that of her family. Sitting on a quiet corner on an idyllic street in santa rosa is a home with quite a scary movie pedigree. A smartly conceived, wellacted tale about a niece who suspects her uncle of murder, shadow of a doubt is a masterpiece of suspense. Lensed on location in santa rosa, california, the shadow of a doubt was alfred hitchcock s favorite film. In 1942 cronyn married tandy, and the couple first performed.
Shadow of a doubt may or may not be hitchcocks greatest film, but its. Shadow of a doubt 1943 complete cast and crew the alfred. Written by thornton wilder, sally benson, and alma reville, the film was nominated for an academy award for best story for gordon mcdonell. Alfred hitchcock shifted to the us to make films in 1939, but his earliest americanmade films still had mostly english settings. Shadow of a doubt 1943 was director alfred hitchcocks favorite of his own films.
We first see charlie lying on top of his bed, smoking a cigar. I dont think quite so highly of it, but i like it nonetheless. The film fascinates throughout, but critics seems to overlook a number of plot imperfections that give me much more than a shadow of a doubt that this is hitchcocks most brilliant film as some. Shadow of a doubt is a 1943 film directed by alfred hitchcock.
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