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Shadow Of A Doubt [VHS] [1942]
 
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Shadow Of A Doubt [VHS] [1942]

VHS ~ Teresa Wright
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Actors: Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten, Macdonald Carey, Henry Travers, Patricia Collinge
  • Directors: Alfred Hitchcock
  • Writers: Alma Reville, Gordon McDonell, Sally Benson, Thornton Wilder
  • Producers: Jack H. Skirball
  • Format: Black & White, PAL
  • Language German
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Classification: PG
  • Studio: Universal Pictures UK
  • VHS Release Date: 21 April 2003
  • Run Time: 103 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00004R6MH
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 9,474 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

    Popular in this category:

    #26 in  Video > Classic Films > Directors > Hitchcock, Alfred

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

Alfred Hitchcock considered this 1943 thriller to be his personal favourite among his own films, and although it's not as popular as some of Hitchcock's later work, it's certainly worthy of the master's admiration. Scripted by playwright Thornton Wilder and inspired by the actual case of a 1920s serial killer known as "The Merry Widow Murderer," Shadow of a Doubt sets a tone of menace and fear by introducing a psychotic killer into the small-town comforts of Santa Rosa, California. That's where young Charlie (Teresa Wright) lives with her parents and two younger siblings, and where murder is little more than a topic of morbid conversation for their mystery-buff neighbour (Hume Cronyn). Charlie was named after her favourite uncle, who has just arrived for an extended visit, and at first Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) gets along famously with his admiring niece. But the film's chilling prologue has already revealed Uncle Charlie's true identity as the notorious Merry Widow Murderer, and the suspense grows almost unbearable when young Charlie's trust gives way to gradual dread and suspicion. Through narrow escapes and a climactic scene aboard a speeding train, this witty thriller strips away the fa ade of small-town tranquillity to reveal evil where it's least expected. And, of course, it's all done in pure Hitchcockian style. --Jeff Shannon


Synopsis

The 'Merry Widow' murderer comes to stay in Santa Rosa...

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Customer Reviews

17 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (4)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Quiet realisation, 23 Feb 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Shadow Of A Doubt [DVD] [1942] (DVD)
Shadow of a doubt lacks the big scenes and stars of other Hitch films, but that's the point. This was the first of his US films to look at small town life & relationships in America, and in the way it's done it steals a march on many family dramas, both of film noir & later styles, including Blue Velvet. The use of perspective in the film helps you get inside the head of young Charlie as she begins to understand the motives of her uncle Charlie(Joseph Cotten). Cotten, as ever was excellent in the natural way that Uncle Charlie at first seems, hiding out with the family. But as the movie progresses & he too begins to see his niece discover the dark past he really shines.Watch the scene with the car in the garage to see the depth in the piece.
This is not a horror film, but more shocking because the killer of the piece is for once someone's brother & uncle, not some deranged loner as in Thomas Harris. Yet the town & its inhabitants would not seem out of place in 'It's a Wonderful Life' with its apple pie concern for itself.
Hitchcock was duly proud of this work as it was looking into the Hardy family and cleverly twisting the values presented.
It seems difficult to imagine movies like Blue Velvet, or Badlands without this homage to small town America passed.
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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond a shadow of a doubt a Hitchcock classic, 18 April 2005
By Holy Smoke (Somewhere in Time) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: Shadow Of A Doubt [DVD] [1942] (DVD)
Just to clear things up with people, the reason this film was considered to be Hitchcock's favourite was that it represented how even the quaintest white picket fence town could be struck with trouble. Hitchcock enjoyed placing menacing figures in places you'd least expect them to be, creating denial from the audience in the beginning and shock towards the end as the truth is revealed. It represented everything Hitchcock loved in a thriller story. It may not be his most extravagant like North-by-North West but the story flows really well and keeps the suspense through out.

