The film tells the story of a young woman who discovers that her 'Uncle Charlie' visit may raise doubts about her accusation of murder. Now, even though one of the suspected killers has been killed and the case is closed, it appears that this girl is facing real suspicions on every track.
The collaboration between Thornton Wilder and Hitchcock proves to be extremely fertile for it allows both American writer and British director to dissect small-town life way beyond the former's Our Town.
You've got to hand it to Alfred Hitchcock: when he sows the fearful seeds of mistrust in one of his motion pictures he can raise more goose pimples to the square inch of a customer's flesh than any other director of thrillers in Hollywood.
Cinemaphile.org
March 24, 2015
If the motives of filmmakers are revealed in the frames of their more obscure pictures, then 'Shadow of a Doubt' is a resounding testament to the power of Alfred Hitchcock's vast creative engine.
Like Lynch's fever-dream of transcendental perversity Blue Velvet, Shadow of a Doubt is about awakening, the simultaneous darkening and enlarging of the world.
This thriller's horrible fascination lies in watching the strong-willed young lady's admiration of, fondness for, and idealization of a supposed gentleman clot and curdle. The plot's marred only by a slightly rushed and convenient ending.
Peels back the welcoming warmth and sincere innocence of small-town life to reveal the gullibility and the naïveté underneath; it's a fiction about the perpetuation of fictions.