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Shadow of a Doubt was released on 12 January 1943.

Loosely based on Earle Nelson (considered “the first serial murderer in American history whose crimes were subject to widespread media attention”) who had been executed in 1928 for 22 murders, the script was written by Sally Benson, Alma Reville (Alfred Hitchcock’s wife), and Thorton Wilder.

Shadow of a Doubt was an immediate success and it’s status has improved over time; it is described as Alfred Hitchcock’s “first indisputable masterpiece.” Hitchcock himself often cited it as his favorite of his own films.

Thorton Wilder was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Motion Picture Story (although Gordon McDonell - husband of Margaret McDonell, head of David O. Selznick’s story department - is now cited as developing the idea).

#shadow of a doubt #1943 #1943 movies #earle nelson #sally benson #alma reville #alfred hitchcock #thorton wilder #gordon mcdonell

Bantam 795 - 1950

1950; My Sister, Goodnight by Gordon McDonell. unknown Artist

#My Sister Goodnight #paperback #cover #vintage #art #illustration #1950 #Bantam #Gordon McDonell

02-16-2017 Shadow Of A Doubt (1943) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036342/

Made during the most prolific years of his career, one might think that Shadow Of A Doubt, a thriller like the majority of his films, wouldn’t stand out in the career of Alfred Hitchcock. One might be mistaken though, since not only is Shadow Of A Doubt one of Hitchcock’s finest looking and sounding black-and-white talkies (shot by one-time Academy Award winner Joseph A. Valentine), it is also one of the most exciting ones of his career.

Written by a team of three, based on an original story by Gordon McDonell, does Shadow Of A Doubt tell the story of two Charlies. There is uncle Charlie Oates (Joseph Cotten), who we see in the opening scene of this film being chased by two mysterious figures. Uncle Charlie then decides to stay for a while in Santa Rosa, California, at the house of his niece Charlie Newton (Teresa Wright) and the rest of the Newton family. Charlie and Charlie get along very well, they’re not just uncle and niece, there is a special connection between the two. Because of this special connection does young Charlie suspect that there is something wrong with old Charlie. He seems to be hiding a terrible secret, and despite their special relationship does young Charlie decide to figure out what happened to old Charlie.

As with most of Hitchcock’s female leads is the character played by Teresa Wright a more than interesting one: she is a spiritual and intuitive kind of girl, very genuine and humane, which makes it hard for her to deal with this sucky situation. The potential killer on the other hand is also way more likeable than most other Hitchcock bad guys: a family oriented man, loved by everybody in Santa Rosa during his short stay. He has the public’s sympathy, making it hard for the audience to decide for themselves whether he could have done what he may have done.

The romance between young Charlie and one of the detectives (played by Macdonald Carey) is one of the few things that are really off in this film, next to a lack of nice pacing every now and then. Still is Shadow Of A Doubt one of my favorite Hitchcock films. It looks incredible, has an exciting story and easily holds up between the countless other mysterious thrillers made by the master of suspense.