It is this growing of Charlie’s suspicions and Uncle Charlie’s realizations of her suspicions and how the two of them deal with each other that provides the tension. Not long after he arrives, Charlie begins to suspect her uncle in some way and soon she figures out the truth. Hitchcock is simply masterful in how he builds his movie. He is a serial killer, the Merry Widow Murderer, and he is on the run from the police and hiding out at their home. What they do not realize is that Uncle Charlie’s money (he is described as being “in business”) has actually been acquired through murder. The family with Uncle Charlie: Patricia Collinge, Henry Travers, Charles Bates, Teresa Wright, Edna May Wonacott, Joseph Cotten When Uncle Charlie does come unexpectedly, she and her entire family are thrilled and excited, especially her mother, Emma (Patricia Collinge). The movie begins with Charlie feeling like the family has gotten into a dull rut and what they need is Uncle Charlie to visit them. She likes to say that they are like twins. She feels that they are extremely close, because of their names, but also because of how they think and feel.

Charlie Newton (Teresa Wright) is named after her mother’s much loved younger brother, Uncle Charlie or Charles Oakley (Joseph Cotten).

He chose as his location Santa Rosa, California, and he did much of his shooting on location.Īt the center of Shadow of a Doubt is the evil that comes to an innocent small town and an innocent family. When Alfred Hitchcock first left England to make movies in America, many of his early American movies were still set in England: Rebecca (1940) and Suspicion (1941), but he wanted this movie to be more uniquely American in setting. However, my personal favorite – and reportedly his, too – is Shadow of a Doubt, which I believe is also his most human and relatable. Alfred Hitchcock is known as the master of suspense and I have seen and enjoyed many of his movies.

Shadow of a doubt (1943) cary grant