Shadow of a Doubt

B-

Shadow of a Doubt shows that Alfred Hitchcock is an auteur capable of genius and lacklustre works. This movie is predominantly in the latter category; a slow-burn - terribly slow-burn - thriller that talks too much that the miniscule amount of combustion and adrenaline which lurks beneath its skin never surfaces. It is fortunate that this bland piece of cinema is just fast-paced enough to keep it from becoming a true lull.

Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotton) is coming to town, much to the excitement of his niece, Charlie (Theresa Wright), and her entire family. However, whatever charms Uncle Charlie exuberates along come a series of suspicious quirks - his insistence on not being photographed, his occasional episodes into monologues against "swine" widows, and the way he keeps cutting out articles from the papers. Young Charlie, who claimed to have a special connection to her namesake, sees it all. And when a pair of detectives comes to town, she-Charlie realizes that her uncle might be the notorious Widow Strangler.

Maybe I should give Mr Hitchcock a break. The film was made in 1943! Maybe back then people wasn't ready for seriously daring stuff. There were instances when the cards could have been pushed, to bring Charlie against Charlie, right out. But no, they talked. Uncle Charlie is supposed to be ruthless, but his attempts to put off his niece failed miserably due to lack of creativity.

Shadow of a Doubt reminds me of Orson Welles' Touch Of Evil; two movies by very respected directors which share a distinct common trait. Both show a great potential to be remarkable, but they miss the mark because the talk the talk but don't walk the walk. In both movies, we are told of how bad the antagonists can get, we are told why they became bad, but somehow it doesn't show. Again, both movies are made more than 50 years ago, and I am inclined to believe that just perhaps people back then weren't ready for something that would really get the pulse raising, like Rear Window which came just 3 short years after this blah of a movie.
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