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SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943)
d. Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotton, MacDonald Carey, Henry Travers, Patricia Collinge, Hume Cronyn
This ones for Jeff. SPOILERS AHEAD
Charlie Oakley is living in a boarding house somewhere on the east coast but decides to visit his sister's family out in Santa Rosa, California, dodging two men who are apparently following him. Charlotte "Charley" Newton has always idolized her charismatic, wealthy, urbane uncle, and is thrilled that he's visiting and relieving her of boredom. But Uncle Charlie is possibly not all he seems and as the days go on, she becomes more and more worried what his presence means for her family and their town.
This is a great movie and is probably my favorite Hitchcock film that I've seen. Really the entire cast beyond Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotton is pretty inconsequential but those two are both just so good in this. Teresa Wright has become a bit of a favorite 40's actress for me and it's a shame her run at the top ended as quickly as it did and her name unrecognizable to most modern viewers. Joseph Cotton is fantastic as Uncle Charlie. At least as far as the films I've seen go, Uncle Charlie is the scariest, most psychotic villain Hitchcock would have at least up until Psycho, and I would argue Uncle Charlie is more evil; Norman Bates was just nuts.
The cinematography of this movie is also just...wow. Hitchcock was obviously having some fun with the word 'shadow' in the title because man, the use of shadow and darkness in this movie is phenomenal. When you want to demonstrate to film students how you can best use black-and-white to your advantage, show them this. Beyond that there's just some incredibly memorable shots. Young Charlie frantically searching the newspapers at the town library for a reason why cops to to talk to her uncle. The slow zoom and close-up of Joseph Cotton as he goes on a lengthy diatribe against middle-aged women. The uses of smoke from Uncle Charlie's cigars and the foul, pitch-black smoke of the train as it delivers Uncle Charlie to the idyllic town.
Highly recommended if you like classic cinema. This is at the top of my list for pre-1950's Hitchcock, possibly my favorite of all.
One little bit of trivia (there's a lot one could mention) but this film was really filmed on location in Santa Rosa, California (wine country). The Newton House still exists and supposedly even some of the interiors were used in filming. But the beautiful stone town library was demolished in the 60's and much of the rest of downtown Santa Rosa featured in the film was destroyed in a 1969 earthquake.
The official trailer for the movie has plenty of spoilers so here's a fanmade one instead. The visuals at least look a lot better
SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943)
d. Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotton, MacDonald Carey, Henry Travers, Patricia Collinge, Hume Cronyn
This ones for Jeff. SPOILERS AHEAD
Charlie Oakley is living in a boarding house somewhere on the east coast but decides to visit his sister's family out in Santa Rosa, California, dodging two men who are apparently following him. Charlotte "Charley" Newton has always idolized her charismatic, wealthy, urbane uncle, and is thrilled that he's visiting and relieving her of boredom. But Uncle Charlie is possibly not all he seems and as the days go on, she becomes more and more worried what his presence means for her family and their town.
This is a great movie and is probably my favorite Hitchcock film that I've seen. Really the entire cast beyond Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotton is pretty inconsequential but those two are both just so good in this. Teresa Wright has become a bit of a favorite 40's actress for me and it's a shame her run at the top ended as quickly as it did and her name unrecognizable to most modern viewers. Joseph Cotton is fantastic as Uncle Charlie. At least as far as the films I've seen go, Uncle Charlie is the scariest, most psychotic villain Hitchcock would have at least up until Psycho, and I would argue Uncle Charlie is more evil; Norman Bates was just nuts.
The cinematography of this movie is also just...wow. Hitchcock was obviously having some fun with the word 'shadow' in the title because man, the use of shadow and darkness in this movie is phenomenal. When you want to demonstrate to film students how you can best use black-and-white to your advantage, show them this. Beyond that there's just some incredibly memorable shots. Young Charlie frantically searching the newspapers at the town library for a reason why cops to to talk to her uncle. The slow zoom and close-up of Joseph Cotton as he goes on a lengthy diatribe against middle-aged women. The uses of smoke from Uncle Charlie's cigars and the foul, pitch-black smoke of the train as it delivers Uncle Charlie to the idyllic town.
Highly recommended if you like classic cinema. This is at the top of my list for pre-1950's Hitchcock, possibly my favorite of all.
One little bit of trivia (there's a lot one could mention) but this film was really filmed on location in Santa Rosa, California (wine country). The Newton House still exists and supposedly even some of the interiors were used in filming. But the beautiful stone town library was demolished in the 60's and much of the rest of downtown Santa Rosa featured in the film was destroyed in a 1969 earthquake.
The official trailer for the movie has plenty of spoilers so here's a fanmade one instead. The visuals at least look a lot better
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