Goodbye Annabeth, Hello Jane and Teresa!

OK, so Jane Wyman and Teresa Wright are old enough to be my great grandparents, but for those of you who have read some of my reviews, you'll probably realise that these two, along with Annabeth Gish (it's not too late! Get a divorce!) show that I tend to gravitate towards the good-girls. I draw the line at Doris Day, though. I like girls-next-door, not asexual weirdos who can't sing or act. Anyway, I've been a big fan of Teresa Wright for quite a while now (I adored her in "The Best Years of Our Lives" and "The Little Foxes" , and even sat all the way through "Escapade in Japan" ), and this 1940s Hitchcock film gave her one of her best innocent-yet-intelligent-girl roles. And of the 31 Hitchcock films I've thus far seen, this one ranks a more than respectable 4th, in between "The 39 Steps" and the slightly overrated "Psycho" .

WARNING SPOILERS UNAVOIDABLE. PROCEED AT OWN DOOOOOOMMMM!

Nearly rivaling Robert Walker (from my favourite Hitchcock film "Strangers on a Train") for enjoyable screen villainy, the charismatic Joseph Cotten (whom I also loved in "Citizen Kane" and "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte") is unforgettable as Uncle Charlie, coming to stay with daffy sister Patricia Collinge (whose phone scene, whilst dated, is still priceless) and family, including his namesake, young Charlie (Wright), who dotes on her uncle. Unfortunately, it is left to poor young Charlie to find out the true nature of Uncle Charlie as two cops (burly Wallace Ford, and yes, Tom Horton himself- don't ask me how a 23 year old male knows that- MacDonald Carey) come snooping about, looking for him. Also on hand are the delightful Henry "Still Trying to Get My Wings" Travers as Charlie's dad, and the rather odd Hume Cronyn stealing scenes as Travers fellow mystery buff next-door neighbour, whom amusingly turns up at the least appropriate times (Kind of the like the damn telemarketers who ring up during "Survivor". A curse on you all!).

Wright is thoroughly winning as Charlie, perfectly cast in the role, she's easy to like (a good thing given it's a bit hard to believe that you-know-who gets away with you-know-what for so long) and identify with, and is on screen most of the time. However, at the end of the day, the film belongs to Hitchcock (adeptly moving from gripping murder plot to satire of Americana throughout. Comedy was never his strong point, but it works here because it's not blatant, unlike David Lynch's mostly overrated and unpleasant work), cinematographer Joseph Valentine (who did great work on "The Wolf Man"), and of course, the suave yet chilling Cotten (it's amazing how someone with such charismatic and attractive features could turn around and look thoroughly emotionless, or blatantly evil, all in the one film), as a most complex screen heavy. There are some unforgettable shots of Cotten here that rival THAT tennis scene in "Strangers on a Train".

It's true that the romance between Wright and a much older-looking Carey doesn't work at all, neither interesting nor plausible, but that is a minor blemish that whilst preventing it from being Hitch's best, doesn't stop it from being an excellent film. Edge-of-your-seat stuff, you'll be with Wright all the way here.