Apple Pie, Murder, and all that Jazz

All small towns are basically the same. The mothers wear pearls and high heels, the kids get good grades, the houses have sprinklers on the lawn. And, there's always a dirty little secret involving murder or sex. It's the American way.



Shadow of a Doubt explores the hidden side of small town America. Probably because of the pesky censors, it dealt with murder instead of sex. (This was when you were supposed to believe it was possible to sleep in separate beds and still have a house teeming with kids .)



This is Hitchcock's greatest suspense film ever. (Before you collectively gasp, let me just say two things about Psycho. 1. I haven't seen it. 2. I consider it more horror than suspense. Okay, now you can gasp over the fact that a Hitchcock fan hasn't seen Psycho. But, I digress) There are many things that make this tale exceptional. Among them are story, plot device, and acting.



1. In the story, Charlie (Teresa Wright)is bored with her small town life. (Silly girl, doesn't she KNOW she's living in a place just bursting with potential excitement? How many Stephen King stories have been set in places like New Orleans or Miami? No, it's always the small towns that get the frustrated Jack Nicholsons or Carries. I guess some people just can't appreciate home)


She decides she needs something to shake her up, so she goes to send a telegram to her Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten)asking him to visit. (To avoid confusion, I'll refer to the niece Charlie as simply Charlie from now on) What she doesn't know is Uncle Charlie is already on his way. He wants to visit his sister, who he hasn't seen in awhile, get to know his nieces and nephew, hide out from the police, and maybe make a couple of killings with the rich widows in town. You know, just take it easy.



Although Charlie originally feels that Uncle Charlie is a breath of fresh air, she soon comes to realize that the song 'You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch' was probably inspired by him. When she finds out his habit of killing people, she has a dilemma. She could turn him in, but dear old Ma doesn't know of her brother's penchant for letting his fingers do the talking (mainly around rich widows throats).


Charlie doesn't want to hurt her mother, so delivers an ultimatum. She'll keep Uncle Charlie's secret if he gets the hell out of Dodge. Uncle Charlie is also concerned with protecting his sister from the facts of life. But, things are too cushy for him to just pack up and leave. He offers a compromise. He'll stay, but he'll keep Charlie from exposing him by killing her.




2. Hitchcock used the device of double images later in Strangers on a Train, but this is the movie that started it. The first shots of both Charlie's show them lying in bed, and the same angle. They both share the same name. Charlie also believes they share a connection. Before she really knows him, she thinks they are two of a kind. They also share a view of life that most people in small town America hide themselves from. It's a view that exposes the dirt behind the picket fences. Uncle Charlie begins the film this way, and Charlie grows to this viewpoint via her disillusionment with her uncle. That's where the similarities stop. Uncle Charlie is cold and cynical. Charlie no longer sees the world through rose colored glasses, but she's still optimistic and a generally good girl.



3. If it can be said that one person carries a film, Joseph Cotten certainly carried this one. He is the creepiest villain I have ever seen. Unlike hatchet wielding killers, who seem too crazy to even know what they're doing, Uncle Charlie knows exactly what he's doing. Oh, he's crazy all right (midway into the film, there's some discussion on how his head was injured in an accident, and he was never the same), but his craziness is matched with cunning and intelligence. You get the feeling that if the police caught him, he'd be advising his lawyer on the in's and out's of the insanity plea. He doesn't kill because he can't help it. He kills because he wants to. Joseph Cotten did all this without ever raising his voice. His speech, lowering his victims to the status of pigs is as chilling as they come. It shows his range of talent that he was totally convincing and sympathetic as the lover in another film, Portrait of Jennie. The rest of the cast was phenomenal, especially Teresa Wright. However, it's Joseph Cotten that you remember.




After watching Shadow of a Doubt, you'll never look at Leave it to Beaver the same way again. The little tyke may already have a body hidden in the basement.