Possibly the most perverted effort from Alfred Hitchcock, which is saying something. Shadow of a Doubt stars Teresa Wright as Charlie, a suburban California teen who is smitten with the out-of-town uncle after whom she was named. When Uncle Charlie (a toothy Joseph Cotton) comes to live with her family, her affection gradually gives way to suspicion that he may, in fact, be a murderer. This would be a Nancy Drew escapade if not for the seamy sexual undercurrent Hitchcock encourages. Wright is a panting presence, even before Cotton appears on the scene. When he does arrive, it’s only Uncle Charlie’s restraint (and, more likely, the standards set by Hollywood’s Production Code) that keeps the illegal ickiness at bay. It all makes Shadow of a Doubt a dubiously fascinating picture, yet another example of genre convention bending to Hitchcock’s id.
