Shadow of a Doubt: 1943 Suspense, starring Joseph Cotten, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
The Marc Horton plot synopsis: We learn in the opening scene that Joseph Cotten's on the lam. He ditches Capital City for his sister's family in The Sticks. Shows up at the bank with $40K cash and the banker barely bats an eye. Niece reads the local rag and our Nancy Drew wannabe figures out Uncle Charlie's a murderer. Homeland Security-style gumshoes show up, poking around, asking a lot of questions. And the family just gives them the run of the place. This is a world where the bad guy practically has blood on his hands, strangers wearing fancy suits pop up in town, and yet nobody ever puts 2 and 2 together.
The hype: The Video Hound's Golden Movie Retriever suggests it was Hitchcock's personal favorite. According to an entry in IMDb, Patrick McGilligan's book "Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light" (2003) notes: "...(Hitchcock) liked to call Shadow of a Doubt a 'most satifying picture'; more than once, he called it his favorite. But 'favorite' wasn't quite the same as best; and speaking for posterity, he pointedly told Francois Truffaunt it wasn't his favorite, and told Peter Bogdanovich it was merely "one of his favorites".
The Politically Incorrect Review: I think I understand. In the same way a mother refers to her ugliest kid as "her favorite." It's called over-compensating.
11 years ago