Shadow of a Doubt review

 Number 323 on the top 1000 films of all time is Alfred Hitchcock's psychological thriller 'Shadow of a Doubt.'

Charlotte "Charlie" Newton (Teresa Wright) is a young woman who lives with her family in Santa Rosa, California. Bored with her life, she is overjoyed when her uncle Charles "Charlie" Oakley (Joseph Cotten) visits. Little does she realise is that Uncle Charlie is a serial killer on the run from the police. 

I've watched at least ten Hitchcock films in my time and I would count this as one of my least favourites. This is in stark contrast to Hitchcock who thought this was one of his best films. Sorry, Mr Hitchcock, but we shall have to agree to disagree.

I found Shadow of a Doubt to be overly-theatrical. It was stagey with an excess of dialogue. Some of this dialogue was attributed to side characters like a waitress in a diner. I was confused as to why she was speaking so much considering that she wasn't a major character.

Charlotte had two younger siblings, who were, quite possibly, two of the most annoying characters ever seen on screen. Christ, they were insufferable. They very much embodied the pompous, stuck-up little brats that you see too often on film.

And the sound-mixing was strange too. Maybe I was watching a bad bootleg, but I struggled in hearing some of the dialogue. It didn't help that the characters spoke over one another. At times, Charlotte's speech had a distinct echo.

Finally, the ending wasn't convincing at all. *Spoilers*

Upon hearing that Charlotte has discovered his secret, Uncle Charlie tries pushing her out of a moving train, only for her to get the upper hand and push him from the train instead. I just didn't find that believable at all.

Overall, this was not a film I cared for.