Charlie, the niece, is played by Teresa Wright in one of Hitchcock’s best female performances. Shadow is taut with sexual tension – the incestuous overtones of the mental affinity of niece and uncle Charlie, the lusty infatuations of Charlie’s teenage friend Catherine, and Herb, who just happens to be around the corner where ever we see Charlie. Hitchcock’s Rear Window and Vertigo were also far removed from the realities of the Cold War and the Communist Witch-Hunts of the 50’s. The sleepy town of Santa Rosa is far removed from the very real events of WW-2, events that figured at least a mention if not a central influence on most films of that period. It is also incidentally his favorite of his own films. Shadow of a Doubt is perhaps Hitchcock’s first real masterpiece – a more mature film than The 39 Steps or Rebecca. Alfred Hitchcock described the plot to her in a meeting and she agreed to take on the part immediately. Teresa Wright did not read the script before agreeing to sign on for the film. When two strangers appear asking questions about him, she begins to imagine the worst about her dearly beloved uncle Charlie.Īlfred Hitchcock said that part of why he considered this to be his favorite film was that he loved the idea of bringing menace to a small town. Young Charlie begins to notice some odd behavior on his part, such as cutting out a story in the local paper about a man who marries and then murders rich widows. Charlie Oakley creates quite a stir and charms the ladies club as well as the bank president where his brother-in-law works. Imagine her delight when, out of the blue, they receive a telegram from uncle Charlie announcing that he is coming to visit them for awhile. She wishes something exciting would happen and knows exactly what they need: a visit from her sophisticated and much traveled uncle Charlie Oakley, her mother’s younger brother. Charlotte ‘Charlie’ Newton is bored with her quiet life at home with her parents and her younger sister.
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