Shadow of a Doubt isn't neccesarily the first Hitchock film people think of when they think of the director's best or most popular works. You'll most likely hear titles such as Rear Window, Psycho, Vertigo, North by Northwest and even Rope. But, it's clear that Shadow is one of the masters' best films. Dark, flawlessly acted and directed, it epitomizes the fear and uncertainties of the second world war. It premiered in 1943 and brought the horror of the Other, as exemplified in Universal's monster films of the previous decade (Frankenstein (31), King Kong (33), Dracula (31)), back home to small town America. Fear no longer came from these monsters but rather from our own backyard. The enemy was no longer an ocean away, speaking a foreign language, out of view. The enemy became our neighbor, friend, our community and even more frightening, a member of our own family. The seemingly normal Santa Rosa, California was now home to its own human monster, Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotton).
If you haven't seen it go out and get a copy from your local library or video store. You won't regret it.
And just because, here are my top 5 Hitchcock films:
1. Vertigo
2. Rebecca
3. Shadow of a Doubt
4. Psycho
5. Sabotage/The Birds
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