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Shadow of a Doubt (1943) | 
 enlarge | Actors: Irving Bacon, Charles Bates, Macdonald Carey, Frances Carson, Patricia Collinge
Studio: Universal Studios
Category: Video
List Price: $14.98
Buy Used: $1.00
You Save: $13.98 (93%)
New (13) Used (19) Collectible (1) from $1.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  95 reviews
Sales Rank: 20101
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Original Recording Reissued, Original Recording Remastered, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: VHS Tape
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 108
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0783236352
UPC: 096898481137
EAN: 9780783236353
ASIN: 0783236352
Theatrical Release Date: 1943
Release Date: August 3, 1999
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: tape only comes in rental box with no art work GREAT ITEM SHIPPED WITH TRACKING INFO SHIPPED FROM OREGON Used - Acceptable
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Amazon.com essential video
Alfred Hitchcock considered this 1943 thriller to be his personal favorite among his own films, and although it's not as popular as some of Hitchcock's later work, it's certainly worthy of the master's admiration. Scripted by playwright Thornton Wilder and inspired by the actual case of a 1920's serial killer known as "The Merry Widow Murderer," the movie sets a tone of menace and fear by introducing a psychotic killer into the small-town comforts of Santa Rosa, California. That's where young Charlie (Teresa Wright) lives with her parents and two younger siblings, and where murder is little more than a topic of morbid conversation for their mystery-buff neighbor (Hume Cronyn). Charlie was named after her favorite uncle, who has just arrived for an extended visit, and at first Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) gets along famously with his admiring niece. But the film's chilling prologue has already revealed Uncle Charlie's true identity as the notorious Merry Widow Murderer, and the suspense grows almost unbearable when young Charlie's trust gives way to gradual dread and suspicion. Through narrow escapes and a climactic scene aboard a speeding train, this witty thriller strips away the faade of small-town tranquility to reveal evil where it's least expected. And, of course, it's all done in pure Hitchcockian style. --Jeff Shannon
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| Customer Reviews: Read 90 more reviews...
 Four out of Five stars for Hitchcock's "Shadow of a Doubt October 26, 2008
Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten give good, solid performances in this Hitchcock thriller. Hitchcock evidently said this was his favorite movie:
Charlie (Teresa Wright) plays a young woman who "hero worships" her namesake: Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten).
Young Charlie feels her life in idyllic Santa Rosa, Ca. is boring/humdrum...she commiserates with her father - stating nothing ever happens to their family. She decides to send a telegram to her favorite Uncle asking him to visit. Coincidentally, Uncle Charlie has already sent a telegram stating he is coming for an extended stay. Young Charlie thinks this is another sign that her and her Uncle are on the same wave length as far as their thinking and attitudes. She even states at one pt. that they are like twins. Unbeknownst to the young woman, her Uncle is not what he seems...he has come to Santa Rosa to escape the police who are searching for him - he is a suspect in the killing of several wealthy widows.
The tension mounts as young Charlie comes to realize her Uncle is not as he appears. She fears for her familys' safety. More importantly, you see her struggle as she comes to grips with the knowledge that Uncle Charley is not the fine, upstanding man she thinks he is. You feel for young Charlie as she realizes her Uncle has severe flaws in character and thinking...and if they are alike - than does that mean she is flawed? Is her judgement in people flawed, since she thought so much of her Uncle?
Several great character actors make appearances in this film. Hume Cronyn, Henry Travers (famous for his portrayal of Clarence the Angel in "Its a Wonderful Life), Macdonald Carey and Patricia Collinge give fine performances. Charlie's father played by Henry Travers and Hume Cronyn (next door neighbor) savor their hobby of reading and solving/planning each other's murders - not realizing there is a real murderer in the house. This juxtaposition of a harmless hobby: plotting ea. other's deaths and psychopath Uncle Charlie's attempts to kill his niece make for an interesting study.
 The absolute BEST!!! March 2, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Best Hitchcock film, best American movie, best satire, best thriller, best snapshot of small town Americana, best insight into the underside of everyday life, best existential American film.
Breathtakingly written, breathtakingly photographed, breathtakingly acted, breathtakingly directed, breathtakingly brilliant. It never palls.
A true Classic.
Liebermeister! December 6, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
One of the greatest movies of all time!
Featured are two excellent, albeit, greatly underrated actors -- Joseph Cotton and Theresa Wright.
The casting of the movie is spot-on, with every single role, even the very small parts, *perfectly* cast.
Hitchcock is famous for having once said that actors are just so much cattle. I find that hard to believe -- not hard to beleive that he said but, rather, hard to believe he meant it. There are any number of actors who have done their best work in Hitchcock films: Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Martin Balsam, Anthony Perkins; and of course Joseph Cotton and Theresa Wright.
From what I gather, quality actors longed to be in a Hitchcok movie because they had great confidence in him. He knew what he wanted and knew how to get it. Such confidence in a director must give the entire acting ensemble a tremendous amount of confidence as well; actors, famous or otherwise, being notoriously insecure.
Notice in "Shadow of a Doubt," as is true in all of Hitchcock's movies,
how Hitchcok shocks and frightens and intrigues and mesmerized, but with a minimum of so-called "action." Meaning: no car chases, no shoot 'em ups, no bombastic violence.
Even the famous shower scene in "Psycho" is shot-for-shot all referential. We see the knife, we see Janet Leigh's face, we see the blood, the shower curtain falling -- but we don't see these things in a graphic, haphazard, unstylized way. Violence in a movie, if it's stylized as well as "visually indirect," becomes something other than violence. Put another way: everything flows form the director and the actors, the FX crew is marginalized.
Here's the bottom line for "Shadow of a Doubt." ... If you don't like this movie, pilgrim, then turn in your popcorn coupon. This is a good as it gets.
Watch your Step November 7, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Here is another black and white classic of suspense from the master of the genre Alfred Hitchcock. Take the multi-talented actor, Joseph Cotton, who plays the role here of a homicidal man who cannot control his impulses. And in fact has made something of a philosophy of life out of it. Take a nave, if bright, niece played by Theresa Wright who finally stumbles on to his mysterious and fatal doings. Place them in middle class Santa Rosa California in the 1940's and surround them with a very conventional family and you can take it from there. The real suspense here centers on family pride and maybe just the slightest bit of doubt that Cotton is a real killer. Well you can figure the rest for yourselves.
Lesser Known, Must See October 24, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Shadow of a Doubt is one of the best, most suspenseful releases in the Hitchcock canon. It's not as celebrated as other masterpieces such as Rear Window (Collector's Edition), Vertigo (Collector's Edition), and Psycho (Collector's Edition) but it is just as incredible.
The movie features Joseph Cotten (Citizen Kane) and Teresa Wright (The Best Years of Our Lives) as Charlie, an uncle and daughter sharing the same name.
After Charlie comes to visit, the family finds out there's a serial killer on the loose, and Young Charlie starts to wonder if her Uncle could be the killer.
The DVD features a making of featurette and a few other things. But the big draw will be the film itself. One you can watch over and over and over again.
Must Have.
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