I think a lot of people are put off by Hitch's earlier work because of their lower budget, modest scenery and lesser actors, which is a real shame. Before David O Selznick discovered Hitchcock for their workings on Rebecca he made some really amazing films (39 Steps, Lifeboat, The Lady Vanishes.)

Anyone thinking about buying this film please do so. The story is fantastic, the acting is Brilliant and it's definitely a Hitchcock classic.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars "Charlie, think. How much do you know about your uncle?", 8 Jul 2004
By bernie "xyzzy" (Arlington, Texas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: Shadow of a Doubt [DVD] [1943] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] (DVD)
Being directed by Hitchcock, people tend to overlook that the story was writing credits Thornton Niven Wilder who wrote "Our Town" three years earlier.
Teresa Wright one year earlier was in "Mrs. Minver"

This film is creepy from the beginning as Charlie (Joseph Cotton) goes to his hometown to avoid two mysterious men following him. Who are they and what do they want of him?
Mean while back home things are just down right monotonous. Little Charlie (Teresa Wright) plans to send a telegram to Uncle Charlie to come and brighten up the place. She realizes she possesses telepathy when Uncle Charlie's telegram reaches her first. When Uncle Charlie arrives he brings secrets and the two mysterious men show up as magazine men doing a survey. Little Charlie must find the secrets and why the men are there. Each scene and secret reveals a more sinister environment. It just gets creeper.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Good
The film starts with Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) being pursued by 2
detectives - Jack (MacDonald Carey) and Fred (Wallace Ford). Read more
Published 4 months ago by Alex da Silva

5.0 out of 5 stars Do you know the world is a foul sty...
One of Alfred Hitchcock's first American movies, 1943's Shadow of a Doubt is a great film in many respects, even though, to those more familiar with the director's later works, it... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Matthew Mercy

5.0 out of 5 stars The genial killing film maker is on his way to serial directing
Hitchcock is hatching in the US while the war is dragging along. He is building a tight little plot around a small criminal who gets into some serial killing of rich widows in New... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Jacques COULARDEAU

5.0 out of 5 stars I brought you nightmares...
It may not be his "best" film, but Shadow Of A Doubt remains my favourite Hitchcock film. Some state, such as his daughter Patricia, that it was his favourite too, although in... Read more
Published 14 months ago by IWFIcon

5.0 out of 5 stars Hitch; A Dark Genius
First things first, I need to justify giving Shadow of a Doubt 5 stars. Yes, it is in black and white, no it's not the best soundtrack from Hitchcock however it is a true... Read more
Published 17 months ago by N. M. D. Lancaster

4.0 out of 5 stars a minor classic in Hitchcock's oeuvre
Yeah, "Shadow of a Doubt" is missing the moodiness of "Psycho", ambiguity of "The Birds", claustrophobia of "Rear Window", mystery of "Vertigo", vibrancy of "North by Northwest"... Read more
Published 19 months ago by H. Serkan SILAHSOR

5.0 out of 5 stars Do You Believe a Stranger About Your Relative?
Things have gotten boring and routine in the Newton family, and Young Charlie (Teresa Wright) especially is feeling the boredom. Read more
Published on 16 Oct 2007 by Mark Baker

4.0 out of 5 stars Hitchcocks favourite movie
This 1943 thriller from the master of suspense features Joseph Cotton as 'Uncle Charlie' and Teresa Wright as 'Young Charlie'. Read more
Published on 25 Aug 2007 by S J Buck

5.0 out of 5 stars My own second favourite Hitchcock
Easy to see why it's his favourite, really. As a film product, with start, middle and end, following the right conventions for a thriller, and most importantly the suspense this... Read more
Published on 25 Jul 2007 by Lou Knee

3.0 out of 5 stars Average Thriller
I fail to see why "Shadow of a Doubt" was said to be Hitchcock's favourite film. It is a fairly ordinary and routine effort compared not only to classics like "Vertigo",... Read more
Published on 14 Mar 2006 by L. Davidson

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